Good Morning!
We've completed the Reading MCA tests (as of today) - Math starts next week.  A huge thank you to everyone who has made our testing environment smooth and calm.  A extra thank you to Denise Carlson, who lives and breathes the MCAs for the month of April.  Thank you for all you do, Denise!

PLC Work
I wanted to send an email regarding PLC work.  The hard work you have been doing this year hasn't gone unnoticed.  I love joining (or reading about) your PLC and hearing the conversations on students, data, and interventions/enrichments.  It's been great to see how much teams have embraced the data boards as a guiding conversation piece, too.  Thank you for that!  I think our next step in this PLC journey is to go back to Nicole Vagle's (expert in assessment) rule: 

When looking at assessment data, it's 1/3 the analyzing and 2/3 the planning instruction.  This is such a powerful mind shift.  It's important to analyze the data; however, the majority of your time is discussing how instruction will change - through enrichments, re-teaching, and changes in your core instruction.  As we move forward into next year, we will spend more time looking at this. 

Student Engagement - Compliance or Authentic?
Here's a great (short) article on student engagement - is it authentic or are students just complying?  http://mobile.edweek.org/c.jsp?cid=25920011&item=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.edweek.org%2Fv1%2Fblog%2F95%2F%3Fuuid%3D57736&cmp=eml-enl-eu-news2-RM


School Nutrition Employee Week (May 2-6)
School Nutrition Employee Week is held every May, and provides a great opportunity to celebrate all of the staff who make our meal programs a success!  This week is a perfect opportunity to thank our team for all they do- Lori, Stacy, Laurel, Josiah, and Mary.  Also, thank you to our EA's who serve a dual role in the classrooms and lunchroom.   We appreciate everything you do!  Take some time this week to celebrate our wonderful kitchen staff!

MCA Reading Data
MCA Reading data is available on Pearson's On Demand Website (https://mn.pearsonaccessnext.com/customer/index.action).  You can log in and see how students performed- however, hold off on sharing with students until further information comes out.

Department of Justice (DOJ) Survey
We will be participating in the DOJ Survey at the end of April.  More information will be coming on this. 

Building Weekly Newsletter
Click here to access the weekly building newsletter

Valet Parking for the Week
The Valet Parking for the week goes to Josiah Bachtle.  Josiah is such an amazing member of our McKinley team.  Josiah serves many roles around here - and does each of them extremely well.  What impresses me the most about Josiah is his flexibility and focus on all students.  Josiah is willing to do anything if he knows it's in the best interest of our students.  Thank you, Josiah!


I had to laugh at this one....

It's going to be a nice one out this weekend - get outside and enjoy it!  Have a great weekend!
-Justin

Principal's Update- Thursday, March 24, 2016

Happy Snow Day - and Happy Spring Break!  

Instrument Demonstration Day- April 4
When we return from Spring Break, 3rd- 5th grade will have an "Instrument Demonstration" from the OJHS Band and Orchestra.  This is a short program for students to see instruments in the event they are interested in joining band or orchestra.  3rd-5th grade, plan on being in the gym from 8:20-8:50 for this. 

MCA Testing
MCA Testing starts Wednesday, April 6th.  Testing will take place in the library and will be all-day.  Please be aware of this as you work with students, even in the hallway.  We would like the library area (even hallway) to have be quiet and focused for testing.   Click here to see the MCA Schedule

Summer Maintenance
If you have things you need done in your room this summer, please email me with your request.  I am meeting with Bob soon to discuss the summer work around McKinley.  This doesn't have a deadline on it, but I will be meeting with Bob sometime after break.  

Summer @ McKinley
McKinley is going to be a busy place this summer.  We have a couple things going on that I want you to be aware of:

• District Kindergarten Kamp and ESY (Extended School Year) Programming will run out of McKinley.  I am not sure on room locations yet, but a few classrooms will be occupied by students this summer.
• The addition and renovation of our Main Office will start in May.  The office will be getting a small addition on the front of the building, as well as a secured main entrance.  The main office will now have a "real" nurse's office, secure main entrance, teacher work room (woo hoo!), conference room, and a normal sized staff bathroom! 
• The building will be open for Summer Learning on Wednesdays (12-1pm).  Students will have access to books in the library during this time.

Kindergarten Open House- April 7
We will welcome our new Kindergarteners on Thursday, April 7th!    During this time, students meet the K teachers and get to see the K classrooms.  Parents hear about all the logistics of Kindergarten - schedule, bussing, curriculum, SAC, etc.  If you know of a family who has an incoming Kindergartener and is interested in McKinley, tell them to join us at our Open House.

School-wide Title
I am meeting with a team on Wednesday, April 6th to apply for School-wide Title programming.  I have mentioned this before, but this will allow us to use our Title dollars with more flexibility.  This team is meeting on April 6th to analyze our trend data and create an action plan for core and interventions. 

Weekly Building Newsletter
Click here to access the weekly building newsletter

Valet Parking for the Week
The Valet Parking for the Week goes to Tom Smith!  Tom is an excellent teacher who makes movement and physical activity engaging and "real world" for his students.  Tom has high standards for his students - both socially and academically.  The thing I appreciate the most about Tom is his flexibility, collaboration, and willingness to do what is right for students.  Tom has been known to completely change his day/schedule to accommodate for something else.  Thank you for all you do, Tom! 


Take some time this week to re-energize your batteries and "sharpen your saw"!  When we come back in April, we have a little over 2 months with students.  We've had a great year - now's our time to finish strong! :)
-Justin

Spring Benchmarking Window

Good morning,
Below are the notes from Amy LaDue on spring benchmarking.  It is very important we complete this benchmarking process by Thursday, May 22, 2015.

Click here for a directions sheet on benchmarking

Email from Amy:
The spring fluency and math fact benchmark window is from Monday, May 11 through Thursday, May 22.  All scores need to be entered into the spreadsheets by the end of the day on Wednesday, May 27.  On Thursday, May 28 we will begin preparing to send our district results to Viewpoint.

Results should be entered into the spreadsheets located in the staff shared Assessment Folder \\esc01\assessments  Each teacher should be able to access the folder for your school and the spreadsheet for your grade level for both reading and math.  If the folder indicates that you do not have access, send a tech request and the IT department will assist you.

The spreadsheets have been updated with your current class roster.  If you find that one of your students is not listed on the spreadsheet, please add his/her name and benchmark results.   

Here are the steps to enter reading and math fact benchmark results:

1. Click on this link to get to the Assessment Folder  \\esc01\assessments.
2. Click on your school's folder
3. Open the spreadsheet for your grade level
4. Click Enable Editing in the yellow area at the top of the spreadsheet (this may not appear)
5. Student names are in alphabetical order by classroom teacher
6. Scroll to your class of students
7. Type in your students' results for your grade level's benchmarks.
8. Click Save
9. Close the spreadsheet and close the folder
10. Complete for both DIBELS and math facts

Since this is a spreadsheet for your entire grade level, it will not allow two teachers from the same building and grade level to enter results at the same time.  Willow Creek is separated by house.  Data will need to be entered while you are at school. 

Thank you for your work completing the spring benchmark assessments and more importantly for your commitment to our student’s learning. 

Principal's Update- Friday, April 10, 2015

37 days left to inspire, teach, and motivate our students....

A couple updates-

MCA's- Week 1
Reading MCAs started this week.  Thank you to everyone for being flexible and quiet during this testing season.  Also, a huge thank you to Denise Carlson for all her work on this.  We will continue testing through the rest of the month- reading, math, and then science. 

Book Study Learning Work
Thank you for the great discussion at our staff meeting on new structures and systems.  I appreciate your honesty and critical thinking as we move forward examining core instruction and our system of supports.  Click here to see our notes from Chapters 1, 2, and 3.  If you have questions, concerns, or want to discuss any of the work we have done, please come see me. 

Update on PBIS
As I stated last week, we have a team who is looking at core behavioral expectations through a PBIS model.  One of the items we are currently working on is a student discipline referral.  This referral has many purposes- helping us communicate (what happened and what the outcome is), helping create follow through with a consequence/outcome/communication home, and allowing us to track data and ultimately begin to be proactive with certain students.  This data will help us see exactly where, when, and why behavioral issues are occurring. 

To see a draft of our office referral, click here.  If you have feedback on the form, please let me know. 
 
Severe Weather Awareness
Next Thursday, we will participate in the Statewide Tornado Drill.  Please take some time to review the procedures (your colorful flipbook) and maps (we are still updating, so use your current maps for locations).   Tom Sager sent out an email from the city on some guidelines with tornado drills.  Click here to see it.  I'm attaching it as an FYI only. 

PTO Teacher Rep-
PTO is looking for 1-2 Teacher Reps for the remainder of this year and into next year.  It's a great group of parents who plan so many things around McKinley (World Passport, Carnival, Lunch with a Loved One, Book Fair, etc.).  If you are interested or want further information, come see me.

Valet Parking for the Week
Our Valet Parking spot goes to Annette Kleinschrodt.  Annette is truly a class act in the world of social workers.  Annette wears a lot of "hats" around here- a resource to staff, a lifeline for a student crisis, a liaison for families, or a firefighter helping put out "fires" around here (to name a few)!  Annette is always extremely professional, positive, and focused on students and families.  Thank you for all you do for McKinley, Annette. 


To close, I found a quote last year that resonates with me still today- "Try not to become a man of success but a man of value" (Albert Einstein).  In all honesty, I think this illustrates our staff here at McKinley.  It's amazing to see how much of a team approach we use here at McKinley- we aren't here to shine alone, but make our kids shine.  It's an amazing thing.

I'll get back into the routine of taking pictures- I've been slacking lately! 

Enjoy the weekend- I heard the sun will be making a reappearance!  :)
-Justin

Principal's Update- March 19, 2015

Happy Spring!   Spring in an elementary school is my favorite time of the year.  It's a great time to celebrate the learning that has happened, as well as reflect and gear up for the 2015-2016 school year!

Looking ahead next week:

• On Monday, we will have some intervention teachers from Faribault in our building.  As a district, they are doing some learning work and want to see how some of the instruction here at McKinley.
• Tuesday night is McKinley's night at Buffalo Wild Wings.  Grab your family and friends and enjoy dinner at BWW! 
• Thursday is a lockdown practice.  Please take some time to read your colorful "Emergency Response Procedures".  As I said at the meeting, that "book" contains relevant information! 

Book Study Follow-Up
We had a great discussion on Monday regarding our book study.  Thank you to all who participated.  I'm excited to begin this learning to ultimately improve your system and structures here at McKinley. 

After our meeting, I had a couple staff ask- - "If the book study is for ALL kids, why aren't ALL staff participating?"  Wow.  Great question.  Looking back, specialists and all support staff should have read the first 3 chapters- philosophical, foundational information on the work we are doing.  This would have helped everyone have the basic understanding of our learning.  Beyond that, the book isn't applicable to their content area/position.  We aren't to the point where structures are available for all to intervene (we have reading and math interventions at this point).  Because of this, we won't be having them read the rest of the book.  However, I will be photocopying chapter 3 for specialists so they understand the rationale behind scheduling and structures. 

Just a reminder- please come prepared with your reading and ready to share your thoughts.  This is learning work-  a time for us to see what else is out there and decide how it works with our building. 


MCA Schedule
The MCA schedule was sent out earlier this week.  During this time, the library will have limited hours due to testing.  Click here to see the schedule.  As I stated in my email, I had to create the schedule to ensure that all kids get tested in our testing window.    

3rd-5th grade teachers, I'd like to stop in and energize your kids about testing.  Please schedule a 5-10 minute meeting the day before you begin testing (with Lorri).

ISD 761 Foundation Grants
McKinley was awarded a couple ISD 761 Foundation Grants- woo hoo!

• Guided Math Library- we will be creating a guided math library with games, manipulatives, and resources to use in whole and small group math.   
• 3D Doodle Pens (like 3D printers) and circuit scribe pens (you can draw a circuit that actually works)- thanks to Amanda Gislason for submitting this!

Teacher of the Year Nominees
Congratulations to Mark Langlois, Kayla Davis, and Tamra Gonzalez for their nomination to be the Owatonna Teacher of the Year!  What a great group of teachers to be up for this honor.  Also, I think it says something about the quality of our building- 3 of the 6 are McKinley Monkeys!  Congrats again!

Growth Mindset
For the past week, I've started re-reading Mindset by Carol Dweck.  For those of you who haven't read this, the premise of the book is around two concepts- growth and fixed mindsets.  The book really breaks down how powerful a growth mindset is.  For the next few weeks, I'll update the blog with some of things I'm learning/reflecting on from the book.  As I read, many parts remind me of the staff here- willing and ready to do whatever it takes to get the job done.  Below is a video I found that does a great job of introducing "growth mindset" (3 min, 50 secs- well worth watching!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_oqghnxBmY

Valet Parking for the Week
Our Valet Parking for the Week goes to Jen Koziolek.  Jen is an exceptional kindergarten teacher who is dedicated to our profession.  Whether it's tying a shoe, helping a student in small group, or walking down the hall, Jen always has a smile and positive attitude.  Jen is a true advocate for her students- both academically, socially, and emotionally.  We are very lucky to have Jen at McKinley!


Have a great Friday and weekend, everyone!  Take some time to "sharpen your saw"!
-Justin

Principal's Update- March 13, 2015

Good morning!
TGIF! 

This update will be short this week...

Staff Meeting- Monday
All certified staff should plan on attending the staff meeting on 3/16.  We will be discussing Simplifying Response to Intervention.  I will be emailing out some questions that will guide our discussion.  If you are a specialist or not participating in the book study, plan on attending to join our conversations.  They will be valuable. 

MCA Testing
MCA testing is approaching!  A master schedule will be shared later today.  I tried to schedule your testing with as minimal classroom disruptions as I could. 

To prepare for testing, anyone who is involved must be trained.  Next Wednesday, March 18, Erin Klecker will be here to offer training sessions (1:30 and 2:45).  If you are involved with testing, plan on attending one of these training sessions (required by MDE).  Most of you received a calendar invite about this a couple days ago.  Questions, let me know.

Valet Parking for the Week
Our valet parking for the week goes to Mark Langlois.  Mark is such a critical team player for our 5th grade team, school, and district.  Mark will do anything he can for our McKinley students, families, and staff- academically, socially, and emotionally.  He's a great teacher who keeps students motivated, engaged and excited about school (which isn't easy in the spring of 5th grade!).  Mark, we're lucky to have you on our team. 


Take some time this weekend to enjoy the beautiful weather with those who "ground" you.   It's important to find people who keep you balanced and focused as a person. 

I think the picture below represents many Minnesotans this past week...

-Justin