The Final Friday Focus - May 27, 2022

 

Great Things I Noticed this Week:

1. We made it!!!!

2. This email was sent from a struggling student to their teachers and other staff members. It is messages like this that make all our hard work worth it:    

 Most of you have known since freshman year. some of you have only known me for a year or two, maybe three but no matter how long you have known me. I have to say it's been a long ride but I do have to give credit where credit is due. I probably wouldn't be graduating without all the work everyone of you have put into teaching me and reminding me of stuff I have due. As my high school career comes to an end. I just wanted to say thank you to all the amazing adults I have had in my life helping me get here. I owe it to each and every one of you because without all of you I won't be graduating this friday.  

Nuts & Bolts Notes:

I will be emailing the agenda for the PD days this weekend (I'm sorry I don't have it ready yet for you!)

*Next week you have to park in the MS/HS parking lot

Tuesday, May 31st - 

*Advisors - please turn in your class list locker cleanout sheets so we know which student lockers still need to be taken care of. 

All of the following equipment must be turned in by Tuesday, May 31^st End of Day:

1. Document Camera
2. Web Camera w/Tripod
3. SuperDrives
4. Belkin iPad Keyboards
5. Logitech Mice
6. Microphones
7. Green Screen Kits
8. Bluetooth Headsets w/Charger
9. Specialty iPads (iOgrapher / Osmos / Speech)

If you need any of the above equipment for Summer School, you will still need to turn the equipment in by May 31st. The equipment can then be checked back out on Wednesday June 1^st or Thursday June 2^nd.

Just a reminder...

Certified Staff – We have yet to receive the new laptops that will be issued to you. At this time we will not be issuing new laptops on June 6^th as we had hoped. I am hopeful we will be able to start issuing new technology mid to late June. With that timeline we are expecting all currently issued  iPads and Laptops to be turned in no later than July 15. If you cannot commit to having your district issued iPad and Laptop turned into the Tech Department by July 15^th you can turn in your technology prior to you leaving for the summer. Any technology not returned by July 15^th will be issued a technology fine for the replacement costs of the devices.

End of Year stuff to complete:

*Alternative Compensation foms must be submitted to me for approval. I will then print it out for you to sign and return. 

*Grades due by NOON on Thursday. 

*Any purchase reqs for next year need to be turned in to me. 

*Submit extra duty forms. 

The Final Countdown Friday Focus!

 

Great Things I Noticed this Week:
*Many of our seniors were awarded scholarships on Wednesday night. It is incredible to see such great kids with strong academics, athletics and citizenship.  We truly are lucky to have such support from our community organizations to support our seniors off to college after all of their years of support from you!

*I've seen several end of semester projects for students demonstrating their learning in different ways: published pieces of writing, posters, videos, and presentations. It is great to see such high engagement in your rooms at the end of the year, which only happens with great planning and maintaining consistency in your classrooms to keep the engagement! 

*Staff rallying around students who need the extra support (and kick in the pants) to finish the year with success, whether it is to make sure they get to walk across the graduation stage or just pass classes to not have to come to summer school. Thank you for helping to support students through to the end!

*I really appreciate the problem-solving/idea-generating conversations to be prepared for the final week and starting planning for next year!

Upcoming Events:

Wednesday - MS/HS Faculty Meeting

Thursday - last day for seniors (and they need to turn in iPads 8th hour)

-ms students turn in ipads 6th hour

Friday - 9-11th grades turn in iPads 8th hour

9:30 HS Graduation Rehearsal

THE HELP OF EVERYONE IS NEEDED AT DISMISSAL!!! Please check this document to see where we need you to go to help supervise.

6:00 PM Graduation :)

Week of May 31

Monday - Memorial Day parades in our communities with our hs band participating :)

Tuesday- Packing Day for HS teachers

 8:30AM MS proactive behavior planning meeting

Wednesday/Thursday - Target Based Professional Learning/Target based curriculum work time -schedule to be shared with you next week

Thursday - 8:30 in IMC High School IEB brainstorming discussion to plan for next year

-Grades due by noon

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:

Middle School Last week details

*As students are cleaning out lockers, there will be bins for any supplies that can be donated to the Purple Purpose room. As you are cleaning (at school or home!) and have clothes or supplies in good condition, the NHS will gladly take your donations for Purple Purpose.

*If you need to review the end of year iPad procedures with students in your advisory, the slides are HERE.

*Any additional tech checked out by students must be turned in to the library (keyboards, hotspots, mice)

*It is SO important that teachers check when students are turning in ipads/blocks/cords and check off/initial their label.  Our awesome tech team begins going through these right away and we do send bills to students/parents.  If a student brings something to you after everything is collected, send them to the Tech Department.  Thank you so much for your help with this!

*Classroom tech equipment needs to be turned into the IMC by May 31 (i.e. doc cameras, tripods/web cameras, superdrives, belkin ipad keyboards, bluetooth headset/charger, etc.)
*Staff iPads/Laptops must be turned in by 7/1/22 for Certified staff. Support staff must turn in technology by 5/27/22.

Getting on my soapbox:

*Something I've heard this week is "kids probably won't be here the last day." I have heard this too and it's partnered with "nothing happens the last day."  Remember how much you planned for the first day of school to hook them in? What are you planning for the last day in their classrooms so they can't wait to come back after summer?  If you have nothing planned, then you're perpetuating the idea that nothing happens the last day and there's no reason to come. 

How to Keep Students Engaged at the End of the School Year

4 Meaningful Activities to Mark the end of the School Year

Sponge Activites at End of School Year. - A fun one on this list that stands out to me is 7)Philosophical Chairs Debate, 

Dates to keep on your calendar:

August 15 Dodgeland Summit
August 28, 1:00 - 3:00 Building Celebration and Tour

Friday Focus - May 13, 2022

 

Great Things I Noticed this Week:

*Our students' musical talents were incredible at both the middle and high school concerts this week. Kudos to Mr. Muenchow and Mr. Robinson for all of their hard work and preparation with students to be ready for two great nights of music!
*Several of our middle school students (who call themselves the Dodgeland Student Association) have been hard at work with passion and excitement to elicit student feedback to have some student-led changes to come next year. Thank you Mrs. Schulte for leading this.  They are also excited to help transition 5th graders to get ready for middle school!
*Our NHS students have been great recruiters to fill up the calendar for the blood drive. 
*Our seniors voted on their class gift to purchase a banner for inside the high school that reads: "Individuality makes us different, respect brings us together." What a great motto!

Upcoming Events:

Today - Neon Dance after school for middle school students

Wednesday - High School Faculty meeting (last week planning!)
 7:00 PM Senior Scholarship and Awards night (all are welcome to attend)

Thursday - Mr. Sterling's last day with us
3:15 - additional MS meeting to finalize plans for the last day of school (this wasn't on our calendar, but I know there's still a lot of details to plan!)

*While I want to announce our new principal, I still need to wait until after the board meeting. 

*Do you have your calendar marked for the August 15th Dodgeland Summit? This year we will also kick off our day of learning with a keynote by Keith Mountain on Rethinking Technology Through Engagement at Any Age. 

*Next Week's IEB/Advisory Doc is HERE

Reminders as you're preparing for summer:
* Middle School classrooms will be used for Summer School.
*High School staff will not have access to high school classrooms after May 31st.  If your room is getting windows for the skylights, all your cupboards will have to be packed up. That day will be for packing/cleaning. We will be in the IMC together on June 1st for PD/target based work.
*Classroom tech equipment needs to be turned into the IMC by May 31 (i.e. doc cameras, tripods/web cameras, superdrives, belkin ipad keyboards, bluetooth headset/charger, etc.)
*Staff iPads/Laptops must be turned in by 7/1/22 for Certified staff. Support staff must turn in technology by 5/27/22.

Friday Focus - May 6, 2022

 

Great Things I Noticed this Week:

*We recognized over 80 students at the Juneau Lions Paideia on Wednesday night. Since COVID started around this time in my first year, this is the first time I got to be a part of this event. It was so great to be together with our high achieving students and their parents to celebrate their accomplishments. Our students in attendance got to hear an incredibly inspiring message from Dodgeland alumni Christine Kjornes (Yes, relative of our current Kjorneses) about her zig zagging journey after high school.  Note to the ACP committee -we need to have her join our alumni panel next year!
*Sophomores highly engaged in reading the Julius Caesar script, excited to act out certain scenes. Even the students who don't like reading or literature were excited about it!
*I heard students return from AP testing eager to tell their teachers what was easy, what was hard, how they think they did. 
*ACT Aspire testing is DONE! Thank you to those of you who let me pull students out of your classes to get caught up on all the makeups. That's a wrap for all forms of state testing! (Although Mr. Sterling is still proctoring AP exams)

Upcoming Events:
Saturday - PROM :)
Monday - EP Support time in the IMC after school - no training, just a dedicated space/time if you need it and I'll be there to answer any questions you may have on the Documentation Log or the Alternative Compensation form. 
Middle School Music Concert at 7:00PM

Tuesday - Our new counselor, Mrs. Buss, will be here for the day. Please introduce yourself and welcome her to Dodgeland!
High School Music Concert at 7:00PM

Wednesday - MS Faculty meeting (planning for the last week!)

Wednesday, May 18th - 7:00PM Senior Scholarships & Awards Program (all are welcome to attend!)

Nuts & Bolts:

*Just a reminder that next Wednesday's advisory time is for preparing students' iPads for end of the year turn in.  Review the slides of this slidedeck before Wednesday so you have time to ask any questions to be ready to lead your students. 
*The IEB/Advisory doc for next week can be found HERE.

Blogs, Quotes & Tweets:

*Suceed in (Don't Just Survive) the Last Days of School

Friday Focus - April 29, 2022

 

Great Things I Noticed this Week:
*Our middle school students did a great job presenting their science fair projects - during the day for elementary students and in the evening with a packed crowd in the commons. Kudos to Mrs. Penterman and Mrs. Neis for coordinating this event and to the middle school teachers for being flexible to have students set up in their classrooms during the day. I heard many great comments from elementary teachers and parents!
*We completed ACT Aspire testing in the high school...with teamwork to get everything coordinated and patience when things didn't go perfectly...you know, just what you do every day! I also appreciate all the feedback collected in rooms at the end of the day. It sounds like our students want to learn how to do even better next year!
*Students were writing individual goals for the last month on their Work Habits skills in advisory...what a great way to give ownership of their behaviors for the last stretch of the school year. 

Upcoming Events:
*MS Forward make-ups are done, but I still have ACT Aspire makeups so I will be pulling 9/10th graders to get those completed.
Wednesday - District wide all staff (certified/paras) meeting regarding end of the year (this one last until about 4:00)
*7:00 Juneau Lions Padeia to celebrate our high school students' achievements (we haven't had this event since pre-pendemic!)
Friday - I will be out of the building at CESA 6 until around 1
Saturday - Prom

Nuts & Bolts:

*MS Faculty - please let me know if you have a new Fun Friday choice to add to our final month's selection.
*The IEB/Advisory doc for next week is HERE.

*Scheduling update - Remember when I said we had a plan for scheduling to be done in March? It was a great plan...until other things started happening. ;) It's just like the schedule/to-do list that seems great until the day gets started, which I know you can relate to you. I know some of you are anxiously waiting to know what your classes will be next year, especially for budgeting purposes. 

 As you know, from Dr. Thompson's information that has been shared multiple times, being a declining enrollment school district means that our budget is challenging. We value our staff and want to keep everyone, but that does mean there are some shifts in positions being made.  With every challenge we encounter, also brings opportunity to look at our students' needs and the strengths of our staff to put the best-looking puzzle together. 

For most teachers, there won't be any drastic changes in courses. For some, there will be so I'm having individual conversations with the people who are most affected by change first and then I'm scheduling meetings to get into the details of which individual courses are running and hope to schedule all of those next week. 
Thank you for your patience with me. :)

*The hiring update on counselor and principal should be coming out next week. 

Blogs, Tweets & Quotes:

End Your School Year with What Matters Most "Beginnings set the tone, but endings don't just come together on accident. There's something special about a narrative that ends really well."

Friday Focus - April 22, 2022

 

Great Things I Noticed this Week:

*Great teamwork in helping to coordinate make up testing at the middle school and collaborating to prepare for ACT Aspire testing at the high school for next week. 

*Our middle school students have been engaged and hard at work completing their science projects that they will present at the upcoming inaugural science fair. 

*We have several high school students who have been helping with the first ever elementary musical (the performance is Saturday). It is so great to see our students finding additional ways to be connected in school while supporting others. 

*HS athletes helping run events at the MS track meet. Many of you were at the track meet and could have complained about it, but I heard so many of you connecting with students and colleagues with a mindset to enjoy the opportunity of the evening (even when it got cold!)

Upcoming Events:

Monday - I will be out of the building at CESA 6 until around 1. 

Tuesday - Middle School Science Fair 5-7PM

Wednesday - ACT Aspire testing for 9/10th graders all day (no high school classes)

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:

*We have been in the process of interviewing candidates for both the counselor and principal positions and hope to have updates to share with you in the near future. 

*Here's next week's Advisory/IEB Doc: Week of April 25

*As we get closer to the end of the school year, please do not start a countdown with your students to summer....what message would that give them about how you feel about having them in your room? If YOU need to have a countdown, how about this...after today we have 25 days left to make an impact on our students this year! Every one of those days matters!

*Dodgeland Summit info: Dodgeland is very excited to share that this summer we will resume Dodgeland Summit! Summit is a conference style professional development event to help you get a jumpstart on your year. The sessions you attend will prepare you for your amazing year ahead, as well as provide you with one checkmark toward your alternative compensation plan, all before our students even enter the building! This year's summit will take place on Monday, August 15 from 7:45am-12:00PM. Continental breakfast and snacks will be provided throughout the morning to fuel your learning brain. 

Please take a few moments to complete the Dodgeland Summit Form to indicate your interest in attending, possible session topics, and even your participation by presenting a session. 

Please complete the form by Friday, April 29th. 

It will be exciting to learn together again!

"Blogs, Quotes & Tweets:
*The Magic of Mistakes: 4 Ways to Boost Critical Thinking with Mistake Analysis

Friday Focus - April 8, 2022

 

Great Things I Noticed this Week:
*Students speaking up for a peer when they saw others being unkind.
*Use of the Employability Skills as a focus of conversation when returning back from break - looking at how they are each expected in the classroom. It was great to hear one student who recently started working and said his boss has a lot of the same expectations! This is exactly why we're teaching employability skills and using them in our conversations with kids (and also Work Habits at middle school).
*Our juniors were emailed their ACT scores. I've heard several conversations from students talking about their results - some proud of what they accomplished and some already wanting to retake it for a better score in the future. Isn't it great to hear academically focused conversations?  (For those of you just as eager as me to see the full list of scores, I haven't received it yet. All I know is what students have reported to me).
*We have a senior who spends half of his day as a Youth Apprentice for welding who is such a shining star there that they had him go speak at another school as a representative for the Youth Apprenticeship program. What an incredible spotlight!
*I heard some high school students complaining about the new IEB rules (well, they're not new, we're just rebooting them to utilize our time well!). Why do I include this in Great Things I Noticed? Because it's just like when I make choices to eat healthier and I complain about needing to eat vegetables and no chocolate...I know it's good for me, even if I don't like it. And...let's be real, when I do eat the vegetables, I do feel better! ;)

Upcoming Events:

Monday - 3:15 IMC EP Training - this one is not required and not really a training; rather the time/space/chocolate/support for you to work on your documentation log. 

*The Middle school will be taking the Forward test next week Monday - Wednesday.

Friday - No School

Planning ahead for the week of May 30th: As you know, Dr. Thompson already shared that May 31st is the last day we can be in the high school so this will be a day of packing before it is closed off for construction.  June 1st will be a day of professional learning in the IMC for MS/HS combined on our target based work. Becky Peppler from First (Garth's organization) will be with us this day to support our continued work. You will then have time on June 2nd to work on learning targets, assessments, rubrics, etc. More details will come as we get closer. 

One thing you can do is keep a folder (in Onedrive of course!) of examples of student work that demonstrates different levels of proficiency for your learning targets. This can help you in the future as you develop clarity for students in the following year. 

"Nuts & Bolts"

*Next week's HS IEB doc is HERE.

*We've been having some continual issues at both building levels of behaviors that are not being good digital citizens:

• Taking photos of others and air dropping them in class to others to make fun of others.
• Air dropping memes as a distraction in class. 
• Taking pictures on phones and posting them to social media to bully others
  

Back in my day, we had some of this, but it was with passing notes in school. Obviously it's much tougher to deal with now, but I ask you to continue to be vigilant with following through on the expectations for phones in class (they should be put away in high school and NOT at all in middle school) and to address when you notice airdropping distractions or taking pictures of others without their behavior.  I'll be looking for some videos that could be used in aspire classes to address these issues to share with you all. If you know of a good one, please share so we can help prevent cyberbullying and class distractions together.

Reminder from the Tech Department: 

• Technology Spring Cleaning (Reminder message from the Tech Department)
• Trash those old digital files before saving to the cloud!  Check out the staff resource page for more saving tips or stop by the tech department for a quick one-on-one session.
• Turn off your classroom display by holding down the power button on the board or the remote control. You can give your board a quick clean by spraying a microfiber towel with the pink rejuvenal spray and wiping it down.
• Encourage students to clean their iPad by cleaning yours too! Spray a microfiber towel with the pink rejuvenal spray to clean the screen and the case too.  DO NOT take the iPad out of the case to clean and DO NOT spray directly on the iPad.

Blogs, Quotes & Tweets:

*Why Your New Classroom Management Plan isn't Working