Principal's Update- 12/23/15

Happy Last Day of 2015!
Can you believe we already at Winter Break?  Time flies when you are having fun!  Thank you for your dedication, focus, and professionalism in 2015.  I'm so proud to call McKinley my home.  We have an amazing staff- don't ever forget that! 

Coat Racks- Lunchroom
Thank you to Justin Lang for creating a mobile coat rack for our students at lunch.  If you haven't seen it, stop in and check it out! 

Valet Parking for the Week:
The "Valet Parking" goes to Justin Lang.  Justin is an amazing Special Education Teacher and colleague to us all.  Justin goes above and beyond to build relationships while holding students accountable.  Justin's straightforward, yet compassionate approach with students is remarkable.  Also, Justin is always willing to step in and take the role of principal in my absence.  Thanks for all you do for us, Justin! 

Have an enjoyable, relaxing break!   See you in 2016- ready to finish the year strong!
Justin

Principal's Update- December 18, 2015

Happy Friday!
Can you believe it's already Winter Break?!  When we return on January 4, 2016, I will have officially completed my first full year as a "monkey"!  Thank you for learning and growing with me this past year.  This school is truly remarkable. 

Special Events Next Week!
Click here to see the events next week!

McKinley is featured in the Owatonna People's Press!
This month, McKinley is featured in the Education Edition of OPP.  Click here to see a PDF of the articles.   Thank you to those people who helped write articles! 

Resignation
Nick Woods has put in his resignation effective December 23, 2015.  Nick will be going back to school for an accounting degree.  I'm excited for Nick to continue his education, but sad we will be losing him.  Best of luck, Nick!

Lunch- December 23, 2015
I will be providing a taco lunch on Wednesday, December 23.  Please bring your own drink.  Come hungry and ready to eat!

Math Facts Month in January
We will be doing a school-wide math fact month in January (January 10-31, 2016).  We will take time to stress the importance of math facts (school-wide). More information will be coming on this! 

STEM Beliefs- January Power Hour Meeting
As a team, we will be defining our STEM school.  I think it's important for us to figure out what our beliefs are, but also what are our non-negotiables are in regards to STEM.  This meeting is open to ALL staff who are interested in attending.  We will meet Wednesday, January 27 from 2:45-3:45pm (I will pay staff to attend). 

Mindset - Misconception
A growth mindset isn’t just about effort. Perhaps the most common misconception is simply equating the growth mindset with effort. Certainly, effort is key for students’ achievement, but it’s not the only thing. Students need to try new strategies and seek input from others when they’re stuck. They need this repertoire of approaches—not just sheer effort—to learn and improve.

We also need to remember that effort is a means to an end to the goal of learning and improving. Too often nowadays, praise is given to students who are putting forth effort, but not learning, in order to make them feel good in the moment: “Great effort! You tried your best!” It’s good that the students tried, but it’s not good that they’re not learning. The growth-mindset approach helps children feel good in the short and long terms, by helping them thrive on challenges and setbacks on their way to learning. When they’re stuck, teachers can appreciate their work so far, but add: “Let’s talk about what you’ve tried, and what you can try next.” (taken from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/09/23/carol-dweck-revisits-the-growth-mindset.html)

Building Weekly Newsletter
Click here to see the building weekly newsletter

Valet Parking for the Week
We will not be doing a valet parking for the week due to the shortened week.

Have a great weekend- and gear up for next week!
Justin

Principal's Update- Friday, December 11, 2015

Can you believe it's December!?  I had my window open in my car yesterday as I drove home- crazy!

Random Updates:

• Assemblies & Special Events- Unless it's your prep time, you should be supervising students in the assembly/special event. 
• Internet Safety- Classroom Teachers, please take care of this and sign the sheet on Lorri's desk by December 23. 
• Lunch on December 23- Lunch will be provided on December 23.  Plan on bringing something to drink!
• Leaving building during day- you must sign out in office if you leave the building.   In the event of a lockdown or someone needing you, we need to know if you are in/out of the building.

January Math Facts:
As a school, we will be dedicating 3 weeks in January as "Math Facts Month".  The goal of this is to promote math facts to families and students in a short, three week manner.  Information and calendars will be coming on this in the next week. 

Growth Mindset:

This quote made me smile, thinking of our staff and students.  There's a feel to this building that is remarkable- a growth mindset of honoring the journey, not just the destination. 

Winter Concert:
What an amazing winter concert last night!  Our 3rd-5th graders and choir did an stellar job.  We've got some pretty great musicians in this building.  Thanks to everyone for being flexible with scheduling to make this concert happen.  Also, a huge thank you to Paige Moon and Jessica MacLeod.  It was a first-class event! 

Weekly Building Newsletter:
Click here to access your weekly building newsletter

Valet Parking for the Week:
The Valet Parking for the Week goes to Sylvia Zavala.  Sylvia is amazing at what she does.  She is great at helping students, but also helps serve as a connection between our school and our families.  Sylvia is dedicated and goes above and beyond to make things happen around here.  We are very lucky to have Sylvia serve our students and families! 


Have a great weekend, everyone! 
Justin

Principal's Update- Friday, December 4, 2015

TGIF - and happy workday!

Winter Benchmarking Starts Next Week
Winter Fluency Benchmarking starts Monday.  Thank you to our wonderful EAs and Libby Zeman for taking the lead on this!   Please make sure students are quiet in the hallway, especially in the areas where fluency is being assessed! 

STEM Sub Outs Start Next Week
We have STEM Integration sub outs starting next week.  Below is the dates/times each grade level will be subbed out with to work as a team on integration:

December 9- 2nd (AM), Kindergarten (PM)
December 16- 1st (AM), 3rd (PM)
December 17- 4th (AM), 5th (PM)

If your team hasn't let us know your focus for integration, please do so ASAP.  Below is a link with more details about the schedule and guest teachers: 
See the attachment regarding subs and times 

PBIS Data for November:
Below is some data for discipline from September- November.   Please remember to complete the referrals.  This isn't meant to be an extra step- collecting this data will help us see where, when, and why we need to offer more supports for students (example- if we see discipline issues in the hallway at lunch, we will need to station an EA in that area at that time). 

Also, please complete the referrals completely (date, time, etc.) 

	September	October	November
Number of referrals:	23	43	36
Location:
Classroom:	17	23	29
Hallway:	0	1	4
Playground:	5	2	0
Bus:	0	5	2
Restroom:	0	6	0
Other:	1	6	2
Problem:
Inappropriate Lang:	0	1	1
Fighting/Phy Aggression:	7	12	11
Disrespect:	11	14	16
Defiance:	7	6	8
Harassment/Bullying:	0	2	1
Disruption:	4	5	8
Theft:	0	1	0
Weapon:	0	0	0
Other:	0	5	11
Possible Motivator:
Peer attention:	3	8	11
Adult attention:	1	4	2
Obtain items/activity:	3	1	2
Avoid peers:	0	0	0
Avoid adult:	0	1	0
Avoid task or activity:	4	10	7
Don't know:	15	11	14
Other:	0	11	0
Number of OSS:	0	4	3
Number of ISS:	0	1	1

Referendum Update:
Click here to see an interesting document on the construction process for ISD 761. 

Winter Gear
Please make sure students are coming with and wearing their winter gear outside for recess.  If you have a student who doesn't have the "winter gear", please connect with the families.  If they need the resources, send them to Annette.  I've seen more and more kids coming without gloves, boots, etc...

Also, students can wear hooded sweatshirts to and from the portable.  Please allow them to grab their sweatshirt in their locker before music or art, if they need it.  Remember, we will make an announcement if students should wear a winter coat. 

MLK Professional Learning Day:
An email will be coming out regarding our MLK Professional Learning Day.  Below is some basic information (which could change):

Superintendent Grant will do a short welcome.  Then, for the next 90 minutes, we will listen to a presentation from Willow Sweeney (I've heard glowing reviews about her presentations).  After Willow's presentation, there will be three 1 hour sessions for you to register for.  The registration information will be sent out soon.  There are no grade level or department meetings.  You will have a late lunch that date- 12:50.  After that, we will be back at McKinley doing some de-briefing work. 

EA's- you will be working until 11:30 that day (Willow Sweeney all morning)
Paras & liasions- full day, working with Willow in the morning and then another training in the afternoon.
Food Services- Rachel will send information out regarding your day. 

Again, more information will come out.

Valet Parking for the Week:
The Valet Parking spot for next week goes to Peggy Radtke.  Peggy is an amazing teacher who strives to make physical activity a part of students everyday life.  She truly cares for all our McKinley students and wants them to succeed.  Peggy is so flexible, friendly, and a role model to all our students! 

Building Newsletter:
Click here to see the weekly building newsletter


And, a huge congratulations to Annette Kleinschrodt and Doug Warner who got engaged this week!  Apparently love is in the air here at McKinley! :)


Have a great weekend, everyone!
Justin

Principal's Update- November 24, 2015

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Hope you take some time this week/weekend to enjoy friends, families, and things you are thankful for. 

ASP- Block 2 Starts Tuesday
The new After School Program Block 2 starts Tuesday.  Please make sure anyone who is joining Block 2 has their registration paperwork turned into Lorri (even if they were enrolled in Block 1).

Inclusion Article
I had a parent recently share this article with me.  The email also came with compliments for our amazing staff.  We do a great job of building partnerships and collaborating- both with families, but also as a team. 

Click here to see the article!

Building Newsletter
Click here to see the weekly building newsletter

Valet Parking for the Week
Our Valet Parking for the Week goes to Jess Zupansic.  Jess's commitment to students, learning, and this building is outstanding.  Jess is always looking for ways to continue to grow and do what's best for kids.  Jess also has a positive, excited outlook on work that is contagious.  Thanks for all you do, Jess!

 

I'm amazed at so many things with this staff- your commitment, dedication, and the level of relationships you build with students!  Most importantly, I constantly brag about the mindset in this building.... we're a growth mindset environment.  Thank you for that (it's not a common thing outside of this building!).

Have a great weekend, everyone!
-Justin

Principal's Update- Friday, November 20th

Happy Friday!

I hope you enjoyed American Education Week.  I want you to know that I truly believe in what I said earlier in the week- it takes a village to raise a child.  Each of you play such an important role in making this place amazing! 


Winner, Winner!
Last week, I hid a sentence in the blog that said, "If you read this, email Justin".  I had only a few people send me emails. The prize for this little contest is an hour prep (with a trip to Starbucks) for one staff member while I cover for your class.  The winner- Kathy Feltes!  Kathy, connect with Lorri on a time and date and get your gift card for a Starbucks drink.  It pays to read the blog carefully! 

Winter Benchmarking
Winter DIBELS Benchmarking will be done by our wonderful Educational Assistants.  I don't think this will come as a huge shock to many of you- we've been talking about this for a while now.  Also, through our learning work with the Mattos book, we saw the importance of having a trained team do this for many reasons:  it doesn't take away instructional time, it is done with fidelity, it can be done more efficiently, etc.  Libby will be working with the EA's to train them- more information is coming on this!  

Popcorn with the Principal
Don't forget to write Leader in Me Slips when you come across students living the 7 Habits!  We only have 3 this time, so our Popcorn with the Principal will be a small group! 

Coats to Portable
Our plan is to allow coats to the portable on cold (below or near zero) days.  We will be encouraging students to have a hooded sweatshirt each day.  With the limited space in the portable, the art materials, and the spread of lice, it's too hard to expect coats on a daily basis.  We will try this for a while and see how it goes.

Mindset Link
I saw a great article on Twitter the other night on misconceptions with the growth mindset.  I even had some of the misconceptions!  Here's the article: http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/11/16/growth-mindset-clearing-up-some-common-confusions/

Resources for Close Reading
As follow-up to our staff meeting, Libby has provided some resources to close reading.  If you need help with these resources, or close reading, contact Libby (she would love to help you!). 

• www.readworks.org (Passages have a lexile, focus on a certain skill and many have questions included.)
• www.newsela.com (geared for 4^th grade and up – includes quizzes and aligned to common core)
• https://learn.thinkcerca.com/teacher/lesson_library (similar to NEWSELA)
• http://www.elm4you.org/ (If you are looking for a specific topic, this site is helpful.  Many of the sites on ELM either provide a lexile or provide 3 different levels of the same text content.)

Weekly Building Newsletter:
Click here to see the weekly building newsletter

Snapshot of McKinley Learning:

4th graders working with Mrs. Gislason on an arts integration of solids, liquids, and gases. Students were learning about the glass artist Dale Chihuly. In the pictures, they are predicting which cups will melt the fastest and recording their observations/graphs.

 

5th Graders engineering games at the Works Museum.

 

1st Graders participating in Literature Circles during the Power Half Hour. 

1st Grade and Intervention Teachers are using their common assessment data to

create flexible groupings in their five classrooms.

 

Valet Parking of the Week:
Our Valet Parking of the Week goes to Grandma Dee Dee!  Grandma Dee Dee is a daily volunteer in Lori Huisenga's classroom.  She is such a support for our second grade learners.  She is such a kind, positive woman who truly cares about kids.  We are so lucky to have her at McKinley! 

Enjoy your weekend.. and the snow (YUCK!). 
-Justin

Principal's Update- Friday, November 13, 2015

Happy Friday the 13th!
What a busy week!  Lots of updates for you....

Reading Night:
We had 97 people attend our Family Reading Night last night.  A special thanks to Sonya David, Danielle Nystrom, Libby Zeman, Lori Huisenga, Kayla Davis, and Laura Forman for planning a great night!  Each of the three stations focused on ways families can support reading at home.  There were some AWESOME games and strategies shared last night- I have some extra copies of games in my office if you are interested.  Below are some pictures from the night:

 

 

We need STAFF HELP!
Calling all staff..... I'm still looking for people for our McKinley 60th Anniversary Committee!  It will be really painless- I promise!  I'm looking for a group to create 1-2 events this spring to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our awesome school!  Let me know if you are interested! 

Growth Mindset:
I found this online the other day- a great reminder of ways we can stay focused on a growth mindset- both personally and with students! 

Bounce Card:
With all the work we are doing with collaborative learning, I wanted to share a resource I found years ago.  The "Bounce Card" is a way for students to learn how to engage in a conversation.  When I was teaching 5th grade, I had them laminated and would give each student one during small group time.  During a discussion, the card helps kids respond to each other's ideas in 3 ways- they have to bounce an idea off another student's idea, sum up what another student said, or inquire into another person's idea(s).  It helps kids stay focused on what productive group work looks like.  Click here to see the Bounce Card   If you have read this far, shoot me an email- I'll put your name in for a drawing!

Buffalo Wild Wings Night- Wednesday
Just a reminder- next Wednesday is McKinley's night at Buffalo Wild Wings.  What a great night to enjoy wings, your family, and support McKinley!  I also hear there will be bingo and Maynard will be making an appearance!

Weekly Building Newsletter
Click here to see the weekly newsletter

Valet Parking for the Week:
Our Valet Parking of the Week goes to Melinda Pilcher.  Melinda is such an amazing support for McKinley- for students and colleagues.  Melinda is always positive and focused on what's right for kids (this isn't just a job to her).  She has an amazing approach with students that makes them feel supported, but also accountable.  Melinda is wonderful asset to our team- thanks Melinda!


Karen Thurnau took this picture the other morning- a great picture of our Veteran's Day song. 

Enjoy the weekend- sounds like it's our last dose of nice weather before winter hits!
-Justin