February 26 Update

Happy Friday!

I hope you've had another great week - can you believe we are already at March?  As crazy as this year as been, I think it's flown by!  

Exhausted Educator:

Let's face it, we know February is a hard time for educators.  And, people in general.  And, this year, we top February off with a pandemic.  I can feel the vibe - people, including myself, are exhausted.  

Please remember - it's alright to acknowledge you are exhausted.  It's also alright to take some time for you.  Go on a walk, do something you enjoy, call a friend who makes you laugh.  Heck, you might even do this mid-day!   

Also, read the quote below.  You are making a difference.  Our students feel a connection, care, and love.  And, that connection, care, and love can be for your colleagues, too.  We can find ourselves lost in the "to do list" and forget that we are making a difference - EVERY SINGLE DAY.  

They're Too Young to Talk About Race:

A huge thank you to Danielle Nystrom for sharing the image below...

As educators, we find ourselves in the trap of "They are too young to talk about race..." or "It's elementary, we teach love and don't see skin color."  This silence actually perpetuates racism.  We continue to send the message that race/skin color is something that should be silent and is not discussed.  I challenge you to monitor this over the next week - how many times could a conversation lead into race that you avoid (for whatever reason).   When this happens, do some self-reflection - why did you not facilitate the conversation?  

International Fun Day at Work (rescheduled): 
We are excited to announce our rescheduled 2021 International Fun Day at Work!  Below are some documents regarding this fun day.  Start brainstorming your dress and team!  :)
International Fun Day at Work Document
Order Form (Evan's Eatery Food Truck)

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Have a great weekend, everyone!  Do something for YOU!

-Justin

February 19 Update

Happy Friday, McKinley!
I hope you had a great week of conferences - time to rest up over the weekend!  And, it's going to be a heat wave! :)

Remember Your Why!  

If you find yourself having one of those "yuck" or "what am I doing? days, take some time and think back to your why - this will guide you!  

Late Start Fun!
Here are some pictures from our late start challenge - "show me you want a snowday without showing me you want a snowday!"  Such creativity in this group!  

How are your Math Launches Going?

One of the things we learned about from Sara Vanderwerf last summer was the importance of the math launch and the beginning of the focus lesson.  She talked about how they were tied to the lesson, but that we would set them up so that all kids had something to contribute to the conversation.  Some of the routines to try are:

• Notice/Wonder
• Same/Different
• Which one doesn't belong?  
• Tell me everything you know about...

If you would like to do some brainstorming around math launches, either as a team or individually, please reach out to Libby or Wendy Eggermont.  They would love to help support math launches.

Benchmark Assessments (Fountas and Pinnell BAS)

We are in the window for completing the BAS with each student.  These should be done and entered by the end of quarter 3.  Please see these directions for entering into Infinite Campus.  Please reach out to Libby with questions or concerns.   

Behaviors:
It's that time of year - the dreaded February.  This is a time that is always hard for students, as well as staff.  Please remember this as we go through the next few weeks.   We may need to do more re-teaching, more patience, and more communication than we have before.  We may need to do more checking of our own emotions and frustrations (this is not a bad thing, I am having to do more of this daily).   Please remember this as we enter the next few weeks - take care of ourselves, each other, and our students.  And, please - I am in no way saying students cannot be referred to the office.  There are major behaviors that warrant this.  

International Fun Day at Work (rescheduled): 
We are excited to announce our rescheduled 2021 International Fun Day at Work!  Below are some documents regarding this fun day.  Start brainstorming your dress and team!  :)
International Fun Day at Work Document
Order Form (Evan's Eatery Food Truck)

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

Have a great, relaxing weekend!
-Justin

February 12 Update

Happy Friday, McKinley!

Productive Struggle:

Linked is an article on "Productive Struggle is a Learner's Sweet Spot".   This article gives more background - and some examples - of what productive struggle looks like in a classroom.  As we have been learning, our students need to engage in productive struggle to truly grow, reflect, have cognitive conflict, and hit that "eureka moment".  

Also, if you haven't already, take some time to watch the video below on the "Learning Pit.  Well worth the watch -  this is something we will continue to explore.

Vaccinations:

As we discussed, we are hoping that all staff who want to be vaccinated will be in the next month.  There is a prioritization list - this list comes right from recommendations from MDH and MDE.  If you have questions about this process, please let myself or Chris Picha know.   Please remember - we are not discussing/analyzing who got vaccines and who hasn't.    

Click here to access our District Vaccination Prioritization Document

PLC "Reboot" Feedback Team:

Based on feedback from staff and observations myself, I think we are needing a "reboot" with our Professional Learning Communities.  I want this work to come from our teaching staff - what is working, what needs to change, and what learning work should we engage in to make the PLC process focused on student learning.  I need help.  If you are interested in this team, please let me know.  I promise it will be painless - I need your input!  

Positive Recognition & McKinleyStrong Celebration (February 18):

Just a friendly reminder to not forget about the positive recognition we have in our building - McKinleyStrong slips, High Five Letters, Positive Office referrals, or a Good News Call Home.  Positive recognition greatly increases relationships, engagement, and an overall classroom community.  

Also, we have our first McKinleyStrong Celebration next Thursday, February 18 at 1:00pm.  We are playing schoolwide virtual bingo.  This week, Steph will be putting bingo cards in your mailbox.  A link will be sent later this week to watch the game live.  We have some great prizes - and are looking forward to a fun schoolwide game!  

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Have a great Valentine's weekend - and stay warm!

-Justin

February 5 Update

Happy Friday, McKinley!  

Stop what you are doing and read this picture below.   After you are done, take a deep breath and remind yourself that you are ENOUGH.  In life (and this work) we can get caught up on everything we aren't doing.  Take a few minutes this morning to reflect and celebrate that you are enough and are appreciated!  

Conferences:

We have family-teacher conferences coming soon (note it's "family" and not "parent" - many of our families live with a non-parent who supports their learning).  With conferences coming, take some time at your team to discuss your format for conferences.  As you do this, think about what information, message, or mindset you would want if you were in the seat of a family member.  We can often spend time discussing the report card- but does this tell us enough?  Does this tell us about the student as a person?  Does this tell us about any goal setting you have done?  Student strengths?  

I challenge you to think through this process and challenge yourself.  Think about the last time you were at the doctor - were you more engaged and respected when the doctor listened to you?  Talked to you as a human?  Or, when they just read your chart to you?  Family-Teacher conferences are another great opportunity to build meaningful partnerships.  

Guided Reading Books: 

We are so fortunate to have some of the guided reading books from F&P in our library to use for students who are not yet in the kit that you have for your grade level.  Several have talked to me about how there are several books missing from different levels (especially j, k, l).  

Please only keep books for 2-3 days and swap out frequently so that people have what they need.  

A few reminders:

*There is 1/2 of an extra 1st and 3rd grade kit behind Denise so that we have levels A-R available if you do not have them in your grade's kit.  There's also a full set of Kindergarten's set in the guided library that you can also use for earlier levels.  

*Please check these out with Denise.

*Please return them quickly so others can use.

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

Have a great weekend - stay warm! 

-Justin