May 20 Update

Happy Friday, McKinley!

Just a reminder - the last day of interventions is Friday, May 27.

Staffing Updates:

A couple staffing updates - 

Mallory Baumann has accepted the 4th Grade Teaching position (4C).  As you know, Madie Conley is leaving us to teach 5th Grade at East Lake (Apple Valley-Eagan-Rosemount District).   Mallory attended UW-Eau Claire and did some student teaching and long-term subbing in Wisconsin in 1st and 4th Grade.  We are excited to have her join us! 

Molly Hoffman has resigned effective Tuesday, May 24.  Molly will not be leaving the district, though.  She is planning to do some substitute teaching next year.  We will miss Molly at McKinley, but look forward to having her in a new role next year!  

Jennifer Townsend has resigned effective June 2 (last student day).  Jennifer has been a great addition to our EA team and has supported students (and staff) in so many ways.  

Learning Work - Zaretta Hammond's Culturally Responsive Teaching:

As you remember, teaching staff received this book a year ago.  Many of you did some reading over the summer and were ready to do some learning work this year.  We postponed that learning work until next year.  This is just a friendly reminder that if you want to spend some time reading/re-reading the book over the summer, we will use it for some discussions next year.  

End of Year Checklists:

Before you leave on June 3, please print and complete the checklist.  When you are done, give it to Steph or Justin.  

Teacher End of Year Checklist

Support Staff End of Year Checklist

Important Dates for 22-23:

Just sharing some of our important dates for the 2022-2023 school year, including Staff Power Hours, PLCs, leadership meetings, and McKinleyStrong Celebrations.  We will send calendar invites out in late August.  Please check this document before scheduling any appointments.  

McKinleyStrong Celebration Video:

Here is the link to the video yesterday - if you, or your class, want to watch again! 

Master Schedule (22-23):

Linked is the master schedule for the 22-23 school year.  This is not finalized yet, so please keep that in mind.  Also, we will walk through a process next fall on designing your classroom schedule.  I have provided reading and math blocks (to ensure that EL, Special Ed, and MTSS work).  However, these can be discussed if we need to move them.  

Lockdown Practice Scenario - Monday:

Below is the scenario we are using for Monday's lockdown drill.  The details of this email should NOT be shared with students (again, NOT shared).  The reason I provide this is for you to process through what you would do in the event this occurred.  

The below scenario involves a parent who has lost custody and has not seen their child in over a week.  They can be very loud, confrontational, and impulsive with their previous interactions with staff.  

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Someone propped open the north door (outside the art room), leaving access to the building.  A parent, who is currently in a custody battle and should not be seeing their child, has entered the building at the north doors (by the art room).   The person enters and asks many staff members, "Where is 2nd Grade?"  One staff member looks concerned that the person is in the building and responds with "you should go check in the office" and walks away.  The second staff member responds by pointing toward the Kindergarten entrance and says "go down that way" and walks away.  The third staff member delays the person and motions for another person to "call the office right away".  The office is notified; however, the person has started into Kindergarten shouting "WHERE is MY KID?" and looking through classrooms.  

Due to entering at an undesignated door and the staff not responding right away, the office is delayed in their response to push the lockdown button and make an announcement.  The announcement is made that "there is an unwanted person near the music and art room and has just entered the Kindergarten wing".  

What is your response? 

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You may want to problem solve this with your team or myself so you know your response.

Again, NO students should know the details of this.  

Building Weekly Newsletter:

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Have a great weekend, everyone!

-Justin

May 13 Update

Happy Friday! 

Another great week!  

Summer Maintenance Request Form:

If you have summer work that needs to be done in your office/classroom, please fill out this form by today at 3:00pm.  

Honor Band - from Holly Guenther:

Congratulations to the following 19 5th Grade band students who were selected into the 2022 First Year Honor Band. SEMNBDA (SE MN Band Directors Association) annually hosts a regional honor band for first and second year musicians, which was held in Hastings, MN this year. Over 100 students across the region came together on Saturday, May 7 to prepare a concert together. Their Band Director, Holly Guenther, who is an active member in SEMBDA, helped organize this year’s honor band event. 

2022 First Year Honor Band members:

Clarinet

Andren Rud, McKinley 

Trumpet

Shaela Karlen, McKinley

Horn

Patrick Nichols, McKinley

Baritone

Vince Christianson, McKinley

Andrew Jacott, McKinley

Percussion

Kenna Sackett, McKinley

We are McKinleyStrong!

Below are some snapshots of learning this week at McKinley - 

Building Weekly Newsletter:

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Have a great weekend!

-Justin

May 6 Update

Happy May 6! 

Another great week of learning and relationships!  And, it was an added bonus to see the sun!  

A Few Thank You's:

A huge thank you to Kyle, Tom, and Luke for planning a successful track meet!  I've heard great reviews from students, staff, and families.  Great work!  

A huge thank you to Paige Gilligan for organizing our 2022 Talent Show!   There is a lot of organization, prep work, and patience to organizing this event.   The kids are a buzz about it and I'm excited to see their talent today!  

Happy Mother's Day:

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers and future mothers in our building.  You have an important role that is not always easy.  Thank you for loving our kids here, but also holding that "mom" role at home, too.  I hope you get some rest, relaxation, and appreciation on Sunday (and every day!).  

Summer Maintenance Requests:

Below is a link to submit any summer maintenance requests you have for your classroom/work area/resource areas.  After we have these requests, Wayne and I will look through the list to create a summer priority list.  This includes fixing items, painting, and general maintenance.  Please complete this form by Friday, May 13.  Please see me if you have questions.    

Click here to submit your summer maintenance requests

Student Showcase:

SAVE THE DATE!  In place of an awards ceremony this year, we will be recognizing and honoring all students through a showcase.  Below are the "save the dates" that went out to families.  Each grade level has a rep that is helping with the planning of this special event.  Please let us know if you have questions.  

MEP Wellness:

Looking for a great way to relax, rejuvenate, and kick off your summer?  Join the MEP Wellness Retreat! 

Wellness Retreat with Dr. Cindra Kampoff

When: Wednesday, June 15

Time: 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

Where: Waseca Jr./Sr High. 

Dr. Cindra Kampoff will be leading us in a Wellness Retreat.   

The District Staff Development funds will pay the registration fee for all staff who would like to register for this outstanding opportunity.  

Participants will receive Dr. Cindra Kampoff's book, Beyond Grit. The institute this year will be a Wellness Retreat consisting of keynotes and wellbeing activities (so there is no need to register for sessions). There will also be fantastic wellness giveaways!

 

Please register here.  Registration for the MEP Summer Institute is now open until May 11.

Building Weekly Newsletter:
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Have a great weekend!

-Justin

April 29 Update

Can you believe we are entering into May?   This year has flown by! 

Teachable Moments:

Please remember - we are entering the time of year when schedules change, students have different emotions, patience is thin, etc.  Behaviors can begin to rise.   Please remember the idea of a teachable moment.  We may need some grace when it comes to some of the behaviors we are seeing - with more and more teachable moments.  This time of year can be exciting, and hard, all at once.  We want to continue our belief around "teaching" rather than "catching" behaviors.   

Track Meet - Wednesday:

Just a reminder - next Wednesday is our track meet.  See the link for details on the schedule for the day.  

Spring Concert Video:

If you missed the spring concert, here is the video of the performance:  https://owatonnalive.lightcast.com/player/40143/454345

A huge shout out to Paige Huse, our Choir, 2nd Graders, and 3rd Graders for their amazing performance!  

We are McKinleyStrong!

Building Weekly Newsletter:

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Have a great weekend!

-Justin

April 22 Update

Happy Friday, McKinley! 

A Week of McKinleyStrong:

Below are some tweets from the week.  Please don't forget to tell our/your story to the world.  As Jimmy Casas (author of Culturize) says, "carry the banner of your school"!   If we don't tell our story, someone else will.  There are so many great things happening in this building - let's share it!  

Is it Learning or Tasks?

Please take some time to read the below piece from a blog.  I believe this is something we need to strongly reflect, process, and act on.  Moving to emergency distance learning forced us to move to an environment of task completion.  Heck, we even had one pagers made with the "things" we needed kids to do.  And, when they were finished, they were "rewarded" by having time do those things they love.  

As we have moved back to an in-person environment, it's time for us to re-look at what we are expecting of kids - during whole group, small group, and independent times.  Is what we are asking students to do "tasks" or "learning"?  Are we sending an subconscious messages to our learners when we have things like "must do's" and "can do's".  Are we priotizing tasks or learning?    Something to think about.  

Below is a blog entry I found that is well worth the two minutes to read.  

Learning vs. Task-Completing

Many of my students, when pressed, struggle to say just what learning is. They can tell you about completing tasks, checking grades, keeping track of emergency passes, and so on. In other words, they are aware of schoolish behaviors. But they can't tell you exactly what's happening when they learn or how one goes about actually doing this learning thing.

I can hardly blame them. If we're honest, most of us teachers aren't much better at communicating the difference. We tend to think of lessons and units in terms of the tasks students will complete. We have a rough time summarizing how science suggests the brain learns, how motivation works in learning and why it matters, and how one can teach students to motivate themselves and attend to whether or not they're learning.

There are actually some amazing weaknesses in our understanding of learning. For example, over 90% of educators worldwide believe that students learn best when material is presented in their individual learning style. (Source: an article from Scientific American.) And you might think, “Dang right! Differentiate for those styles, baby.” But this 90% stat is actually a big bummer because science can't prove that we learn best when we're taught according to our “learning style.” Heck, there's not even agreement on what the learning style list should include! And yet we teach the theory to our students, to our parents, in our schools of education, in our professional development.

But I'm digressing. The point of this post is that in each of our classrooms there is an infinite nuclear power plant of motivation sitting beneath us all. Doing the schoolish behaviors isn't all that fulfilling for all that many people. But learning is amazing. Learning can be emancipatory. Learning can open whole universes (for that's what disciplines are). Learning can deepen and shape our very identity.

So relentlessly teach students this difference. Guide your own professional development toward this difference. Ask hard, philosophical questions during the same hour that you ask hard, pragmatic ones. Think big and small at the same time, day by day, and the slow change will be that both you and your students will think more sharply about what school is for.

This isn't overnight success stuff; it's long, steady hiking in the same direction, upward and onward toward the peak.

Mother's Day:

As we enter into Mother's Day, I would ask you to think through what we are asking students to do and be respectful of their family dynamics.  Instead of using the term "mother", can we use the term "important woman in my life" or "someone who loves me"?  We have many students who do not have a biological mother at home, but have a woman who is taking that role.  Please think about this as you enter into any projects, letters, or activities you do around this holiday. 

Building Weekly Newsletter:

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Have a GREAT weekend!

-Justin

April 14 Update

Happy "Friday"!

Classroom Teachers/Class Placements:

Classroom Teachers, a friendly reminder that all class placement data needs to be entered into shared spreadsheet by this Monday.   On Tuesday, we will be printing placement cards for our first group on Thursday.  

End of Year Student Recognition:

We will be changing our end of year student recognition process this year and going away from a schoolwide awards ceremony.   Instead, we will be doing something schoolwide to have students reflect and create something to show their celebration/pride in this school year.  This will be a schoolwide event in which we invite families in.  This format will have a lot of energy, excitement, and pride to honor every single student in the building.  

With this, I need help.  If you are interested in helping brainstorm around this day, please let me know ASAP.  I promise it will be a small time commitment.  I do need representation from each grade level and department (see your Building Leadership Team member for more details).  

Staffing Updates for 22-23:

A couple updates regarding staffing for 22-23:

Danika Brown will be joining our Kindergarten Team in K2 next year.  Danika is currently in a 4th and 5th Grade EL position, but will "return" to Kindergarten in the fall.  Danika took over in the winter for Rachel Anderson's maternity leave and has student taught at Kindergarten.  I am excited to see the impact she will have on our youngest learners! 

This week, we have hired a 3rd Grade Teacher for next school year.  Katy Furniss will be joining the 3rd Grade Team in August. Katy is currently a 2nd Grade Teacher in Austin at Southgate Elementary.  Katy has experience in 5th and 6th grade, also.  I am excited to have her join our team in serving all kids.  

Track Meet Schedule:

Please see the linked document regarding the track meet.  The track meet will change interventions, lunch, and is built around a tight timeline.  Please check this.  

Why Are We McKinleyStrong?

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Have a great weekend! 

-Justin

April 8 Update

Happy Friday!

Purchasing Deadline:

Just a reminder - the purchasing deadline is Friday, April 29.  This includes using any classroom or supply budgets.  Anything after that date will not be approved.

If you have questions about the balance in your classroom budget, please connect with Steph.  

Track Meet Schedule:

Please see the linked document regarding the track meet.  The track meet will change interventions, lunch, and is built around a tight timeline.  Please check this.  

Staffing Updates:

Adey Awes - I am sad to report that Adey has resigned from her position.  Her last day at McKinley will be Friday, April 29.  Please join me in thanking Adey for all she has done for our students and staff!

Kyrstin Selvik - Kyrstin will be transferring to Washington next year to teach in a self-contained setting 3 classroom in the STRIDE program.  Kyrstin has such a passion for this work and was tapped to consider this.  We will greatly miss her in the building, but know she will do great things at Washington!  

Jen Koziolek - Jen has accepted the Districtwide Mentor Coordinator position (Jane Sorensen is retiring).  Jen has such great experiences with mentoring - both new teachers, her colleagues, as well as pre-service teachers.  Jen's passion, love, and leadership will be greatly missed - but we will still see her (so, take a student teacher!).   

Amber Schlueter - Amber will be joining our Special Education team next year in Kyrstin's place.  Amber is currently student teaching at Lincoln in 2nd Grade.  She has a dual elementary and special education license and is eager to serve our students, staff, and families!  

Twitter - Learning in the Building!

Building Weekly Newsletter:

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Have a great weekend!