September 18 Update

Happy Friday!

We finished our first 5 day week!  It's great to see routines, relationships, and learning in full action!

We've been in school for 10 days - what kind of impact are you making? 

Cheers for Peers!

Last Year's 3rd Grade Team was nominated by Kate Tepp for "I want to thank third grade for their amazing work they did with Wit & Wisdom last year! Our first week routines have been so smooth thanks to them. We did our first Socratic seminar to end the week and it was amazing-- The listening, taking turns, the ideas, agreements/disagreements, the conversations... We had to bust out a box of Kleenex halfway through.. It was incredible! Kudos to you for building the foundation to it all, it makes us excited for the rest of the year!" Way to go, 3rd Grade!

Vision Card:

Linked is our 3 building goals plus the action steps. Please take a moment to look through these, particularly the action steps.

Science Fair:

I am checking to see who has interest in coordinating our science fair this year.  This event is well laid out - if you are looking for details or to know the committment, contact Jess Zupansic or Rachel Thiemann.  

Every Minute Matters:

Now that we are underway with our schedules, I want to stress the importance of "every minute matters".   First, I want to be really clear - I understand life happens.  There are emergencies that throw a schedule off.  I totally understand that.  However, our "emergencies" should be few and far between.  

When we go over in morning meeting or let instructional time slide by just 5 minutes a day, it seems harmless in the moment. But over the course of a school year, those 5 missing minutes stack up to 25 minutes a week, over an hour every month, and nearly 15 full instructional days lost by June. That is three entire weeks of reading groups, math interventions, and hands-on science that simply vanish. Every transition, start time, and lesson block in our master schedule is designed to maximize student growth; when we protect our clock, we protect our students' learning.

By the Numbers: How Lost Minutes Multiply

• 5 minutes lost daily: 25 minutes/week | 1.5 days of school lost per year

• 10 minutes lost daily: 50 minutes/week | 3.2 days of school lost per year

• 15 minutes lost daily: 75 minutes/week | nearly 5 full days of school lost per year

• 30 minutes lost daily: 150 minutes/week | 15 full days of instruction lost per year

Every minute matters.  

Homecoming Early Release:

A few updates regarding early release...

Teddy Bear Parade - our 1st grade is doing their annual Teddy Bear Parade at 10:30am.  More to come!

Dress Up Days:  The below graphic will be shared with families (via SeeSaw and social media) on Monday.

 Picnic Lunch - We are hosting our annual picnic lunch for families on this day.  Below is information and some documents regarding the day:

• Linked is more details around this event.  
• I am looking for help on this day to eat lunch with your class (the students who do not have a family member who came with).  
• Linked is a list of families who have RSVP (this will continue to be updated as families RSVP - RSVP closes Wednesday, September 23.  

Supervision at Parade (Teaching Staff Only) - please complete the linked form showing your plan for the early release.  We are trying to do a check on how many staff will be supervising the parade.  

Indigenous People's Day - October 12:

Per state statute, we are required to provide 1 hour of programming on Indigenous People's Day on October 12.  Linked is a document from Teaching and Learning that provides some resources to support your instruction that day.  

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

I hope each of you can find some time to do something you love!  

Have a great weekend! 

-Justin