What you've all been waiting for...

Wow, I can NOT believe how close the start of the year is...and I'm NOT ready!!! I know I say that every year, but this year I really mean it.  If you read my welcome back letter (or have stopped in to chat) then you know about Nathan's baseball accident. The poor kiddo ended up having 6 surgeries to repair/close off nasal arteries.  We were in and out of the hospital with a total of 13 days (12 nights) and our times in between at home were much like having a brand new infant in the house, because he had to have around the clock care. The good news is *knock on wood* he is on the mend with a new 3 day record of no bleeding and we will hopefully only return to UW Madison for his follow-up appointment. Through this crazy experience I reflected on lessons I learned and how I connected them to our work, which you can read about HERE if you're interested.

Oh, and by the way...this all happened during those golden weeks of the summer that I had planned to get everything accomplished for school. I think that falls under Murphy's Law, right?

So, if you're wondering if X, Y, or Z is ready...nope, it probably isn't, but it's on my list and I appreciate your patience with me!

What I DO have for you right now is.... Schedules!

On my memo site, the schedules are up (under the tab for Schedules)! These are also available to you in your google team drive (Dodgeland Elementary) in the folder "DES Staff Handbook." Some notes for you about the schedules: 

• There is a google spreadsheet for all schedules pertaining to teachers and a spreadsheet for support staff schedules. At the bottom of each spreadsheet you can find a tab for each separate schedule.  They are not fancy/pretty schedules being in this format, but they are easily accessible.  
• Please do not laminate them just yet.  I'm not planning to change anything, but I'm realistic that additional eyes looking at them will find mistakes that have few pairs of eyes may have missed. You will get copies of all of them in our first week back. 

What about your classroom schedules for reading, writing, math, WIN, etc?

• You will make your specific classroom schedule for each subject, but please try to stay within the core schedule framework (for some of you with odd specials times, I know this is not likely). 
• Please try to follow the minutes of: 60-90 minutes reading, 45-60 minutes writers workshop, 60+ minutes math. Yes, science/social studies can be every other day or even just one subject for a unit and then switch to the other subject for a different unit. 
• Do NOT change your WIN time. Mrs. Huelsman is working on our Title 1 SchoolWide intervention plan and we will be using the WIN time!

Math Expressions News:

• You are all getting new teacher manuals. You can feel free to keep your old one to compare or if you'd like to part ways early on, I can take the old ones to see if Follett (used books company) wants them. These books can be stacked in the mailroom. 
• The student workbooks also are new/different, so I can take any extras of the old version. 
• You are all getting a Differentiation kit. It's a giant portfolio with materials inside, along with a large set of the differentiation cards. 
  
• I'm hoping to get these delivered to your rooms next week to free up space in the office.  I just want you to know what new goodies you're going to be finding.  I will send info about workbooks/mathboards later.