Friday Focus - March 17, 2017

 This is a page out of one of our first grader's non-fiction books that was shared at their end of unit celebration. This student wrote all about her favorite place...school! The picture just makes my heart so happy, because it just sums up how I feel about Dodgeland. I have told many parents that I personally want to help make sure that we have the best school, because my own kids go to school here too. You may not know this, unless you've already had one of my kids, but when we come to class placement meetings each spring, I don't choose my child's teacher. Why? Because I feel the same way this first grader does...at Dodgeland you will have a good teacher. Trust me! 

Thank you for your dedication, your sense of urgency for learning, and your continued commitment to learning and growing to make this the best school for our students!

Events Next Week: March Madness Week 
Monday - 8:10 short K-5 assembly to kick-off March Madness. Please make sure to have a college shirt on (yes...jeans all week too)!!!
-3:10 - optional EP Documentation Log work time with help in the IMC

Tuesday/Wednesday - 4th graders will be taking the Forward exam for Science/Social Studies in the mornings. Please make sure students are quiet in the hallways on that side of the building.

Friday - I will be out of the building...I am slightly guilty to share that I'll be in sunny California, however, it's not a lavish vacation. I will be at the ASCD conference that is packed full of amazing learning! I am going to be there as an author/presenter, because I have a book being published by ASCD this May.
*I'm pretty sure we will have a couple of state send-off's next week...more details will be coming.
Happy Spring Break!!! 

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:
*I'm super excited about March Madness week and the impact we can have on building big dreams for our students now to have them on track for college readiness. I hope that you share my same enthusiasm and the role that you can play in being our students' biggest champions for their future!
If you need some new brain breaks, how about a Badger brain break with March Madness? Here's where you can find them:
Badger Brain Break - Can't Stop the Feeling Wisconsin Badger student-athletes Matt Aronson and Gabby Comunale of men's and women's swim & dive know how to freestyle out of the pool and they can't stop the feeling!  
You can find several other Badger Brain Breaks HERE (each video features a couple of Badger athletes)

*Planning ahead for after Spring Break: treat this as post Christmas break and put in your plans to review procedures. You know they're going to need it to get back on track (you probably already see the need now)!

*Hot off the press news (from Watertown Daily Times):

We received a grant from John Deere to implement Project Lead the Way next year! Mrs. O'Toole and Mr. Klueger will become our in house trainers over the summer. For those of you who expressed interest earlier this year, I will be trying to set up some school visits so you can also go and see PLTW in action. If you forgot what that is (I know our conversations about this were quite a while ago), here is a brief overview to see what Project Lead the Way is: What is PLTW? An Overview


I also recently blogged about what I learned from coaching robotics, the innovative things you are doing in your classrooms and my excitement for PLTW here: Innovation, Problem-Solving and Learning from Failure: Is it Really in Your School?

Blogs, Tweets & Pins...Oh My!!!
*Schools Try to Establish College Going Culture