January 26 Update

Happy Friday!

Another great week of learning!  Oh, and a full moon! :)

Author Visit - January 29:

On January 29, Bao Phi will be joining us from 10-11am for an all-school assembly/author visit in the gym. Here is a note from Kacie Clauson, Media Specialist:  

Thanks to the generosity of the ISD 761 Foundation Grant, we will be hosting author Bao Phi at our elementary sites on Monday, Jan. 29th, and Friday, Feb. 2nd, 2024.  Attached is the informational flyer, a link to Bao's website, and a video of his story being shared on the Today Show.  The media budget will purchase copies of his children's books for each site's library so students can enjoy these stories for years.  We will not be selling individual copies during these visits. 

Bao's Story

Bao's Website

Flyer

Because of the author visit, lunches need to change.  See below - 

11:00-11:30 - Kdg

11:10-11:40 - 4th Grade

11:25-11:55 - 2nd Grade

11:35-12:05 - 1st Grade

11:45-12:15 - 5th Grade (will eat in commons space with Kiel) 

11:55-12:25 - 3rd Grade 

Donuts with Grown Ups - next Wednesday

Vision Board - SAVE THE DATE

Feb 21, 2024, 2:45-3:45ish

Hosted by Annette Warner and Xandra Sorenson

What is a Vision Board?

A vision board is a fun and creative way to set goals and visualize your dreams.  It typically consists of a collage of images, words, and phrases that inspire and motivate us.  Creating a vision board can help us clarify our goals and keep them at the forefront of our  mind.  It’s a powerful tool for manifesting our desires and staying focused on our aspirations.  

Watch this short video:

Everything About Vision Boards - How to Create and Use a Vision Board

Stay tuned for more information!

Building Weekly Newsletter:

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Have a great weekend!

-Justin

January 19 Update

Happy International Day of Fun at Work!  And, happy Friday! 

Author Visit - January 29:

On January 29, Bao Phi will be joining us from 10-11am for an all-school assembly/author visit in the gym. Here is a note from Kacie Clauson, Media Specialist:  

Thanks to the generosity of the ISD 761 Foundation Grant, we will be hosting author Bao Phi at our elementary sites on Monday, Jan. 29th, and Friday, Feb. 2nd, 2024.  Attached is the informational flyer, a link to Bao's website, and a video of his story being shared on the Today Show.  The media budget will purchase copies of his children's books for each site's library so students can enjoy these stories for years.  We will not be selling individual copies during these visits. 

Bao's Story

Bao's Website

Because of the author visit, lunches need to change.  See below - 

11:00-11:30 - Kdg

11:10-11:40 - 4th Grade

11:25-11:55 - 2nd Grade

11:35-12:05 - 1st Grade

11:45-12:15 - 5th Grade (will eat in commons space with Kiel) 

11:55-12:25 - 3rd Grade 

It's ALL ABOUT YOU Challenge:

Starting January 29,  join us or an "It's ALL ABOUT YOU" challenge!  The goal of the challenge is for you to find things to do that focus on you.  February can often be a hard time - this is a great reminder to do things for you!  Click here to see the challenge.

Are Scaffolds Permanent or Temporary? 

I've shared this before - but a great reminder as we enter into our data and responding meetings and supporting students into quarters 3 and 4.  Are the scaffolds (academic, social emotional, behavioral, etc) truly scaffolds or have they become permanent?  

We do a great job of figuring out what students need, using an "all hands on deck" approach, and get the student the supports.  I love that about this staff.  One thing I challenge us is to start thinking of how we will reduce, pair back, or remove those supports.   I understand we can't just have a support one day and the next day it's gone.  However, can we start to pair back - move to every other day?  Have the staff step back and observe rather than do?  

If we truly want to be warm demanders and create independent learners, we need to start thinking more about reducing, removing, or repurposing some of the supports we put into place.  Something to think about!   

Providing Wait Time:

At our last Power Hour, you listened to a podcast about ways to be a warm demander.   One of the things I heard from many of you was the smiling during wait time - and how that shows students you are open, engaged, and really excited for their response.  Who knew the power of a smile was so great?

This made me think about wait time - and the power of this.  In our fast-paced classrooms, do we provide a lot of wait time for students?  Do we provide this during the instruction or just when they are working independently.   Below are some resources with great reminders.  Bottom line - even offering 3-5 seconds after you ask a question (and before a student responds) has research to support increasing engagement, thinking, and student confidence.  Additionally, offering 20 seconds to 2 minutes in a 10 minute lesson can help students make sense, make connections, and create higher levels of thinking.  Who knew that only a few seconds could create a deeper learning experience? 

Wait Time - Making Space for Authentic Learning

Extending the Silence article - great reminders! 

Building Weekly Newsletter:

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Have a great weekend - a heat wave is coming Sunday (upper 30's)! 

-Justin  

January 12 Update

Happy Snowy Friday!

Another great week of learning, relationships, and memories at McKinley this week! 

MLK Day Reminders:

Just a reminder - Monday is our staff learning day.  This is a great day to focus on YOUR learning!  A few reminders -

• Feel free to wear your McKinley belonging gear and jeans.  Let's fill the auditorium with McKinley gear!
• Superintendent Elstad begins at 7:45am.  Please be seated and ready at this time.  If you clock in, there will be kiosks available to do so. 
• Please be engaged, all day.  This is a great day to focus on you and your learning.
• Please see your individual schedule for more details on your day.  
• If you are back at McKinley in the afternoon for "Site PD", please meet in the gym.  

Looking forward to a great day of learning!

Conferences:

A few reminders from Steph about conferences - 

• Dates: February 13th & 15th, 3;00-7:00
• February 16th, 7:40am-12:00pm (No School)
• Conference reminder slips will go home to families on January 25 or 26th. Steph will put in your mailbox that week
• Sylvia & Nura are currently scheduling any interpreter conferences
• PTCFast will open to all families on Monday, January 29th. Please share the link on Seesaw that day as well (please do not post before then as the sign up link will not be active)
• If you would like to order a PTO provided conference meal, please do so by January 26th. Order here

International Day of Fun at Work 2024:

Just a reminder - next Friday is our IDOFW 2024!  See the linked document with more information.  Looking forward to another great (fun) day! 

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Have a great weekend - stay warm!

-Justin

January 5 Update

Happy Friday!

I hope your first week into 2024 was a great one!  

Carry the Banner!  

Don't forget, carry that McKinley banner!  There are so many amazing, cool, and interesting things happening daily in this building - don't forget to share it! 

Retrospective: Allowing Students to Reflect on & Support their Learning - Guest blogger Dani Rypka

We want school to be a place where kids feel like they belong, feel challenged and a place kids want to be but sometimes it can feel like we only hear whining or like kids are telling us what they think we want to hear. I have been trying to find ways to get to what kids really think and want from their school day and in the process help them understand the purpose or learning happening in the systems we have in place.  One thing I noticed when I was co-teaching was that  my students seemed more willing to share, give feedback or express concern or even dislike. It was like if there were two of us then it was not as hurtful. Maybe they told Mrs. Wolhart something in reading groups that she reported to me and we could brainstorm ideas together to make changes or address concerns. Or when kids are getting emotional during a math game I was able to take one student aside and really talk it through while the lesson continued. Just another perk of co-teaching. The thing is, this year I am not co-teaching, at least not in the way I did in the past and I don’t feel like my students are as forthcoming with feedback so I was looking for ways to kind of ease them into feeling safe and secure giving feedback even if it was negative. 

So enter TikTok - I came across this TikTok Video and thought I would try it. I liked how simple it was, just three questions and fairly open ended. I decided to turn it into a google slide like this one: Retrospective for directions and a Google Form for student responses. 

For younger kids you could do it with the whole group or even have other adults in the class facilitate the discussion if you thought the kids might be more honest. I talked with the students about why I wanted their feedback, talked about the differences between constructive, honest feedback and being unnecessarily mean. The other step that I think is important in this is coming back to the students with some ideas for next steps. 

We have done three retrospectives so far this year and each time I feel like students are feeling more comfortable and honest. Digging deeper and not just telling me what they think I want to hear. After I look through their thoughts and feedback I have just discussed my findings and talked about which things we can change, add or stop right away. Which things we have to keep and why, thoughts about how to make changes, etc. This last time I did the follow up in a second Google Form like this. 

Some other articles that might be helpful: 

How to run class retrospectives with students | Mural

Three Retrospectives We Love for Reflecting on Return Planning - Education Elements

TikTok Video

Building Weekly Newsletter:

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Have a GREAT weekend!

-Justin