September 25 Update

Happy Friday, McKinley!

I hope you've had a great week!  I love seeing the relationships, routines, and happiness that has filled the building again.  

Walkie Talkies:
If you are going outside (outdoor learning and recess), please contact the office and bring a walkie talkie with you.  We are seeing more and more of trying to get a hold of a teacher and they are outside. Please get the walkie and return immediately when you come back in.  Thank you!  

Birthday Books:
Don't forget to send students down for a birthday book on the day they celebrate their birthday! 

Mindset:

Please don't forget about the power of your mindset.  I recently came across the below quote - "deficit mindset is like an oil spill - it coats every organism, it obscures beauty, it does great harm to the environment, and it's tedious to clean up."  Please remember this as we enter into the 20-21 school year.  If your mindset looks for deficits, you will find it.  But, your thinking also impacts the environment and "beauty" of McKinley.   You are responsible for the mindset you bring to McKinley each day!  :)

Google Meets - Virtual Whiteboard:
Below is a tweet from our Technology Department regarding a virtual whiteboard that is built into Google Meet.  If you need assistance with this, feel free to connect with Brent or Libby.  Also, if you aren't on Twitter yet, now is your time!  Twitter is an amazing spot to learn new ideas, share resources, and collaborate. It's free- join today! 

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

I hope you are able to relax and recharge this weekend!  Go do something for YOU!

Have a great weekend!  Justin

September 18 Update

 Happy Friday, McKinley!  I hope you had a great week of learning and relationships! 

Just a reminder - complete your Benchmark Assessments by Friday, September 25th.  They should be entered into Infinite Campus by 9/30.  Please see your Reading Leadership Team rep or Libby with questions.

Staff Daily Health Check:

Please make sure you are checking your conditions each morning.  If you are not feeling well, or showing symptoms of illness, please connect with myself or Judy.  

Twitter Challenge:

Congrats to Katie Demmer's class for winning the Twitter Challenge.  This was a hard decision as there were so many great entries.  Below is 2A's submission:

Face Coverings:

It is imperative that we are monitoring masks and face shields in the building - with staff and students.  Masks or face coverings are required.  If you are wearing a shield, you must have a mask when you leave your instructional area.  Also, please be monitoring masks in your classroom, too.  Students need to be wearing masks unless you have built in a mask break.  Please watch this!  

Badges:

Also, don't forget about your badge.  You must be wearing your badge at all times.  

Power Hour: 

We had a great PowerHour this week - thank you for your passion and learner-mindset!  A few reminders- 

Don't forget about positive communication - including Positive Office Referrals.  The more we can build relationships and communicate, the better! 

What's your Call to Action (CTA) from Monday?  Check in with your accountability buddy!  

Slideshow from Monday's Power Hour

Devices:

We need your help with device assignment.  Each device has a barcode and has been issued to an individual student.   When Brent goes in to look at these, the names on the device and the barcode "assignment" don't always match.  This is an issue as the family will be billed if the device is not returned.  This is where we need your help - 

First, make sure the name (if you put a tag on the device) and the barcode “assignment” match up.  If you have questions, see Brent.   

Second, if you have students leave (or join) your classroom, please connect with Brent.  The device needs to be checked in and reissued to the new student.  

Please help with this - thanks! 

Instructional Routines by Model:

Below is a document that with instructional routines and what the MDH guidelines are.  This has been developed through Teaching and Learning - our Reading Leadership Team looked at it yesterday.  Please remember a few things - first, we are "in person" now.  If we move to hybrid, we will need to change a few routines and approaches.  Secondly, please do not stress out about these.  Everyone is working hard to create routines that are in compliance with what is being asked.  If we move to a new model, we will assist you.  This document is just something to start thinking "what if..."... Click here to access the document

Social Emotional Supports At McKinley

Following are some of the social emotional supports we have for students at McKinley and how to access them.  If you have any questions or need clarification please contact Annette Warner (8215), School Social Worker at McKinley.

Relaxation Room

• Purpose:  To provide a “safe space” for eligible students to regulate their feelings using music, tools, and possibly sensory needs.  This is built into the student’s schedule and is meant to be a proactive measure.  

• Process:  complete the  SEL Referral Form

Safe Base:

• Purpose:  To provide an extra relationship for students to have a positive, supportive, one-on-one relationship with a staff member.  This includes a student who does not appear to be connected with supports/staff/peers at school or a student who comes in dysregulated needing support to  “set up” their day, or a student who just needs consistent time to “chat”. 

• Process:  complete the  SEL Referral Form

Mindful Art

• Purpose: To provide a weekly opportunity for students to use art to identify & regulate feelings, as well as feel successful through their strengths.   This is once a week for 30 minutes

•  Process: complete the  SEL Referral Form

Small Group/individual Support

• Purpose: To provide support for students struggling with emotional regulation, peer interactions, social skills and/or family concerns.  Groups meet once per week for 20 - 30 min.

•  Process: complete the  SEL Referral Form

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Have a great, relaxing weekend!

-Justin

September 11, 2020 Update

Happy Friday!

Don't forget, Impact Statements are due today!  We need them for Monday's Staff Power Hour.  Get them to Justin today.  

Students Switching Models:

A huge thank to you everyone for your flexibility in the switches that are occurring between distance learning to in-person.  A HUGE thank you to Steph & Selena for organizing these switches.  I know there has been some frustration around "well, families had to choose until January".   We did ask families to make a decision; however, because we provide an education to students AND know that many of our scholars need to be at McKinley, we need to allow these changes.  We are hoping this minimizes as the weeks continue.  Please know, we will continue to communicate the changes to you (if any) and appreciate your flexibility!  

COVID & Communication:

We are already experiencing families who are coming into contact with COVID and are making decisions on programming based on the MN Dept of Health Decision Tree.  Please know this is a process that we follow that is in accordance with the state.  

One request - please limit the conversations we are having about students and COVID.  We have to remember that this is a health privacy issue that we need to be respectful of.  I'm hearing more and more conversations among staff of whether or not a student has COVID.   This conversation really should not be happening.   Just like if a student had any other medical need, the office will communicate that the student is going home to the classroom teacher.  Really, no one else should need to know this.  Please, please, please do not engage in these conversations moving forward.  

Social Media & CDC Guidelines:

First, don't forget to "tweet" out all those awesome things you are doing in your classroom.  McKinley has always done a great job of using social media- please continue this!

When you are posting pictures on social media (or sharing pictures with families), please make sure we are following CDC and MDH guidelines (socially distanced, masks, etc).  The community - and society- are watching for this.  It's another way for us to show our commitment to keeping students safe and healthy.  

Copy Code Limits:

We are aligning to the other buildings and starting to monitor copy codes.  Each of you now has a 2,000 copy limit on your account.  If you go over this, you will need to talk to Steph.  Please, please, please make sure that you are sending away large quantities of copies AND doing more work virtual and through Google Classroom.  We are WAY over on our copy budget each year and this will help.  Also, please make sure you are only using your account.  

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

I hope you find some time to get outside and enjoy your weekend! 

-Justin

September 3, 2020 Update

Happy September, McKinley! 

It's exciting to have you - and students - back in the building!  Even with the crazy start, I can tell it's going to be a great year!  

A huge thank you to everyone for your time, energy, and passion to making this year great.  It's been a different start for sure.  One thing that has not changed is YOU.   Keep your head held high and know you are ENOUGH and you are making a DIFFERENCE!  

AM Arrival:

Please see the PDF of the tentative arrangement of classes outside for morning arrival.   In this, you will see the area your grade level should meet at.  We will have a sign with your class and name on the first day.  This is tentative - we are going to see how the first few days go.  Also, please distance your class away from others at this time.  

Also, you will notice my beautiful coloring and artwork in this map.  Google Map still does not have a new aerial shot of McKinley, so you get Art by Justin. :)

Re-Entry Plan:

As we know, students have been gone from school for almost 6 months.  Coming back to school will be an adjustment for us all - learning to be back in a room, building our stamina around learning, etc.  We had a team come together to create some ideas to help transition students back into our new normal.  Please build in times to do some of these activities - we really need them.  

Re-Entry Plan

Also, don't forget to regularly teach and re-teach expectations.  I have created a basic sheet to remind you of the things we need students to know and practice  - use this or customize it for your classroom.  

Speech Para:

Amanda Wood will be working remotely this year; however, she is still servicing our students until the babies come.   There will be a paraprofessional here each day from 8-11am to help get students set up to do a virtual session with her.  The paraprofessional will help students find a spot, get set up, and get started with Amanda.

COVID Symptoms & Reporting:

I've had a few questions about COVID - what to do look for, who to report to, etc.  First, we have to remember that we cannot know and/or share if a family has COVID.  We have our District Nurse, Amy Jo Havelka, who gets involved and works with Steele County on tracing.  If a student is suspected of COVID or tests positive, we cannot share any of this with colleagues or students.  It's very similar to lice or other health conditions - we can't share information.

If a student is suspected of COVID, please let Selena, Steph, and Judy know.   

Volunteer Coordinator:

Steph and Selena are our Volunteer Coordinators for the year.  If you need background checks, or other things you went to Amy with, please connect with Steph and Selena. 

Child Collaboration Team: 

This summer, the elementary buildings came together to create one unified process on our child study and/or Problem Solving Teams.  The elementary team moved away from the word "problem" to "Child Collaboration Team".  This team is an assistance team if a student is struggling with academics, behavior, engagement, and/or other needs.  Basically, if you have exhausted your options and still need help, you would complete a form to meet with this team.  This is NOT the gatekeeper for Special Education.  This team is open and available for ANY student who has needs - not just those who are in need of special education services.  More information will be shared on the form.  Below is the process outlined, which follows the other elementary schools.  Our contact for this team is Libby Zeman.  

CCT Process Outlined

Plan Ahead: 

Please remember to be planning ahead in your needs and scheduling.  If you have something coming up, please plan ahead.  If you need time off, please plan ahead.  I am getting a lot of last minute requests that should be communicated earlier.  I understand emergencies come up - however, if you need to leave early or be gone for a planned event, please plan ahead and communicate this a few days before.  

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Don't forget, EVERY interaction that we have is either a culture BUILDER or a culture KILLER.  Which do you to do?  

Enjoy your long weekend - rest up and enjoy your last weekend of summer!

-Justin