Monday Memo - Week of October 24

CC License shared by KTVee

Here are some great things I noticed last week:
**2nd graders counting by 3's along with a fun song on youtube.  Seriously, how can you not enjoy counting by 3's with that funny penguin?  The "Have Fun Teaching Channel" that created this has many other youtube clips for math, grammar, letters, etc.  I always loved using the School Rock videos, but I could see kids pulling these up at home to show their parents and keep practicing. 
**A parent newsletter that included a list of "conversation starters" to give parents specific questions to ask about what they learned. Every parent knows that if you ask a child, "What did you do today?" the answer is usually "nothing" or "we had recess." If you give questions and the answers for parents, it will help them get their children talking about their day. Ex: What is another name for 43? (4 tens, 3 ones)
**5K has started Daily 5 in their classrooms and is going VERY WELL!!  It is great to hear about their independence and stamina already!
**I have been hearing so many great comments from staff already reading the Hal Urban book (Lessons from the Classroom).  Now that I finally finished Ron Clark's book, I can catch up and join in the conversation.  We have a lot going on in the next month, but maybe we can have a before school or lunch conversation to talk about the book in early December? For now, I'd encourage you to share your thoughts on what you're reading in Urban's book at http://bit.ly/dodgelandbookstudy This is a google doc that you should all be able to access. 

Events this week:
*Monday - Wear red for Red Ribbon Week
-4th graders are taking the WKCE Language Arts test right away in the morning. Please be silent in the hallways (they should be done by 8:45). 
-I will be involved in 8/10th grade WKCE testing taking place during their regularly scheduled English classes throughout the day on Monday/Tuesday, so I may seem to be MIA.
*Tuesday - Wear the color of your favorite fruit/vegetable for Red Ribbon Week
-4th graders are taking the WKCE Writing/Social Studies tests in the morning, Please be silent in the hallways (they test until 10:00 Tuesday).
-Flu Shot clinic after school
*Wednesday - Wear your favorite team shirts/colors for Red Ribbon Week
-12:30-2:30 Fall Festival--please take pictures and add them to the shared drive (elementary/Fall Festival)
-I will be leaving at 9AM for the AWSA Convention in LaCrosse. 

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes
**By vote, the Tech Tuesday will be moved to Tuesday, November 1st (due to the Flu Shot clinic).  I will actually be talking to MS/HS staff about the WKCE testing, so I will miss it.
**I'm sure most of you know this already, but it's "WKCE season" for me. The WKCE lasts a few days for students/teachers, but it's about a month of a LOT of work for me.  This means I will not be in classrooms as much as I would like to.  I'm just letting you know since I always feel guilty during this time of the year.