February 16 Update

Happy Friday! 

A few updates...

Steph Out Next Week:

Just a reminder - Steph is out next week.  She will not be available to answer emails - Selena is covering for her all week.  Please be aware of this as you make requests next week.  

Literacy Professional Learning:

As you know, Minnesota has passed some legislature (READ Act) around literacy instruction.  A lot of this legislature will require us to look at some professional development for the upcoming year (Julie Sullivan was here a few weeks ago to talk through this).  

As many of you know, there is a ton of research around literacy and how fundamental that is in the path for students - in school and in life.  One of those that resonates with me is the pipeline between a student reading by 3rd grade and the path to future incarceration.  That along shows us how important high quality literacy instruction is for students - it's really a life changing thing.

That leads to our work next year around professional learning and literacy.  I am jazzed at the idea that our staff will have dedicated, job-embedded time to dig into reading research and practice.   Some of my post powerful learning as a teacher was engaging in the Reading First grant as a teacher at Wilson.  Next year's work will allow us time to think, reflect, collaborate, and challenge our thinking around literacy.  I'm excited to think about the power of this and how each of us will grow as educators of reading! 

PTO Bingo Callers:

Our PTO is hosting a Bingo Night on Friday, March 1.  They are looking for callers -  our students love seeing staff do this.  If you are interested in helping, please email the PTO (mckinleystempto1@gmail.com) or myself.  Thank you for considering! 

New Staff:

On Tuesday, we have a new staff member joining us - Grisel "Esme" Zamora.  Esme works our SAC program and will be joining us from 8:30-11:30am (Monday through Thursday) to support some students with language needs.  Our EL team and Katie have created a schedule and shared with teachers who will work with her.  If you see Esme on Tuesday, please welcome her to McKinley! 

Building Weekly Newsletter:
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Have a great weekend-  enjoy your extra day(s) off! 
-Justin