Weekly Update- January 25, 2019

Good morning - and Happy International Fun Day at Work!

StudentsFirst
One of my favorite sayings (below) - a great reminder why we do this work and why McKinley is a great place for all.  Take a minute to read it and reflect....

Family-Teacher Conferences:
Just a reminder - we have Family-Teacher Conferences next Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.  This is a great time to collaborate with families through a mid-year check in/reflection.  Last year, we moved away from the traditional "come and get educational data" to more of a conversation, goal-setting, and collaboration time with families.  Our McKinley Staff does such a great job of engaging and collaborating with families- nice work!

Northfield Tour:
Northfield Schools were here on Tuesday to tour McKinley.  As I stated earlier, they are building a brand new elementary in the next year.  As the team left, I was expecting comments on the physical design of the building.  I did receive a few of those - however, most of the comments were centered around the "feel" and "culture" of our building.  Even the Superintendent (who later relayed this to Superintendent Elstad) commented that the building had a "feel" of a true learning environment.  They were impressed with the staff and their passion and commitment.  Please know this does not go unnoticed.  It's a great reminder for us all that we ALL create our culture. Keep being awesome and continuing to make McKinley a place for ALL.

Checking for Understanding:
Are you looking for new ways to check students for understanding, particularly formatively?  Check out this document for great ideas!

Cold Weather - Next Week:
It sounds like next week could bring some historical cold weather - which will result in a lot of inside time for our students.  As you plan for next week, please pay close attention to this - our students are use to (and wired for) fresh air and movement.  Next week will require some intentional planning on getting students moving - even if it's in a hallway, the Learning Studio, or if the gym is open.  Also, don't forget about the MakerSpace cart - this is a great way for students to be creative while using up some energy.  If you need ideas on what you can do, Libby or I would be glad to brainstorm with you! If you think of a great idea, Tweet it out!

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

McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week:
The McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week goes to 2nd Grade Teacher, Catie Stephani!  Catie is a compassionate, dedicated educator who creates a learning environment for all.  One of the things that impresses me most about Catie is her willingness to do "whatever it takes" to make sure students needs are met - academically, but also social-emotional needs.  Catie creates a strong classroom community that is focused on growth and learning.  You are #mckinleystrong, Catie... we are proud of you!


Have a great weekend, everyone!  Stay warm!
-Justin

Weekly Update - Friday, January 18, 2019

Happy Friday, everyone!

Family Night - A Cold Night's Read:
We had an awesome family night last night.  Families participated in Flipgrid, countless strucures being built, and more cubes in mittens that you can fathom... and much more!  A huge thank yo to Angela, Karen, Lori, Amanda, Sami, Denise, Julie, Rachel, and Libby for all your hard work to make this a success!

MLK Day - Monday:
Monday is one of our formal professional development day as educators.  The sessions and learning look amazing - I'm excited to see what learning you take away from Monday's session.  Please put yourself into that place as a learner and continue to grow as an educator, as well as person.  Also, join in and Tweet out your learning.  Let the world know what great work you are doing! 

Increase in Behaviors:
This is the time of year that is hard - for our students, but sometimes ourselves too.  We have seen an increase in office referrals in the last week (a 110% increase).  We are entering that time of year that the re-teaching of expectations may become a weekly - or daily - thing.  Also, please remember that behavior is no different than reading or math.  If a student struggles with reading or math, we support and re-teach the skills.   Why would we not with behavior, too?

Please do not forget about our tier 2 behavior plans, too.  You may have students who need to be put onto an assistance plan for a while. 

Family-Teacher Conferences:
Family-Teacher Conferences are coming up (Jan 29, 30, and Feb 1).   This is a perfect time to revisit growth and set new goals with students and families.   FastBridge data will be provided to you after the window closes (unfortunately, this is date is close to conferences - there will be a quick turn around on this). 

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

McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week:
The McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week goes to Educational Assistant, Steph Stolp!  Steph is a compassionate, dedicated educator who is always student-centered.  One of the things that impresses me most about Steph is her focus on what students need.  She is always looking for ways to continue to make sure McKinley is a great place for every learner!   Keep being #mckinleystrong, Steph! 


Have a great weekend, everyone!
-Justin

Weekly Update - Friday, January 11, 2019

Good morning!  Our first five day week in a while - and it was a great one!

What Can One Teacher Do About Trauma? Article
Below is a link to a great article on what we can do as educators to support students.  The article is geared at students who have experienced trauma; however, I believe it's good for just any student.  It focuses on a word - therapeutic encounters" and how we can create these as educators.  Take a few minutes to read...  Click here to read the article

Feedback:
As we learned, feedback is a critical component of the learning process.  This feedback includes teacher to student, student to student, student to teacher, and teacher to teacher feedback.  Below are 7 great reminders for providing feedback.  Feedback is powerful and a critical part of the learning process!

Major/Minor Discipline Referral Summary:
As a PBIS team, we have been tracking, monitoring, and providing supports for our major and minor discipline data.  Below is a link to this data- take some time to look through where, when, and what our discipline data is.  As you, February is often a time where discipline increases.  Take some time to familiarize yourself with what our discipline data currently is so we can be proactive in providing supports for the remainder of the year.

Click here to access the 18-19 data 

Below are some pictures from our Positive Office Referrals:

K-5 Summer School Update:
Our dates have been set for the 2019 K-5 summer programming, which is housed here at McKinley.  The program is July 8 - August 1, Monday-Thursdays only (8-12pm).  The program is housed at McKinley, so more information will come out as summer gets closer.

Registration will also come in later May, so look for that after spring benchmarking.

ISD 761 Foundation Grant
The ISD 761 Foundation Grants are due next Friday, January 18.  This is a great way to receive money for innovative programming ideas.  If you do complete a grant, please email me to let me know.  I need to go in and provide comments to your grant.

Integration Subouts Next Week:
Integration subouts are next week for classroom teachers.  If you haven't already, please send me your team's focus for this meeting.  Please note the days and times below - classroom teachers will be subbed out to integrate curriculum.

January 15, 16, and 17 - Integration Subouts

	January 15	January 16	January 17
AM:	2nd Grade 7:55-11:10 Subout	3rd Grade 7:55-11:05 Subout	5th Grade 7:55-11:20 Subout
PM:	1st Grade 11:15-11:45 Teachers eat 11:45-2:40 Subout *subs eat 11:20-11:50	11:05-11:35 Subs eat Kindergarten 11:35-2:40 Subout	4th Grade 11:25-11:55 Teachers eat 11:55-2:40 Subout *subs eat 11:30-12:00

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

McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week:
The McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week goes to Tier 2 Interventionist, Sami Nelson!   Sami has a natural gift at building relationships, collaboration, and creating engaging academic & social-emotional learning experiences for our learners.  One of the things that impresses me most about Sami is her commitment to every student, every day.  Sami works hard to ensure that McKinley is a successful place for all.   Keep being #mckinleystrong, Sami!


Have a great weekend, everyone!
-Justin

Weekly Update - Friday, January 3, 2019

Happy Friday, everyone!   

A huge thank you to those of you who helped dance and welcome students on Monday.  It was a great hit - despite the cold weather!

And, transition day was a hit.  It was great to see all the reconnecting, re-building, and re-teaching going on!  Nice work! 

Protected Core Instruction

Just a reminder of the importance of core instruction that is protected, high quality, and engaging.  As we enter into the remainder of the year, please continue to protect reading and math blocks.  As you know, 85% of our learners needs can be met through core instruction.  We have room to grow there; however, our work needs to continue to treat this time as one of the most important of the day.  


I Wish My Teacher Knew...
This story was featured on ABC New's "America Strong" segment.  A teacher in Colorado had students respond to "I wish my teacher knew...".  Her students responses were pretty powerful.  This is a great example of getting to know our students on a deeper level.  What a great way to have students "share" what they wish.  #iwishmyteacherknew

After School Program - Block II starts!
Our ASP Block II starts on Tuesday, January 8, 2019.  Please remind those who are participating.  Also, just a reminder that buses leave at 3:55pm.  Click here to see the ASP Block II document

McKinleyStrong Celebration - January 11:
Please do not share with students, yet...

We filled the jar!  As a reward, our students will enjoy some time outdoors. As a team, schedule an hour to enjoy some outdoor activities.  Please let Justin know what time you are planning on going outside.  

Possible Activities:

• Paint/Chalk
• Building stuff in snow
• Nature Center exploration
• Paint in the snow (water/food coloring in a bottle)
• Geocaching-would require planning and GPS’ from Meagher
• Team building games (grid game-Lang)
• Snow Olympics Obstacle Course

Hot Chocolate will be available in the Learning Studio during the day.   If the warmer is low, please fill it up for the next group.

We will need help with materials - do you have any of the following to bring in?

Water warmers

Pails

Sleds

Welcome Wagon Team! 
Our "Welcome Wagon Team" is officially ready to greet and support our newest McKinley Monkeys!  For those of you who don't know, two members of this team will be paired up with a new student on their first day of school.  They will help them tour the school, meet people, and be available during lunch and recess times.  Let's welcome our Welcome Wagon!

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

McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week:
Our McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week goes to 5th Grade Teacher, Amy Wencl!  Amy is an educator who is positive and focused on every student, every day.  Amy creates a classroom environment that is centered on relationships, differentiation of needs, and positive energy.   One of the things that impresses me most about Amy is her passion & dedication for making sure every students' needs are met.  Keep being #mckinleystrong, Mrs. Wencl!  

Enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend - it's going to be a "heat wave"! :)
-Justin