February 25 Update

Happy International Fun Day at Work (rescheduled from January)!

Hope you have a great day of fun! 

McKStrong Assembly - rescheduled:

Just a reminder - our McKinleyStrong Assembly has been rescheduled for this Thursday, March 3 from 10:15-10:45am.  1st Grade will be hosting this assembly.  

Women's History Month:

March 1 is the beginning of Women's History Month.   Owatonna Mayor Tom Kuntz declared March 8, 2022 as Women's History Day in Owatonna.  Our library will be highlighting books that show women in history and leadership roles.  This is a month to celebrate all those women who have helped shape history.  

22-23 Sections:

As I shared in an email yesterday, we will have the following sections for the 22-23 school year:

Kindergarten - 4 sections

1st Grade - 4 sections

2nd Grade - 3 sections

3rd Grade - 4 sections (up 1 section)

4th Grade - 3 sections

5th Grade - 3 sections (down 1 section)

More information will be coming as we continue into spring.  

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Every learner, every day! 

February 17 Update

Happy Friday!

Monday's Collaboration Day:

This Monday, February 21, we will have some time to collaborate, plan, and focus on student learning and instruction.  What a gift.  Thank you to Superintendent Elstad and the School Board for making this happen.  If you get a chance, consider sending them an email... they were instrumental in making this day a reality.

Below is a plan for the day - 

7:30- 8:00 Coffee and Chat - if you are interested, join us in the library for a coffee and social time with your colleagues.  Coffee will be provided.

8:00-8:20- Staff Connect in library - we will connect quick

8:20 - rest of the day is your time.  I highly encourage you to use this time to collaborate, plan, and design learning.  This is your time.   You have PLCs scheduled for this day.  Your team can do your PLC within the day, if you choose.  

Paras and Educational Assistants are not working on this day.  

Next Week: 

A busy week at McKinley - 

Monday - Collaboration & Planning Day

Tuesday - 2/22/22 Day (get pictures to me ASAP)

Friday - International Fun Day at Work

Rita Reding Teacher Improvement Scholarship:

The Rita M. Reding Teacher Improvement Scholarship fund was established in memory of Rita Reding, a former elementary teacher, to help District 761 elementary teachers receive professional training to improve their teaching of the language arts in the following areas: writing, spelling, handwriting, and reading.

Approximately $1,000 in scholarships, with a $500 maximum cap granted per application, will be awarded to elementary teachers each year. The funds can be used for any training opportunity that will help a teacher in grades K-6 become a more effective teacher in the areas mentioned above. This training may include college credits.

If interested in applying, send the completed form to Sarah Hoffman at the District Office by March 1, 2022.

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Have a great weekend!

-Justin

February 11 Update

Happy Friday, McKinley & Owatonna Online! 

After School Program - Block II:

A couple of reminders regarding ASP - 

• This week (Feb 9) - please send home registration to families to enroll in ASP Block II.  Don'r forget to be completing CLP's (teacher completes this) for anyone who has registered.
• If you are teaching ASP, please apply online.  The posting is on our district website.  If you are an EA or para and are interested in supporting this program, please let me know.  We will need help.  
• All registrations are due by February 18 at 1:00pm.  

Click here to access the ASP Block II Document

Conferences:

Our February conferences are February 15 & 17 (3-7pm) and February 18 (7:40-12:00pm).   These conferences are virtual.  Staff do need to work from school.   Our PTO will be providing a staff meal on Tuesday.   If you have any conferences you want me to attend, please email me the date, time, and link and I can join, if needed.  

If you have families who do not have internet access, you can set up a phone conference with them.  If this is a conference that you need to "see" the parent, please let Steph or Justin know and we will help you with some alternatives. 

International Fun Day at Work:

I am excited to announce our International Fun Day at Work 2022!  We have rescheduled this event for Friday, February 25.  Please see the invite for more information!  

MCA Schedule: 

I know this is early, but here is our MCA schedule for 2022.  Please note the days/times, as we will need to keep students out of the library and keep them quiet in the building during testing times.

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

Have a great weekend!

-Justin

February 4 Update

Happy Friday!

Another great week of learning and relationships! 

Lots of informational things this week - please read below! 

After School Program - Block II:

A couple of reminders regarding ASP - 

• This week (Feb 9) - please send home registration to families to enroll in ASP Block II.  Don'r forget to be completing CLP's (teacher completes this) for anyone who has registered.
• If you are teaching ASP, please apply online.  The posting is on our district website.  If you are an EA or para and are interested in supporting this program, please let me know.  We will need help.  
• All registrations are due by February 18 at 1:00pm.  

Click here to access the ASP Block II Document

Conferences:

Our February conferences are February 15 & 17 (3-7pm) and February 18 (7:40-12:00pm).   These conferences are virtual.  Staff do need to work from school.   Our PTO will be providing a staff meal on Tuesday.   If you have any conferences you want me to attend, please email me the date, time, and link and I can join, if needed.  

If you have families who do not have internet access, you can set up a phone conference with them.  If this is a conference that you need to "see" the parent, please let Steph or Justin know and we will help you with some alternatives. 

International Fun Day at Work:

I am excited to announce our International Fun Day at Work 2022!  We have rescheduled this event for Friday, February 25.  Please see the invite for more information!  

MCA Schedule: 

I know this is early, but here is our MCA schedule for 2022.  Please note the days/times, as we will need to keep students out of the library and keep them quiet in the building during testing times.

Mid-Year Teacher Development and Evaluation Reminders:

Teaching Staff, see the note from Michelle Krell and the TDE team: 

1. Summative Cycle:

1. Make sure you know who your Administrator/Evaluator is

2. Set dates for pre-observations, observation, post-observation, and Summative

3. Complete two Student Engagement Surveys during the year and write up a reflection in Standard For Success 

2. Peer Cycle 1 & 2

1. Complete two Student Engagement Surveys during the year and write up a reflection in Standard For Success 

2. Identify a Peer Reviewer from your PLC and set a date to meet

3. Review Peer Review documents from your training and select Peer Observation, Work Share, or Video Share

There are several documents available to support the completion of these cycles in the Owatonna Teacher Development & Evaluation webpage 

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access our building weekly newsletter

Have a great weekend! 

-Justin

January 28 Update

Happy Friday!

I hope you had another great week of relationships and learning!  

Staffing Updates:

We have a few new staffing updates - 

• Molly Hoffman is joining our Special Education Team as a Paraprofessional.  Molly will move from her Educational Assistant role starting next Friday.  She will be doing some transitioning on Monday-Thursday.
• Danika Brown is joining our 4th and 5th Grade Team as an English Language Teacher, filling in for Jen Schwab.  Danika is finishing up in K3 for Rachel Anderson and will join our 4th and 5th Grade Team on February 14.  

Join me in welcoming both Molly and Danika into their new roles!  

Montessori:

The Montessori Program, currently housed at Washington Elementary, will be moving to McKinley next school year.  The program is a district choice program that uses multi-age and the Montessori approach to learning.   The program contains two classrooms, all of which will be housed at McKinley.  I look forward to having this choice program, our Montessori staff, and students at McKinley next year!  

International Fun Day at Work:

I am excited to announce our International Fun Day at Work 2022!  We have rescheduled this event for Friday, February 25.  Please see the invite for more information!  

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

Have a great weekend!
-Justin

January 20 Update

Happy Last Day of the Week! 

Thank you (again) to everyone for your flexibility this week!  We were very short - each of you helped out with your covering, flexibility, and concern.  

Every Opportunity:

I've shared this in the past; it's a great reminder of the power of our impact on the experiences, opportunities, and "weather" we live in at McKinley.  I understand that times are tough - illness, subbing shortage, cold weather, etc.  I get it.  I'm feeling it, too.   Watching this reminded me that even the little things impact so many things - students' experiences, your mindset and attitude, and the relationships we build with our learners.  

I hope you know, I'm rooting for you.  I know it's tough.  I also know, our kids deserve the best.  This video helped remind me of my impact on that.  

Paraprofessional Appreciation Week:

Next week is Paraprofessional Appreciation Week!  On Monday, our paras will be heading to lunch from 11-12 in recognition of their continued dedication to our students, staff, and school.  Please take some time next week to recognize Bernie, Kara, Stacy, Tarah, and Roxy.  

After School Program - Block II:

We are offering an ASP Block II.  Linked below is a document with a time frame, program dates, and a spot for grade levels to enter your reading and math focus areas.  We discussed this at BLT last night - your rep will have more to share!  

Click here to access the ASP Block II Document

Observation & Evaluation Cycle:

Just a friendly reminder of our observation and evaluation cycle.  I know subbing and other things have caused me to cancel some of these; please re-schedule through Steph.  

If you are not in the observation cycle, please remember to check in on your TDE requirements for the year (teaching staff only).  

International Fun Day at Work:

I completely dropped the ball on planning for this fun day, which was planned for today.  We will move this to February 25.  More information to come!  

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Have a great weekend- stay warm!

Justin

January 14 Update

Happy Friday!  

Enjoy your snow day!  

Steph shared the below quote with me - I think it really hits home right now.  With sickness, winter, sub shortages,masking, etc... I find myself thinking of the negatives and what is going wrong.  The below quote reminds me (and us) that hope is powerful.  Having hope triggers your mindset to look for the positives.  Don't forget about hope!  

MLK Day:

Just a reminder - we will be at McKinley on Monday for MLK Day.  

Because of social distancing, we will - 

- EA's and Paras will report to the Learning Studio (socially distanced) to watch the keynote/Sup. Elstad.

-Teaching Staff will watch together in a classroom (you decide which Smartboard).  Please still watch together, rather than on your individual laptops.

Also, please reference the emails from Michelle Krell on the specifics of your day. 

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

Have a GREAT weekend!

-Justin