Friday Focus - December 16, 2016

Thank you to everyone for trying to keep things as normal as possible (I know that's a challenge) while we count down the days to Christmas. The more we stray from the routine, the more our students get off track. This is also the time of year to keep in mind parent perceptions...if students come home saying all they did was watch movies, do crafts and have parties then parents will be more likely to take students out of school on these days in the future. We can still learn a lot while tying in the theme of the year.

Events Next Week:
Monday - Football Attire
 -Support staff meeting 3:10 in Room 120

Tuesday - K/2/4th grade music concert 6:30pm
Wednesday - Polar Pajama Day
Thursday -Ugly Sweater/Holiday Festive wear

The Weekend Warrior Post

The week is over...what?! Yes, that means I missed getting my Friday Focus post out, my apologies! I know you worked super hard this week, especially Friday so I'll keep this as short as I can!


Upcoming Events:
Monday - Mid Quarter!! Send progress reports home this week

 - I will be at CESA 6 (with Mrs. Huelsman and Mrs. Madsen) for training on going schoolwide Title 1

Nuts & Bolts Notes:

• 3-5th grade teachers: Here is the video I mentioned that you can show your students about growth mindset in math: Four Boosting Math Messages
• I'm sure you've already noticed a change...we're at the time of year where students start behaving differently. Some of our students are super excited for the countdown to Christmas, they get to enjoy holiday shopping or special time of making Christmas cookies and ornaments, they're getting excited about going on a special trip or seeing extended families, etc.  For some of our families, this is not a holly, jolly time of year.  Some of our students are feeling the adult stress of everything that has to get done before Christmas, they might be hearing threats that "Santa won't be coming," or they could be hearing adult arguments/discussions about financial stresses at this time of year. For students in these situations, we are likely seeing the affects of this on them manifest in their behaviors/emotions.  We can't control what's happening in any of our students' lives, but we can control our classrooms to still be consistently structured (to not add more chaos to their days) and show them the caring relationships that they may not be getting at home right now. 
  

Friday Focus - December 2, 2016

Great Things I Noticed this Week:
*Kindergarteners working on their addition equations and reading them as math sentences.
*First graders deciding on the math strategy that works best for them individually to subtract.
*A lesson in which the teacher referred to the objective on the board a few times throughout the class period and at the end, asked students to self-reflect on how they met the objective (that goes right with standard 4, having students self assess!)
*Several classes working on ways to be bucket fillers and spread kindness throughout their classroom and the school. Wouldn't our world be such a better place if all people focused on the positives and spreading kindness?
*Beautiful ornaments made to decorate 2 trees on display at the Juneau Public Library. Thank you again to Mrs. Haan for organizing this and decorating our trees. I can't wait to see them on display this Sunday when we will also have band students providing the musical entertainment!

Events Next Week:
Sunday - Parade of Trees at the Juneau Public Library 1:00-3:00
Monday - EP training at 3:15 (Optional...an email will be going out to all staff regarding this)
Wednesday - "Giving tree" gift donations due to Marie (unwrapped with the paper ornament)
Friday - Staff Professional Development Day
Monday, December 12th is already MID QUARTER!! Yes, it's almost time to send home mid-quarter progress reports to keep parents updated on academic progress.

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:
*The Friday PD day agenda will be coming soon. It will be including time for writing/grade level work, some math PD, time for math WIN and some fun!!!
*2-5th grade teachers, please have your students complete the AIMSWeb progress monitoring by Thursday and let Jenny or I know if you need any help. Seriously...don't be afraid to ask. One person already did and the problem was I printed the wrong tickets!
*I am still seeking any interested teachers to join the Title 1 School Wide Planning committee. Please let me know if you're interested or if you have any parent recommendations.
*Monday starts the 12 Days before Christmas break. You know I don't like countdowns, but I love using these days to give you something fun or yummy each day. My ope is that this will help you feel like you're not just surviving these days before winter break, but to keep you thriving! I won't tell you all the days, but you've likely already seen the parent newsletter calendar that gave away the special dress days:

Blogs, Tweets & Pins...Oh My!!!
*How are you doing with your mini-lessons in writing? How about for reading?  Here's a great blog post to help keep your mini-lessons "mini" so that students can get to writing and reading: A Short Sweet Minilesson Forumula

Friday Focus - November 18, 2016

Great Things I Noticed this Week:
*Our students were SO well behaved at last Friday's Veterans Day assembly. I know that this is due to your preparation in classrooms for them to understand why we were gathered together, how to show respect and honor to our Veterans and how to sit so respectfully throughout the long assembly. I noticed one particular student look directly into each Veterans' eyes as he shook their hands and say, "Thank you for your service" to each one. It was SO amazing to see!
*2nd graders spreading positive messages to student lockers throughout the entire school (4K-12th!) They had to use math, word choice, and teamwork to prepare that many post-its of positive messages.
*Students in writing partners, providing each other with feedback and questions to help each other revise their writing to add in descriptive details.
*I know the full moon had some effects while I was out Tuesday/Wednesday...I thank those of you who helped out with student issues while I was gone. Your teamwork here is incredible!

Upcoming Events: 
Wednesday-Friday - Happy Thanksgiving Break!
(No Friday Focus post next week)
Monday, November 28 - Mentors/Mentees meeting
Wednesday, November 30 - Public Library Tree ornaments due to Mrs. Haan (the tree lighting is on Dec 4th)


"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:
*The Badgers have some brain break videos that your students might enjoy: Badgers Give Back
*Just a reminder to complete this survey to let me know your professional needs for our Dec 8 PD Day: http://bit.ly/129needs
*Please let me know if you would like to serve on our Title 1 Schoolwide planning team. This can count towards an Alt Comp professional activity. If you have any questions about this team, you can feel free to ask Mrs. Huelsman, Mrs. Madsen or me.
*We will be completing our winter AIMSWeb testing in Math December 1-8th, with more info to come later.

Blogs, Tweets & Pins...Oh My!!!
*Teaching Main Idea of Non Fiction Text - 3 Different Ways

Friday Focus - Nov 11, 2016

Great Things I Noticed this Week:
*Students practicing the mental math of making tens...in Phy Ed! How awesome is it that we are so collaborative at Dodgeland that Mrs. Kuhn is even helping students improve in math?!!
*Students being taught to reread for deeper meaning, and then doing it! While still on the carpet, students reread a section of the text together, then did a brief turn-and-talk to discuss feelings and emotions while citing what the text said.
*Students writing positive comments to others in their small group to recognize what they noticed in their writing.
*Students passing on random notes of kindness. Love to see this bucket filling!
*With this heated election, I was unsure of whether or not to have a mock election, but am glad that we did. As you each came down with your class I witnessed so many great lessons by you to model for students of how we can have our own opinions and sitll get along, that we should learn as much as we can to inform our decisions, that no matter what we should always be kind. 

Events Next Week: 
Monday - Staff Meeting 3:10 (agenda below)
Tuesday/Wednesday - I will be out of the building for a conference
Friday - 1st Qtr Dodgeland Pride Assembly at 2:30

Food drive for The Gathering Source all week through Tuesday, Nov 22.

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:

• Monday's staff mtg agenda includes: information about going school-wide Title 1 and grade level discussions on writing. Obviously, there's not a LOT of time to discuss writing, so this will be focused on answering the question: What do you need on our 12/9 Professional Development day (i.e. time/structure/resources) for your grade level to discuss/plan/grow together in writing to support your writers?
• Please talk to your students about the Pride assembly so that any new students will know what to expect and for all to review behavior expectations. 

Blogs, Tweets & Pins...Oh My!!!
*Have you seen this great resource on DPI? Wisconsin Writes has videos of interviews with Wisconsin writers for students to learn about how they go through the writing process.
*Self-Assessment: Assessment Strengthens Writers

Friday Focus - Nov 4

Great Things I Noticed this Week:
*Students practicing expanding their vocabularies by jotting down words they didn't know the meaning of (along with page numbers) as they read their good fit books.
*A writing mini-lesson showing how to take revision marks of where to indent for new paragraphs, using a struggling writer's rough draft as an example. Getting to have his writing displayed was a confidence boost for him, yet at the same time, taking his piece to show a model of a final copy was a very sneaky way of giving him that added support right in the mini-lesson for all!
*Students completed a day long "Pumpkin of Regret" activity. They first pounded nails into a pumpkin that each represented something they've admitted to doing that may have hurt someone else. Throughout the day if they did something kind for someone else they could remove a nail. By the end of the day the class removed the nails, but the holes were still there. This produced a great class conversation about how we can apologize for things we've done, but we can't really take it back.
*When students were given a much more challenging task a student said, "I'm glad you believe in us!" and then they accomplished it! This is after continuously including a growth mindset into each of their lessons.
*After knowing the process of think-write-share students were given the same engaging task, but this time in writing their response in Schoology for the first time. After writing their response they were then given the task of reading through others' responses to find someone who had the same opinion as them. While this was their first time in Schoology, the "how to do the tech part" took very little time to learn how to do this and they can add on next time by learning how to respond to others in a discussion thread on Schoology.

Events Next Week:
Monday - Packer attire day
   Grades due by 7:30am
   I will be out of the building at CESA
Tuesday - Election Day - please see an email coming from me about a mock election for our students
Wednesday - Report Cards should be distributed
 - Fundraiser pick-up after school 3:00-5:30
Thankful Thursday will be "casual Friday" also because of      
     Friday's assembly
Friday - Veterans Day assembly starting at 9:30 Please dress professionally on Friday as we will have many community members in our building for this event.
-No AM recess

Our 1st Quarter Dodgeland Pride Assembly is Friday, November 18th at 2:30.


"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:
*Please review behavior expectations with your students before taking them down to the gym for the Veterans Day Assembly. Please also make sure to be there prior to 9:30 so they are not waiting for us to get started.  
*Please take parent invitations for the Dodgeland Pride Assembly that will be getting recognized and then make sure to add student names for Honor Roll and On a Roll to the google docs. This sounds silly, but as you enter your names, please make sure to click "return." Most of the time when names get "lost" it is only because of typing, but not hitting return for the name to be entered into the cell of the spreadsheet.


Blogs, Tweets & Pins...Oh My!!!
*I Don't Know...Or Do I?  I can't wait to try out this questioning strategy on a student that says they don't know. Let me know if you get to try and have the same success as she writes about in this blog post!

Friday Focus - October 28

Great Things I Noticed this Week:

• Students engaged in a math lesson with the SMART Notebook app to allow each of them to engage in the digital manipulatives/math tools on their iPads. 
• Students practicing the strategy of making a mental picture in their mind as they were reading...a skill that has huge crossover in all subject areas, especially when reading and figuring out what word problems are describing and asking for. 
• Kindergartners drawing a picture of something "close to their heart" (they actually repeated this to me!) and then writing sentences to go with it and labeling different parts of their picture. Seeing these little 5 year-olds deep in writing this early on is always amazing to me!
• 4K students practicing their jolly phonics sounds and writing their letters...the building blocks to be able to start writing in Kindergarten!
• A student book group with deep discussion led by the teacher asking questions that required students to refer back to the text to quote directly from the text (as the standards call for). Students had already left post it tabs to label parts where they had questions or thought were important when they read on their own. 
• Some fun trying to figure out optical illusions in art before creating their own artistic optical illusion.
• ALL grade levels have WIN up and going! :) :)

Events Next Week:
Tuesday - I plan to announce the students of the month at 8:05. If your names aren't in the google doc, please add them!
Friday - End of 1st Quarter (Grades are due Monday, November 7th by 7:30)
Future dates:
Tuesday 11/8 - Election Day--we'll have a student election (details still being worked on for this)
Wednesday 11/9 - Report Cards Distributed, Fundraiser Pick-Up
Friday 11/11 -Veterans Day Assembly


"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:
*If you're still looking for a professional learning activity, EdCamp Beaver Dam is still an option on Saturday.
*Report Card reminder from Mr. Wallesverd: For end of quarter: It is important that final quarter grades are being given and then saved correctly. Every student on your class list must have some sort of grade recorded (A,B,C,D,F,P,I,PS,FL,NG,X,M,W,NG) for storage in historical grades of the Q1 term. This is the case for all MS and EL class sections and is needed so that that we can send this required information to the state

Blogs, Tweets & Pins...Oh My!
*Great post from last week's Daily Cafe Newsletter on how the little things that we don't even realize that could be affecting our relationships with students: It's the Little Things
*It Really Happens...great story from a teacher on how positivity(ending the negativity) really works!

Friday Focus - October 21, 2016

Great Things I Noticed this Week:

• 4th graders had a large color coded version of the break-apart model in a page protector so while they are solving word problems with subtraction they can solve using a dry erase marker in a larger space with the color coding visual (or choose to create their own model in the small workspace in their workbooks).
• Several teachers walking students through the process of rereading math word problems, stopping to ask questions reread for understanding: What is this problem about? What is it asking? What information does it tell us? Let's act what is happening.  These are all great strategies for students to learn how to keep rereading for meaning, those close reading skills that apply to math!
• Several teachers all in one room meeting with different book groups and conferring with individual students...it is so great to see regular/special education staff collaborating to meet all students' needs together and you could not even tell who was a student with an IEP needing extra support or not!
• Our 5th grade music/choir class going through vocal warm-ups and some tricky tongue twisters. Can you sing "cup of coffee in a copper coffee cup" 10 times getting faster each time at each step of the music scale? I couldn't keep up! They were sounding amazing!

*Have you noticed something positive at school; either in another classroom, anywhere in the building, help from a colleague or positive comments heard from a student, parent or community member? If so, please let me know so I can add it to my Friday Focus any week!

Events Next Week:
Monday - optional EP session on SLO/PPG worktime with assistance if needed
Wednesday - Picture Retake Day -Marie will call down when you can send any students that need their pictures to go to the stage.

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:
*I know I probably don't have to remind anyone of this (because you all say how much you lack time to teach what you need to), please make sure that any special Halloween classroom activities/parties are just an event and not a half-day ordeal. The more you get out of the regular routine, the more your students will get out of the normal routine and you're likely to see more behaviors. 
*My November principal's newsletter (on the back of the calendar) is all about math facts/fluency, but also references the parent letters in Math Expressions. Please make sure to send those home as they come up through the units. While Math Expressions is no longer new to you or your students, it is likely the parents first time with your grade at Math Expressions.
*Just a heads-up that we will be collecting non-perishable food items during November to donate to the Gathering Source.
*Please help me to recognize students that are working hard, making great progress or going above and beyond to be bucket fillers. It only takes a moment to share with me about a student here: http://bit.ly/despostcard  You don't have to do it now, this will be added to Marie's daily staff announcements to use throughout the year.
*The 5-7th grade Robotics team will be meeting in Room 120 after school on Tuesdays (and maybe some other days), because it's a space that we can leave our robot parts/playfield in. Just giving you a heads up in case you wonder why there are students in there after school. If you use the room for a student group during the day, please don't let students touch the equipment (that will be covered up, but may look interesting to peek at!)

Blogs, Tweets & Pins...Oh My!!!
*Students and Goal Setting (in writing)
*Bethany Hill ‏@bethhill2829  Oct 15

A1: A positive mindset opens doors for kids. A negative mindset slams them shut and locks them tight! #satchatwc #KidsDeserveIt

The Weekend Wrap

My apologies for not getting this out in time for a Friday Focus. I'm sure you can all understand how the week also got away from me with P/T Conferences, preparing for our professional learning day and then I had an all day grad class on Saturday.  


Great Things I Noticed This Week:

• A class stopping early on Friday to reflect on their week, adding to a class chart of what they were proud of learning/accomplishing this week. The teacher then took a picture of the chart to share with parents in Class Dojo. Just think about how that can change the conversations at home about what their children did at school!
• A teacher read-aloud for the mini-lesson: the teacher stopped several times to check for understanding/comprehension throughout, giving 30 seconds each time for a quick partner share so that all were engaged in responding. She stopped before getting to the end to make sure to keep the mini-lesson "mini" and left students hanging and waiting for more to find out what happens!
• A quick class building activity during a morning meeting of 4 corners: they went to the corner of their favorite book genre and then had 2 minutes in their corner to share why they like that genre and some of their favorite books.
• I honestly heard nothing but positive comments from parents that I passed as they were leaving from their Parent/Teacher conferences. The positivity in the building was amazing. I sat in a number of meetings in which the student's strengths were highlighted first and then areas to grow were shared in a manner of dedication to help the student grow. 
• Our work together on Friday was not easy...but you all rolled up your sleeves and got to it. A huge celebration is that WIN will be starting for all grade levels, with focus! Together we will help our students exceed their potential!

Events This Week:
Thursday/Friday - we will have some people here checking on our wifi. This means that you will likely have a couple of men (with visitors badges) in your room for about 5 minutes with devices to check.
Friday - I will be out of the building at a meeting for DACs
Next Monday (Oct 24) at 3:15 is an optional EP session to provide you with worktime and my assistance to help answer any questions that you may have as you complete your SLO's, Self-Reflection, PPG and Surveys.

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:
*Thank you for the great sharing of tech integration on Friday! Here's a google doc to see what everyone shared so you know who to go to for questions if you want to add their tech tool to your toolbox of tech integration: Tech SmackDown
*For those of you who are on your summative year for evaluations I will be scheduling meetings with each of you to discuss your SLO. I should have an email of further details out to you soon.
*If you would like to add a musical to your entertainment for this week, then I'd like to recommend going to see Godspell in Beaver Dam...with one of our own teachers on the stage. If you don't know who, you'll have to find out and then show him your support!
 (Yes, I know I just narrowed down the possibilities quite a bit.)

Blogs, Tweets & Pins...Oh My!!
*The 6 Week Check-In for Writers Workshop

Friday Focus - October 7, 2016

Great Things I Noticed this Week:
*The mom of one of our new students shared that her daughter used to cry every day before school, but now that she's at Dodgeland she loves coming to school and even says she wishes school was on the weekend!
*When I visited with one of our students at the Homecoming football game he told me, "I hate the weekends." When I asked why he responded, "because I would rather be at school all the time."
*First graders skyping with a class in Kansas as part of their involvement in the Global Read Aloud. They asked each other questions to learn about how different a suburb and rural community are.
*A couple of IEP meetings in which the teachers started out by sharing the gains the student had made and highlighted the strengths. Please keep in mind to share those little wins in parent/teacher conferences!
*2nd graders reading about different types of communities in Pebble Go...great integration of literacy and social studies!
*Help from Mr. Klueger to try out "recess meditation" instead of recess detention with some students that could benefit from learning some calming strategies after poor sportsmanship incidents at recess.

Events Next Week: Get some extra sleep this weekend and pack your favorite healthy snacks to keep your energy up!
Monday - Parent/Teacher Conferences 4-7:30pm
Tuesday - Parent/Teacher Conferences 4-7:30pm
Wednesday/Thursday - Vision Screening
Friday - PD Day


"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:
*For P/T Conferences next week, please try to stick to your schedule so that parents aren't waiting in the hallway for too long. It would also be a good idea to post a sign like this one on your door:

*For those of you who have ELL students in your classroom, Mrs. Fobes or Ms. Nehls will be scheduling a time to meet with you to share their ACCESS test scores so you're aware of their English Proficiency levels and be able to collaborate on supporting their individual needs.
*The Friday Celebrations list has been updated with changes. You can find it HERE (or it's always in the DES Staff handbook google folder).
*The schedule for October 14th PD will be coming out soon, but you can know the agenda will include: data analysis, SLO magic in Educlimber, grade level team planning time for WIN, and of course a little bit of collaborative fun! :)


Blogs, Tweets & Pins...Oh My!!!
*Tips for Productive Parent Conferences
*Teachers Tell Individual Students How Special They Are
*Instant Mini Lesson Follow-Up

Friday Focus - September 30, 2016

Great Things I Noticed this Week:

*A class review of what they had learned in the digital citizenship unit with a game of jeapordy.

*Class lesson/discussion on empathy asking students to hold up their whiteboards to show how they felt about different scenarios. Here were their answer choices:

The class discussion emphasized that everyone responds to situations differently and then led into the role that this plays in digital citizenship...especially how people perceive written messages in different ways. 

*Students reviewing rounding as they moved around the room to round numbers and then self-checking with QR codes for immediate feedback. Way more fun than a review worksheet!

*Overheard by a group of students working on a project: "We're not ready yet...the power of yet, let's get it done!" That class has been learning all about growth mindset!

Events Next Week:

Monday - Elementary staff meeting 3:10-3:45 

 -MidQuarter (reports can be saved for P/T Conferences)

Tuesday - Fundraiser orders/$ are due

Wednesday - I plan to announce the September students of the month at 2:45pm. Please send your students down. (And get your name in if you haven't already!)

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:

*Please let me know if you have any P/T conferences that you would like me to be a part of. 

*The Gathering Source is having a Fall Fest on Saturday, August 8 to raise continuing funds for the service they provide families in need.  Find out more about it HERE. 

*Monday's Staff Meeting agenda includes a growth mindset activity and looking at our school data. 

*Now that we are in full swing (it's already October next week!) I'm getting into classrooms as much as I can. I have several goals when I'm in classrooms and when I'm in your room it could vary:

-I may be there to check-in with a student (and hopefully prevent them from visiting me in the office!)

-I may not want to go back to the piles on my desk and would much rather hang out with kids! (FYI: if you're ever having a rough day, there's nothing like the random comments of 4K kiddos to make you laugh!)

-I may be staying to observe student learning and provide you with feedback. 

When I'm in your room and stay for a while with my iPad, there's a good chance you will receive an email or a mylearningplan form from me as a means of providing you with feedback. My narrative emails will often include "I noticed..." with what I see happening in the room and "I wonder..." or another reflective question. These are reflective questions that you can just ponder, reply or have a discussion with me. As I have shared each year, my goal is to be in your classrooms with a "coaching hat." I may pose a question to you that stretches your thinking that is not meant to be intrusive or evaluatory, but is a question to have you reflect on why you do what you do. When you are reflective and consciously aware of why you do what you do, you will continue to utilize effective strategies for students in your classroom. So, unless I specifically say, "I have a concern..." then you have nothing to be nervous about when I'm in your room. I am just in there wearing my "coaching hat."

If you ever feel you need more or different feedback, please don't hesitate to let me know what you need!

Blogs, Tweets & Pins...Oh My!!!

*Protecting Student Writing Time

*We've been challenged with this tweet:

You can show your class the video made by this school at https://t.co/Kgcl7r5zyY and type the password kind323you.