Friday, April 5, 2019

Weekly Update - Friday, April 5, 2019

Happy Friday, McKinley! 
What a great week back from spring break!   I can feel the energy in the building - lots of learning and relationships!  We had a great Transition Day, too.  Below are pictures of the team dancing, cheering, and welcoming students back in the drop off lane! 





School Board Presentation - Monday:
McKinley presents to the School Board this Monday at 5:30pm at the District Office.  If you are available, wear your STEAM gear and join us for the presentation.  It's a great sign when our building shows to support our building and the hard work we are doing.

A special thanks to Jen Koziolek, Dani Rypka, and Libby Zeman who are helping lead the presentation! 

#lovemyschoolday is April 11
This Thursday is #lovemyschoolday on social media.  This is a date for us to fill social media with the reasons we love McKinley.  Start thinking of what you love - and capturing that with pictures and words!  Let's spend Thursday telling our "why" and showing the great work we are doing at McKinley!  (If you have read this far, email Justin Kiel to have your name entered for a drawing!).
Image result for lovemyschoolday 2019


Have you met our school tech goal in your classroom yet?(Information from Libby)

With just a couple of months left of school, I wanted to check in and see how everyone was doing with our technology goal:  100% of students will receive experience utilizing at least three out of four of the following 21st century skills:
  1. Google Documents
  2. Communicating with others online (blog, Google Classroom, Flipgrid, Seesaw, etc.)
  3. Taking and uploading video or audio recordings
  4. Reading online content.
 
If you have not yet done three of the four, an efficient (and engaging) way to address two is through Flipgrid (addresses 2 & 3).  It's a fantastic way to bring all of the students' voices into the room.  I'd love to help you set that up, and would also be glad to co-teach that with you; please send me an email or stop by and we'll schedule a time.  

Other collaborative tools I've spent some time exploring and would love to collaborate with you around: Pear Deck, Insert Learning, Edji, Padlet, Seasaw, Google Classroom (and I'm happy to dig into anything else you're interested in trying out)!  

EPIC is a tool that I know many of our teachers are using for reading online content.  

Let me know how I can support you and your students with technology!  



Days Left of School:
Just a reminder - this time of year can start to be hard for students.  Not only has rigor increased, but days can become unpredictable (schedule changes, field trips, etc).  Also, students know their time with you is coming to an end.  Please be aware of this as we enter the spring season.  Behaviors may increase - students may need more hugs and attention - or just support in general. 

Also, please remember the real message we send when posting (or stating) things like, "____ Days Left of School".   In doing this, we are showing students that we are "passing the time" to get to that date to summer break.   Please be aware of this as we close out the year. 

19-20 Class List Process:
As you know, we have started the process of planning for the 19-20 school year.  Below is a tentative timeline for developing class lists:  

Week of April 1 - Finalize section numbers
Week of April 18 - cluster sections are finalized (SPED & EL) - initial placements can begin by EL & SPED staff.
May 10 - Subout to create class lists
May 13 & 14 - Specialists offer feedback on lists 

Selena will be providing classroom teachers with placement cards in the next few weeks.  Please have these finished by May 10 (at your subout).  If you need directions, please use this document to help guide you.  

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

McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week:
The McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week goes to 1st Grade Teacher, Jess Zupansic!  Jess is a positive, collaborative, and caring educator who puts students' needs first in her classroom.  One of the things that impresses me most about Jess is her ability to be a "warm demander" - she believes in her students, provides the supports and relationships for each of them all while having high expectations.  Keep being #mckinleystrong, Mrs. Zupansic! 


Have a great weekend, everyone!
-Justin







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