May 29 Update

Good morning!

Another great week at McKinley!

Can you believe we are down to 5 days left (including today)?  Let's make those last 5 days into some of the best memories yet!  

Toot Your Horn Thursday:

We have two recipents - Pat Fails and Val Seath!

Pat Fails was nominated by Denise Carlson for "Thank your for the extra 30 minutes. It made my day"

Val Seath was nominated by the 2nd Grade Team for Dear Master Gardener, thank you for bringing new life and beauty back to the McKinley garden! Your passion and vision does not go unnoticed. Thank you for organizing volunteers, getting students involved, and teaching us how to take care of the garden. McKinley will be blooming because of you! 💙🌻

End of Year Checklist:

Linked are the end of the year checklists - please make sure you are getting these items all taken care of.

Teacher Checklist

Para/EA Checklist

Last Day - June 4:

Just a reminder of our plan for Thursday, June 4:

• 9:10 - Google Meet about expectations
• 9:15-10:30 End of Year Stations in building (please sign up if you haven't already)
• Over lunch hour - PTO will be here with a treat for staff in lounge
• 2:20 - meet in gym (kids should have backpacks and be ready to leave from gym) to sing the school song to our 5th graders for the last time. 
• 2:25- Tunnel out of building for 5th graders (head to front door and Justin will help you get set up)
• 2:35 - head to McKinley sign to wave goodbye to kids
• 3:00 - Happy Hour at SpareTime

Retirees & Staffing Updates:

Just a reminder - we have some amazing staff who will be wrapping up their careers next week.  A huge thank you to Annette Warner, Bernie Jensen, Lisa Revier, Denise Carlson, and Caryn Boetel for all their dedication to Owatonna and McKinley.  Additionally, we have some staff leaving us for their next chapter - Kara Boerner, Jen Schlauderaff, Joann Bergemann, Michelle Gadient, and Jill Peterson.  Jill announced last week she was leaving for Northfield Public Schools and Michelle is heading closer to home to teach in Goodhue next year.  Both will be greatly missed!  Please take a moment next week to honor/thank/appreciate them.    

An update on staffing - Hunter Evenson and Mark Clauson will be returning to McKinley next year.  Hunter will be split between Lincoln, McKinley, and Washington and Mark will be between Washington, McKinley, and Athletic Director at OMS.  We are excited to have them (back) with us!  

June Family Newsletter:

The linked family newsletter is going out to families today.  Just an FYI for you.  

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Have a great weekend!

-Justin

May 22 Update

Happy Friday, McKinley! 

After today, 8 days left.  We can do it.  These last few days are an exciting time for many of our kids - wrapping up a school year, doing special events, and getting ready for summer break!  And, for some of our learners, they are watching their safe person, predictability, and friendships fade away into the summer.  Please be mindful of this as we close out the year - some of our students will become escalated, anxious, and start to show behaviors.  They are struggling to see some of the positives of their life go away.   These next 8 days will require excitement, positivity, grace, and understanding.  Let's love those porcupines!  

Shout Out!

We received preliminary ACCESS scores for our multilingual learners this week.  Of the 25 students districtwide who graduated from programming, 14 of them are from McKinley!  WOW!  That is 56% of the graduates are coming from our building.   A huge shout out to our staff and students.   Another special shout out to Liz, Rachael, and Caryn for our supporting our learners!  

7 Splendid Send Off's:

Below are some ideas I saw online for a way to celebrate a great school year:  

Summer Updates:

Can you believe we are already almost to the end of another great year!?   A few reminders about McKinley this summer:

• Our McKinley Office is closed Monday, June 15 - Friday, July 31.  Steph and I will return to work on Monday, August 3.  
• Our building is being used for K Kamp from July 20-July 30 (you will know if your room is being used).    There is NO Minds at Work this summer.  

End of Year Checklist:

Linked are the end of the year checklists - please make sure you are getting these items all taken care of.

Teacher Checklist

Para/EA Checklist

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

-Justin

May 15 Update

Happy Friday, McKinley!

Another great week of learning, relationships, and memories!  

Love those Porcupines!  

As we move into the last 3 weeks (crazy!), please pull out your porcupines and reground yourself in loving those porcupines.  This time of year can be tough - for our kids, yourself, our colleagues, etc.   It's important we continue to provide grace, patience, and create positive memories with everyone (students, colleagues, etc).  We can love on those porcupines while still maintining consistency and love!  

Room Moves & Updates for 26-27:

A few updates in regards to next year.  We do have some room movement:

• K2 (Beck) is moving into Jen Schlauderaff's old room
• K3 (Peterson) will be in the empty Kdg room 
• K4 (Hager) will be in Danika Beck's old room
• SPED (Williams/Sommers) will be getting a door installed this summer
• SPED (Molly Hieb - new hire) will be in the front part of the empty 5th grade room; the back will be available for a flex space.
• EL (Stitzmeyer, Eickhoff, Seifert) will be located in Zupansic/Peterson's current Intervention room
• Intervention (Zupansic) will be in Caryn Boetel's old office
• 3D (Thurnau) will move to 3B (Seifert's old room)

PowerSchool:

Just a friendly reminder to get into PowerSchool to start closing out your end of the year tasks.  This includes evaluations, Peer Review, goal setting, etc).   Because of the back and forth signature process within the system, please do not wait until June 5.   

Class List Placement:

Just a reminder that next Friday, May 22, we will be meeting in collaboration time to work on class lists.  Please have the spreadsheet updated so we can print cards and be prepared for this.  Because of time, please try to join collaboration as soon as possible.   

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Have a great weekend - enjoy the beautiful weather Saturday!

-Justin

May 8 Update

Another great week at McKinley!  

Thank you for your help (and flexibility) with the breakfast pilot.  It's taken a team to make this happen and I appreciate each of you!  

Happy Mother's Day

Thank you for the countless ways you show up every single day. You love, guide, and inspire not only your own children, but our students who are lucky enough to learn from you. Balancing motherhood and teaching isn’t just a job—it’s a calling that requires patience, strength, and a whole lot of heart.

The care you give doesn’t stop when the school day ends. You carry it home, weaving together lesson plans and bedtime stories, grading papers and packing lunches, encouraging growth both in the classroom and at the kitchen table.

Your impact reaches far beyond what can be measured. You are shaping minds while raising hearts, and that’s no small thing.
Thank you for all that you do—for your dedication, your passion, and the love you pour into both your families and your students.

You are truly appreciated.  Happy Mother's Day!

Honorees:

On Wednesday night, our OEA hosted an evening of celebration - for years of service, retirees, and teacher of the year.  It was a great night to celebrate our McKinley staff!  

Retirees - Annette Warner, Caryn Boetel, and Lisa Revier

25 years of service - Gia Davison & Karla Wilke

30 years of service - Lynn Jensen

Each year, the OEA picks someone as the "Friend of Education" - someone who has made a signficant impact within Owatonna Public Schools.  This year, our Success Coaches were chosen.  This team is such an integral part of our work.  This past year, this team led the work to ensure our families were taken care of during the Operation Metro Surge.   

Thank you Sylvia and Nura for all you do for our students, families, and staff.   You are so deserving of the "Friend of Education" award!  

  

Last Day of Interventions:

Our last day of interventions will be Friday, May 29.  

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

Have a great weekend!

-Justin

May 1 Update

Happy Friday - AND Happy May! 

Educator Appreciation Week:

Next week is Educator Appreciation Week!  Each of you serve in a role as an "educator"... so let's celebrate each of you!  Check the picture above on the plan for the week.  

Monday's lunch will be brats, chips, and a dessert.  Please bring your own drink.  Lunch will be served in the lounge - but feel free to head out back (by the garden) to enjoy lunch outside, too!  

Toot Your Horn:

This week's Toot Your Horn is Pat Fails! Pat was nominated by Josh Tolle for "Pat makes McKinley a better place because he is here. He is fully present with a smile on his face and his joyful laughter resonating through the halls. On any given day you will see him gently teasing a student, encouraging students to make good decisions, or holding a little hand in his hands to help guide them. Pat also is a servant leader. On this particular day, Pat proactively went and grabbed a mop to clean up a spill in Aisle 5. I happened to be coming to get the mop for a spill in Aisle 23. He asked me where my spill was and said he would take care of it. It is these little things that add up to make a school culture. Thank you Pat for serving the students and staff here at McKinley. You are appreciated! Now get out there and toot that horn!"

Breakfast:

Just a reminder that breakfast starts before school on Monday! 

Breakfast begins at 7:45 and ends at 8:10am.  Students should NOT be down in classrooms or their lockers.  After 8:10, students will be given a breakfast and sent to class (we will monitor how many this is and adjust as needed).  We will not serve breakfast after 8:10 unless the student comes late (the office will make this decision and send them).    

For lunch slips, our kitchen team will put a slip in your mailbox at the end of each day (make sure you check your mailbox each morning).  The kitchen team will come around before 8:30am each day to get the lunch slip from you.  

This is a pilot, so we will adjust as needed throughout the month of May.  

Friday Grill Out:

We're getting closer and closer to May.... which means Friday grill out!  If your team is interested in having Justin grill your lunch, please sign up with your team.  On the day of, bring in your meat and mark with your name in the lounge fridge. I will happily get your food grilled and delivered to you!  Sign up if interested!  It's a great time to enjoy the outdoors and some good food! 

IM Implementation:

Our last question & thoughts from our pilot teams (K & 5th Grade):

Question:  If someone asked you for the big differences between Everyday Math and IM, what would you say?

Response: Teachers are noticing some clear differences between IM and Everyday Math. IM is designed to build understanding over time, with concepts connected across units, while Everyday Math tends to revisit topics in a more separate, cyclical way.

In the classroom, IM feels much more hands-on and student-centered. Students are exploring, discussing, and explaining their thinking, rather than just practicing skills on worksheets. There is a stronger focus on helping students understand the “why” behind math, not just how to do it.

IM also goes deeper into fewer concepts at a time, giving students the chance to build understanding from hands-on experiences to more abstract ideas. Everyday Math, in comparison, often moves more quickly and focuses more on practice.

Overall, teachers are seeing IM as a shift toward deeper thinking, meaningful conversations, and active engagement, with more opportunities for all students to participate and show their understanding.

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Have a great weekend!

-Justin