May 30 Update

Happy Friday!

5 more days!  Let's finish the year strong!

Monday & Tuesday:

Just a reminder - I am out of the building on Monday and Tuesday.  Please try and handle as many situation as you can.  Amanda is available to support those issues that need office attention.  

Staffing Updates:

We have a couple people leaving McKinley this year...

Anna Stocker has accepted a music position in Sauk Rapids at the secondary level.  Anna went to college in that area and is excited to return.  She has been a great addition to our team and will continue to do great things! 

Jill Schweisthal is retiring at the end of this year.  Jill has been our Head Cook for 8 years and was the Head Cook at Willow Creek for many years before this.  Jill has worked hard to make our McKinley Kitchen one of the best.  She will be greatly missed!  

Please join me in congratulating both Anna and Jill on their next chapter! 

End of Year Checklists:

Linked below are checklists to help you with is expected at the end of the year.  Please note - certified staff will need to schedule a checkout time this year to ensure we are on the same page.  

Certified Staff Checklist (please note the request to sign up for a checkout time)

Para/EA Checklist

End of Year Stations:
Linked are our end of the year stations for Friday, June 6.

Also, here is a reminder of some upcoming events..

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Have a great weekend!

-Justin

May 23 Update

 Happy Friday!

EL Access Data:

The preliminary ACCESS data was released this week to our EL staff.  Overall, we have 30 kids in the entire District exiting EL services.  Of those 30 students, 15 of them are from McKinley!  This speaks to the dedication and care you provide our learners every single day!  Congrats! 

End of Year Checklists:

Linked below are checklists to help you with is expected at the end of the year.  Please note - certified staff will need to schedule a checkout time this year to ensure we are on the same page.  

Certified Staff Checklist (please note the request to sign up for a checkout time)

Para/EA Checklist

End of Year Stations:
Linked are our end of the year stations for Friday, June 6.

Also, here is a reminder of some upcoming events..

MESPA Fellow:

I am sharing something a little personal this week.  MESPA (MN Elementary Principals' Association) has started a new "fellowship" program for the 25-26 school year.  I was chosen, along with 4 other principals in the state, to provide professional learning, support, and leadership to all the other elementary principals in the state.  I'm super excited for this honor.   The reason I share this is I am attending a conference on June 2 & 3 in Philadelphia.  I will be out of the building for those two days.   Please be aware of this with any requests on those two days.   

Update on SPED Staffing:

Next year, we have 4.5 FTE in our setting 1-2 case managers.  As you know, Matt Williams will be joining Katie, Amber, and Joan to program for setting 1-2.   Additionally, we have Kira Schiller (Early Childhood Special Ed teacher) joining us for afternoons only.  Please join me in welcoming Kira to our team!  

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

May 16 Update

Happy Friday, McKinley!

Another great week of learning and relationships!

Just a few reminders:

• The library closes next Thursday for the rest of the year. 
• PTO Ice Cream Social is next Thursday from 5-6:30pm.  Stop and enjoy some ice cream!  
• Class list process starts Monday!  
• Last day of interventions is Friday, May 30.  

Toot Your Horn:

Back by popular demand..... or because I actually remembered to do it.....

We have three Toot Your Horn receipents this week - Val Seath, Katie Demmer, and Anna Stocker!  

Val Seath was nominated by Kate Seifert for Val made a garden plan and slide show that is so user friendly! It covers many of our standards, has videos and great explanations. We used the slides as directions before going out as a class to work in the garden. Following her steps made expectations clear so we could concentrate on the fun!

Katie Demmer was notminated by Kate Seifert for Katie brought an exciting lesson about fractions for my 3rd graders. She brought her energy and enthusiasm, and great encouragement of math thinking. The kids loved the activity, were critically thinking, using manipulatives and explaining their thinking. Thank you Katie for the refresher!

Anna Stocker was nomninated by Kate Seifert for We know Ms. Stocker does amazing things with our elementary students-helping develop young musicians; but it was so fun to see her direct the middle school band! Thank you for your many "hats" you wear, Anna, and for your gift of music for the students throughout the district!

End of Year Dates:

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Have a GREAT weekend!

-Justin

May 9 Update

Happy Friday, McKinley!

And, Happy Educator Appreciation Week!  I hope you felt the small gestures of appreciation and care this week.  You are truly an amazing group of people!  

Happy Mother's Day to all those in the building celebrating!  Thank you for being a mom at home, as well as caring for our learners here at school!  You are appreciated!  

Classroom Connection Day:

Next year, we will be doing "Classroom Connection Days" (formerly Before School Interviews).  The main reason for this change is to move this time to more of a conversation between the family, student, and the teacher.  We will not be doing the BAS assessment anymore.  There will be more information provided, but I wanted to give you a heads-up in case you started to see "Classroom Connection Day" being used.  More to come!  

End of Year - 2 reminders:

As we wrap up the year, please remember that the end of the year can be fun, as well as stressful (for students, as well as staff).   This stress can come from the unknown of summer break (having enough food, not seeing my trusted adults, etc) as well as the changes in schedules and consistency.    In thinking about this, I'm asking staff to do two things.  

1. Stick to your schedule, as much as possible.  We are still teaching and running a normal schedule up until the end of the year.  This provides that predictable environment for all.  

2. Do not have countdowns in your room.  This is a visual reminder for some (some are happy, but some have stress because of this).  If you have "21 days left", this sends two messages - we are only hear to "do the time" and after those days, I may not have the consistency and trusted adults in my daily life.

Perspective Matters:

As we close up on these last weeks of school, please remember that your perspective matters.  What view are you choosing each day?  

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Have a great weekend - and hope you mom's are taken care of this weekend!

-Justin

May 2 Update

Happy Friday, McKinley!

Lots of random, yet important, updates!  

Lunchroom Super Heroes:

A huge thank you to our Food and Nutrition Services team for all they do to keep each of our learners fed so they can do their best work.  Thank you to Jill, Stacy, Carol, and Sarah - we are so thankful for you.  Happy Nutrition Services Week!  

Educator Appreciation Week

Next week is the week to honor ALL of you! 

Track Meet - Tuesday:

Linked is the schedule for Tuesday's track meet.  Please take a moment to look at it (please note - all grades may be impacted, even if you aren't at the track meet).  It's suppose to be a beautiful day weather-wise for our track meet!  

Family Scavenger Hunt:

The below paragarph was shared with families yesterday.

Saturday, May 24 is National Scavenger Hunt Day! And, McKinley is joining in!

Below is an RSVP to request a family scavenger hunt kit. The kit, which contains everything you need to do a scavenger hunt at home, will be sent home with your oldest child on Friday, May 23. Your family can join in on the fun the next day to participate in a scavenger hunt!

If you are interested and plan to do the scavenger hunt, please RSVP below by Friday, May 9. Please only complete if you are planning to do this. One kit per family. Your family will do the scavenger hunt at home on your own timeline.

If you have questions, please reach out to our Main Office at 507.444.8200.

https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSdJASh7Wfb.../viewform...

Fastbridge Schedule & Plan:

Please take a minute to read below:  

Reminders for Fastbridge benchmark assessments:

• If, for any reason, you feel a student's score is invalid, please contact the building principal and coach to discuss whether the test needs to be re-administered. Our district coordinator monitors if a test is taken more than once to ensure the validity of district-wide results. Teachers should not be deleting scores and re-administering assessments.

•  Refrain from pre-teaching or practicing specific test items or passages.

Thank you for your help in maintaining the validity of our testing practices.

Click here to see the schedule and plan for Fastbridge testing

End of Year Dates/Stations:

End of Year Stations - Friday, June 6 (please sign up to lead a station)

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend - summer is coming!

-Justin