Weekly Update- March 24, 2017

We've made it.... SPRING BREAK!

Before you leave for spring break, please:

• Get food of your rooms
• Unplug & shut-off electronics
• Shut your blinds & make sure window is locked
• Lock your door
• Get food out of lounge by 2:00pm (it will be thrown away at this point)
• Turn timecards into Lorri by 2:45pm.

Random Updates:

• Kelly Johnson will start as our IT Specialist on Monday, April 3.  Kelly has worked in the District for many years and does great work.  Please help welcome her to McKinley!
• Monday, April 3rd is the MN Twins Home Opener.  You should have received a ticket to join in on the hot dog lunch.  Wear your Twins gear on Monday to help support the Twins!
• Congrats to all who received an ISD 761 Foundation Grant - Amanda Gislason (bookmaking & papermaking centers), Kindergarten Team (Power 1/2 Hour Reading Resources), and the STEM Cohort (outdoor learning classroom supplies).  Way to go! 

Staff Power Hour:
We had a great discussion around equity, poverty, and engagement this week.  Below are the 3 action steps we decided to try before our April 26 meeting:

• Try a working memory activity with students
• Provide think time - design your lesson around 5-8 minute chunks with think time built-in.
• Don't let students go home with deficits - remember the 3:1 formula (3 positive experiences to 1 negative)

Click here for the meeting notes

DIBELS- Spring Benchmarking Dates
We will do our spring benchmarking on May 10-11 in the portable (thank you Amanda and Paige for being flexible with your space!).  Our make-up day will be May 12th.   More information will come on a schedule; however, save the date!

Student Appreciation Video - KARE 11:
Michelle Meiners shared this video with me - it's a video compilation of teachers explaining what they appreciate about students.  Each of the clips is a surprise for the student - the teacher shares what they appreciate.  It's a great video - well worth the time to watch!
http://www.kare11.com/news/big-lake-teachers-show-students-love-in-viral-video/424403811

Twitter:
For those of you not on Twitter, you are missing out!  Below are 7 effective ways to engage in Twitter.  See me if you have questions - well worth the time to sign up!

April 11- #lovemyschoolday:
April 11th is #lovemyschoolday.  More information is coming on this, but I'm hoping we participate.  It's a great way to show what great work we are doing and why we love McKinley!

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

Valet Parking for the Week:
The Valet Parking for the Week goes to Special Education Paraprofessional, Stacy Champeau!  Stacy has a strong background in working with students - and it shows in everything she does.  She does a great job of being flexible, patient, and builds strong relationships with our students.  Stacy is always focused on helping support students and teachers.   Keep up the great work, Stacy!


Have a great Spring Break, everyone!  Take some time to re-charge your batteries for a great ending to the 16-17 school year!
-Justin

Weekly Update - March 17, 2017

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  And, happy Friday! 

Why not start Spring Break one week early?  This Monday is BEACH DAY for staff!  Come to work dressed in your shorts, sunglasses, and sandals!  We will have "beachy" (not even a word!) in the lounge during the day on Monday.  There will be prizes for those who participate!  

Before & After School:
One thing I love the most about this building is the "feel" in the morning as students enter our building.  I believe a huge part of this is due to everyone being in the hallway, greeting and welcoming students.  This past week, I saw the below statement on Twitter: 

What an interesting fact - engagement increased just by being at the door and welcoming students.  Remember, students need to feel welcome and a relationship before they will learn from you.  Kudos to McKinley for "all in the hall" before and after school. 

PBIS - Meeting & Reflections:
We met this week for PBIS - click here to access the meeting notes

I sent an email out earlier this week, but wanted to reiterate something.   I know many of us are thinking "this place is out of control" or "these kid are out of control!"  At times, I find myself thinking the same thoughts.  However, when we really analyzed the data, we found that PBIS Is working - most of our students are meeting our expectations! 

We analyzed discipline data since December to look at students who had 3 or more referrals.  When we pulled this, we found there are only 23 students in the building who fall into this category (3 or more referrals).  As much as we want ALL students meeting expectations, it's a huge celebration that  around 570 are meeting expectations!  Wow!    

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

Valet Parking for the Week:
The Valet Parking for the Week goes to 3rd Grade Teacher, Karen Thurnau!  Karen is collaborative, dedicated, and a learner.  One of the things that impresses me most about Karen is the way she looks at the whole child - not just the academics.  She is always trying to understand the true picture of this child and what she (and we) can do to advocate and support the child.  Keep up the great work, Karen! 


Have a great weekend, everyone!  One more week...
-Justin

Weeky Update- March 10, 2017

Happy Friday! 
Can you believe we have 54 days left of school?  54 days... wow.  54 days left to make a difference in our students' lives.  54 days equals 351 hours;  351 hours equals 21,060 minutes.  That isn't much time left for us...  let's keep making an impact on our students by making each day, hour, and minute count. 

Happy School Social Worker Week to the fabulous Mrs. Warner!  Mrs. Warner does so much for our students, families, and staff.  Annette is constantly reminding us about the "whole child" and all the struggles/experiences they may face outside our school building.  She always reminds me to give supports and focus on all kids.  Thank you for all you do, Annette! 

My Attendance:
It's that time of year again - I'm pulled from the building for meetings.  I know it's been frustrating for some of you that I'm not available on some times/days.  I do want you to know that I've been busy with planning groups for the new school, planning for next year with the other elementary principals, and staffing meetings.  Believe me, I'm not off on an island somewhere laying on the beach (as much as I may want to be).  Lorri and Justin are always available to step in when needed.  Also, I'm always an email or text away. 

Developing GRIT in Reading:
Check out the District Literacy Blog!  The latest post was written by our fabulous Literacy Coach, Libby Zeman, and focused on developing GRIT in reading.  It even features another fabulous staff member, Jen Koziolek.  Check it out!  http://owatonnalitcoaches.blogspot.com/2017/03/developing-grit-in-reading.html?m=1

Construction Update:
The District website contains a page on the updates for construction - check it out for a photo gallery of the Willow Creek site: http://www.owatonna.k12.mn.us/page/hot_news/view/115

Declutter your Space:
With our move to a new school, this article stood out to me - how to declutter your space to increase creativity.  Remember, we are moving into an open school with less storage... we need to start cleaning out!  https://www.edutopia.org/blog/decrease-classroom-clutter-increase-creativity-erin-klein?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Twitter (repeat post):
This has shown up in previous blogs, but it's something worth sharing again!  For those of you who are not on Twitter, it's time to join.  You will love it.  For those of you who are on Twitter, below are some ways to continue your growth on Twitter.  This year, I started participating in "Twitter Chats" with fellow principals (below).  The conversation and PD is awesome!

Don't forget about our hashtags: 
#mckinleystrong for information and events around our school community
#mckinleyPD is a spot to share professional development ideas/articles/links

Principal of the Day- Mason Ihrke
On Tuesday, March 14, Mason Ihrke will be taking over as "Principal of the Day".  I will be meeting with him Monday to see if he wants to declare Tuesday as some type of dress-up day... I'll be in touch after your new boss makes that decision!

A SnapShot of Learning:

 

Michelle Simons's class used the engineering process to build towers today.  They used teamwork and grit! 

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

Valet Parking of the Week:
The Valet Parking of the Week goes to 1st grade teacher Rachel Peterson!  Rachel has been a wonderful addition to our first grade team.  What impresses me about Rachel is her knowledge of teaching and each of her students.  Rachel builds strong relationships with each of her students and truly knows them as learners, as well as people.  I

Weekly Update- March 3, 2017

Happy March!  And, happy Friday! 

School Social Worker Week:
Next week is School Social Worker Week -  we will honor Mrs. Warner for all the work she does to support our students and families! 

PLC's Monday:
This Monday, March 6 is a Teacher Workday.   Just a reminder - please let Libby and I know the time your PLC will meet on this date, if it's not at 2:45pm (remember, you can meet during the day on a workday).

PBIS- February Data:
Below is a link to our February ORD data at McKinley.  As you can see from the data, office referrals are extremely high this month- even compared to this time last year.  The PBIS team is currently analyzing this data and will meet on March 14 to provide some recommendations to our staff on the "why" of this data.  It's alarming that it's this high, especially since we have been getting outside for recess (usually a lot of indoor recesses raise the level of discipline).

Click here to access the February office referral discipline (ORD) data

I Wish My Teacher Knew...
I recently read an article where students shared "I wish my teacher knew..."  It's a quick, interesting read that will make you stop and think more about our students and their lives outside of our school.  https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/31/well/family/what-kids-wish-their-teachers-knew.html?_r=1

Poverty & Engagement Work Follow-Up:
At our last Staff Power Hour, we committed to trying three things before March 22.  How is that going?  Here are the three action steps:

1. Say what you do want instead of what you don't want (rule #4, page 29-30).
2. Find time to get to know kids.  Try a relationship thing every day.  Let students know something about you or do a mini-morning meeting (some personal sharing).
3. Watch your body language throughout the day.  As we read, body language sends many messages to students, staff, and families (without us even realizing it!).

Classroom teachers, I will be setting a short training on morning meetings in April.

A SnapShot of Learning:

Dani Rypka's 1st graders used the snow to practice two-digit adding and subtracting by making base ten blocks of snow! 

 

Mark Langlois's 5th graders spent some time at Maple Creek this week.  This is part of their year-long trout project with the MN DNR.

 

Our McKinley Science Fair Regional Winners!  A special thank you to Rachael Eickhoff and Lori Huisenga for organizing the science fair!

 

 

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

Valet Parking for the Week:
The Valet Parking for the Week goes to Special Education Paraprofessional Bernie Jensen!  Bernie joined us this year, having worked most of her career at the Owatonna ALC.  Bernie has been a wonderful addition to our special education team!  Bernie is flexible, compassionate, and collaborative.  Bernie understands how to de-escalate situations to keep students focused on learning.  She also understands that students need strong relationships and to feel valued here at school.   Keep up the great work, Bernie! 



Have a great, relaxing weekend!
-Justin