Weekly Update - Friday, March 22, 2019

Happy Friday - and happy Spring Break!


Take Some Time for YOU Over Break! 
We've made it - Spring Break!  As we know, education can be a stressful job.   We are continually taking care of others, it's time to take care of ourselves!  Here is an article on the "21 Things Educators Should Do Over Spring Break" - if you are looking for ways to relax, check this article out!

I hope you all take some time to relax, rejuvenate, and focus on those you love!  You deserve it!

Transition Day - April 1:
We have a Transition Day on April 1.  As you know, the goal of a transition day is to rebuild relationships, re-establish routines, and regulate students.  Also, wear your jeans and McKinley gear to school (students included!).

A  huge thank you to Libby, Michelle Meiners, Lori Huisenga, Val Seath, Amy Wencl, Rachel Anderson, and Annette Warner for planning this important day! 

Click here for the transition day recommendations

MCA's Start After Break!
Just a reminder that MCA testing starts after break.  It's important that all staff check the schedule and keep the building, especially the 2nd-5th Grade Wing, quiet during testing.   Here is our MCA schedule for the spring. 

#lovemyschoolday is coming April 11! 

April 11 is #lovemyschoolday.   This is a day to fill social media with all the amazing things that happen at McKinley, every day!  Start to think - what do you love about McKinley?  Be ready to fill social media with this on April 11!


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

McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week:
The McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week goes to 3rd Grade Teacher, Karen Thurnau!  Karen is a compassionate, student-focused educator who strives to make her classroom a place for all.  One of the things that impresses me most about Karen is her continued commitment and advocacy to make sure we are meeting the needs of the whole child - academically, socially, and emotionally. She understands (and practices) the idea that our job is to educate beyond academics. Keep being #mckinleystrong, Mrs. Thurnau! 



Have a great spring break everyone!  I'll see you in April!
-Justin

Weekly Update - Friday, March 15, 2019

Happy Friday, everyone! 

Transition Day - April 1:
Just a reminder, our first day back from spring break will be a Transition Day.  We have a team working on the plans for this day - this should be emailed out next week.  Please wear jeans and your STEAM gear on your first day back!

Behavior Plans:  
Just a reminder - if you have students who are needing additional support, please put them on a behavior plan.  This includes students who are being sent to the office regularly.  I am seeing an increase in students being sent down to "complete their work".   I understand this is a last resort measure; however, I need to be involved the plan to help support the work time in the office.   If students are regularly not showing appropriate behavior, please complete a behavior plan.  Also, send Justin Lang or I the student's name.  We are keeping track of students on behavior plans - this will help design class lists next year. 

Behavior Plan Template 

Multicultural Pizza Night:
We hosted a Multicultural Pizza & Game Night on Tuesday Night.  We had a great turnout of families to enjoy pizza and play some games.   A huge thank you to our EL team for organizing this great evening!

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

McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week:
The McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week goes to 4th & 5th Grade EL Teacher, Laurie Wolhart!  Laurie is a positive, flexible, and student-centered educator who goes above and beyond to create high levels of learning in her classrooms.  Laurie has been instrumental in our roll out of co-teaching.  Laurie has worked hard to ensure that co-teaching has been a success in her classrooms.  This is largely due to her focus on co-planning, building relationships, and being focused on all students.  Keep being #mckinleystrong, Mrs. Wolhart! 


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

Weekly Update - Friday, March 8, 2019

Happy Teacher Workday (to those teachers) or Happy Day Off!
More snow on the way this weekend... will it ever end?!


Words & Environment:
Below is a picture of one of my favorite sayings.  Take some time for some personal reflection -  how do your words impact your environment?  If I am speaking with asset-based & positive language, what would my environment look like?  What about the opposite (negative) - how would my environment look?  You are like a magnet - you attract or repel based on this.   What words and environment do you want to live in?

Updates from PBIS Team:
Our PBIS team met last night and wanted me to remind you of two things:

First, if you haven't participated in the kindness chain, please do that in the next week.  If you have questions, contact your PBIS rep.

Second, please remember to start putting your name on the back of the McKinleyStrong slip.  It's nice for the family, the student, and our staff to know who gave the slip too!

Facilitative Talk Teacher Tip:
Below is a link to a Fountas and Pinnell blog entry on using facilitative talk during guided reading.  The entry is short, but contains some great information.  Take some time to read it!

https://fpblog.fountasandpinnell.com/teacher-tip-use-facilitative-talk-during-guided-reading

Expectations & Biases - Please Watch!
Below is a link to a powerful five minute video on race, biases, and your expectations as a teacher.  Before you watch this video, check your mindset.  There are two ways to approach this video - "I already do this" or "I'm opening my mind to this".   Whether we want to admit it or not, our actions, beliefs, and body language DO impact the way we interact and believe in students.  There's years of research to support this.  So, as you watch this video, I'm hoping you are thinking "I'm opening my mind to this" and have some self-reflection around your biases, beliefs, and expectations of each and every one of our learners.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjFiX-FvveM


Thank You to all YOU DO!
We celebrated three groups of wonderful people this week..

Educational Assistants & Paraprofessionals - we could not provide high quality programming for our learners if it wasn't for these wonderful educators.  Every day, they provide our learners with the social-emotional and academic supports our students need to be successful.  Additionally, they are another caring relationship that our students can count on.  Thank you for being #mckinleystrong!

School Social Worker - Our School Social Worker, Annette Warner, wears many hats every day.  Annette supports students, families, and staff with the resources and tools to be successful every day.  Annette helps ground us in students' social emotional needs - and remind us we are educating the "whole child", not just academics.  We could not do our work every day without Annette.  Keep being, #mckinleystrong!

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, Mark Langlois!  Mark is a relationship-based educator who strives to make his classroom environment a place for all.  This can be observed through Mark's compassion, mindset on students and learning, and his instruction.  One of the things that impresses me most about Mark is his approach to learning.  Mark is a natural at making any lesson engaging - whether it's through collaboration, a game, or any other approach!  Keep being #mckinleystrong, Mr. Langlois!



Have a great weekend, everyone!  Take some time for YOU!
-Justin

Weekly Update - Friday, March 1, 2019

Can you believe it's March, already?  Let's hope for no more snow!


Paraprofessional & Educational Assistant Appreciation Week:
Next week is Paraprofessional & Educational Assistant Week!  As you know, we could not do our jobs without this crew of amazing educators.  We will do some special events for each of them next week. Take some time to recognize and appreciate them!

School Social Worker Appreciation Week:
It is also School Social Worker Appreciation Week!  Take some time to

Grading Window- Teaching Staff:
The grading window is now open for teaching staff.  Please have all your grades in and completed by Monday, March 11 at 3pm.  We will be closing the window at this point.

Cause I Ain't Got A Pencil...
I've shared this in the past - a great reminder for us all.  Every time I read this, I am reminded to listen to our students to empathize and understand each of their lives.  We often assume - and use our biases - to determine what we think students should do.  However, when we really listen, we find out that there is more to the "story" than we are observing.  This always leaves me thinking - is this really an issue in the big picture of things?

Staff Power Hour - March 11:

On March 11th, during our staff power hour, we will continue our work on facilitative talk and the use of our prompting guides.  Please bring with you:

*A recent reading record (could be Benchmark Assessment or one that goes with a guided reading or LLI book)*Prompting Guides

We will be collaborating around how to respond to students the following day based on what you observe in the reading record.  

Please let Libby know if you have any questions.  

Mindset Shift & Behaviors:
There is a great article on working with frustrating behaviors and what mindset needs to occur.  Take some time to read this and reflect on your classroom.  With it being February/March, we can often get more frustrated (and less patient) with behaviors.  Please take some time to read the below article.   Also, if a student is frequently showing behaviors, please complete a tier 2 behavior plan for them.  This plan will help us make sure we (specialists, classroom teachers, office) are all practicing the same approaches to behavior.  Please share these with the team as you complete them.  

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

McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week:
Our McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week goes to Kindergarten & 1st Grade EL Teacher, Liz Stitzmeyer!   Liz is a compassionate educator who is an advocate for any student she works with.  Liz has been instrumental in helping us move our co-teaching model forward, as she understands (and practices) that collaboration, flexibility, and a focus on ALL will only improve our experiences for every student.  Keep being #mckinleystrong, Liz! 



Have a great weekend, everyone!
-Justin