Welcome Back 2025-2026!

Welcome Back! 

Thank you for all the time and energy you have put into making the first Clasroom Connection day a hit!  It was great to see families back in the building.  

Don't forget to get some team/individual pictures in front of the balloon display and text/email it to me.  A huge thanks to Steph for organizing this!  

Your Impact:

As we ended Tuesday's time together, we focused on that idea of IMPACT.  Below is one of my favorite quotes.  Every day, we get to decide what kind of impact we will have.  Every.single.day.  

Don't ask, "Will I make an impact today?"

We don't get that choice.

We WILL make an impact on the kids and adults we interact with.

Instead ask, "What kind of impact will I make?"

We can be the reason they want to come to school or the reason they don't.

That's the choice. 

New Kids on the Block:

Each year, we honor our newest teammates with a New Kids on the Block bar!  Linked is the sign up sheet.  We need enough of their favorite treats for around 80 people, so multiple people can sign up.  If you are interested, please sign up and bring your treat in by next Wednesday.  

Homecoming Week - Dress Up & Picnic!

Just a reminder - Homecoming is early this year (September 15-19)  Below are the dress up days planned for that week.  Just a reminder - we have an early release that Friday (12:40pm) for the parade.  

Additionally, we will have our Family Picnic on this day, too.  Linked is a general plan for that.  Please note - the early release is very early this year.  I will be sharing the RSVP with families next Wednesday.  More to come!  

Raptor:

We will be utilizing Raptor for our safety drills this year.  Please either download the app or have a laptop you will use in the event of a crisis.  This will be the process we use for initating a drill/event, reporting which kids are with you, and other communication in the event of a drill or crisis.  

If you are having trouble logging into Raptor, please contact Paige Olson at the DO.  

EduClimber (formerly Viewpoint):

One of the new platforms we are using is EduClimber (this has replaced Viewpoint).   I am looking forward to using this as there are way more perks.  The site is way more user-friendly, you can dig down deeper into root causes, we can use it triangulate data (attendance, behavior, etc), and we can track interventions.   This will be a slow rollout to implement all these things.

As you are preparing for PLCs, goals, and instruction, you will need to access student data.  For now, Kenneth has made a screen recording of how to access the data, being mindful that you have a lot of new this year.  The video is linked here - Informational Video from Kenneth.  More to come on training and implementation!  

MESPA Roles:

I wanted to share with you that I am taking some leadership roles on within MESPA (Minnesota Elementary Principal's Association).  This year, I am serving as a the SE President, a principal mentor, as well as a Principal Fellow.  All of these roles will should not impact my role here other than a few times during the year when I'm out of the building.  One of my passions is leadership development and I'm thrilled to be able to support this statewide.   Just sharing with you! 

Toot Your Horn Nominees:

Each week, we honor different staff members through a "Toot Your Horn Award!"  Linked is the nominiaton form.  This is for those moments when you appreicate someone.   After they are chosen, they receive a horn and their picture is shared with staff along with your write-up.  Consider nominating a colleague today! 

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the  building weekly newsletter

Monthly Family Newsletter (shared on today with families)

https://secure.smore.com/n/nfra4

Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

-Justin

May 30 Update

Happy Friday!

5 more days!  Let's finish the year strong!

Monday & Tuesday:

Just a reminder - I am out of the building on Monday and Tuesday.  Please try and handle as many situation as you can.  Amanda is available to support those issues that need office attention.  

Staffing Updates:

We have a couple people leaving McKinley this year...

Anna Stocker has accepted a music position in Sauk Rapids at the secondary level.  Anna went to college in that area and is excited to return.  She has been a great addition to our team and will continue to do great things! 

Jill Schweisthal is retiring at the end of this year.  Jill has been our Head Cook for 8 years and was the Head Cook at Willow Creek for many years before this.  Jill has worked hard to make our McKinley Kitchen one of the best.  She will be greatly missed!  

Please join me in congratulating both Anna and Jill on their next chapter! 

End of Year Checklists:

Linked below are checklists to help you with is expected at the end of the year.  Please note - certified staff will need to schedule a checkout time this year to ensure we are on the same page.  

Certified Staff Checklist (please note the request to sign up for a checkout time)

Para/EA Checklist

End of Year Stations:
Linked are our end of the year stations for Friday, June 6.

Also, here is a reminder of some upcoming events..

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Have a great weekend!

-Justin

May 23 Update

 Happy Friday!

EL Access Data:

The preliminary ACCESS data was released this week to our EL staff.  Overall, we have 30 kids in the entire District exiting EL services.  Of those 30 students, 15 of them are from McKinley!  This speaks to the dedication and care you provide our learners every single day!  Congrats! 

End of Year Checklists:

Linked below are checklists to help you with is expected at the end of the year.  Please note - certified staff will need to schedule a checkout time this year to ensure we are on the same page.  

Certified Staff Checklist (please note the request to sign up for a checkout time)

Para/EA Checklist

End of Year Stations:
Linked are our end of the year stations for Friday, June 6.

Also, here is a reminder of some upcoming events..

MESPA Fellow:

I am sharing something a little personal this week.  MESPA (MN Elementary Principals' Association) has started a new "fellowship" program for the 25-26 school year.  I was chosen, along with 4 other principals in the state, to provide professional learning, support, and leadership to all the other elementary principals in the state.  I'm super excited for this honor.   The reason I share this is I am attending a conference on June 2 & 3 in Philadelphia.  I will be out of the building for those two days.   Please be aware of this with any requests on those two days.   

Update on SPED Staffing:

Next year, we have 4.5 FTE in our setting 1-2 case managers.  As you know, Matt Williams will be joining Katie, Amber, and Joan to program for setting 1-2.   Additionally, we have Kira Schiller (Early Childhood Special Ed teacher) joining us for afternoons only.  Please join me in welcoming Kira to our team!  

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

May 16 Update

Happy Friday, McKinley!

Another great week of learning and relationships!

Just a few reminders:

• The library closes next Thursday for the rest of the year. 
• PTO Ice Cream Social is next Thursday from 5-6:30pm.  Stop and enjoy some ice cream!  
• Class list process starts Monday!  
• Last day of interventions is Friday, May 30.  

Toot Your Horn:

Back by popular demand..... or because I actually remembered to do it.....

We have three Toot Your Horn receipents this week - Val Seath, Katie Demmer, and Anna Stocker!  

Val Seath was nominated by Kate Seifert for Val made a garden plan and slide show that is so user friendly! It covers many of our standards, has videos and great explanations. We used the slides as directions before going out as a class to work in the garden. Following her steps made expectations clear so we could concentrate on the fun!

Katie Demmer was notminated by Kate Seifert for Katie brought an exciting lesson about fractions for my 3rd graders. She brought her energy and enthusiasm, and great encouragement of math thinking. The kids loved the activity, were critically thinking, using manipulatives and explaining their thinking. Thank you Katie for the refresher!

Anna Stocker was nomninated by Kate Seifert for We know Ms. Stocker does amazing things with our elementary students-helping develop young musicians; but it was so fun to see her direct the middle school band! Thank you for your many "hats" you wear, Anna, and for your gift of music for the students throughout the district!

End of Year Dates:

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Have a GREAT weekend!

-Justin

May 9 Update

Happy Friday, McKinley!

And, Happy Educator Appreciation Week!  I hope you felt the small gestures of appreciation and care this week.  You are truly an amazing group of people!  

Happy Mother's Day to all those in the building celebrating!  Thank you for being a mom at home, as well as caring for our learners here at school!  You are appreciated!  

Classroom Connection Day:

Next year, we will be doing "Classroom Connection Days" (formerly Before School Interviews).  The main reason for this change is to move this time to more of a conversation between the family, student, and the teacher.  We will not be doing the BAS assessment anymore.  There will be more information provided, but I wanted to give you a heads-up in case you started to see "Classroom Connection Day" being used.  More to come!  

End of Year - 2 reminders:

As we wrap up the year, please remember that the end of the year can be fun, as well as stressful (for students, as well as staff).   This stress can come from the unknown of summer break (having enough food, not seeing my trusted adults, etc) as well as the changes in schedules and consistency.    In thinking about this, I'm asking staff to do two things.  

1. Stick to your schedule, as much as possible.  We are still teaching and running a normal schedule up until the end of the year.  This provides that predictable environment for all.  

2. Do not have countdowns in your room.  This is a visual reminder for some (some are happy, but some have stress because of this).  If you have "21 days left", this sends two messages - we are only hear to "do the time" and after those days, I may not have the consistency and trusted adults in my daily life.

Perspective Matters:

As we close up on these last weeks of school, please remember that your perspective matters.  What view are you choosing each day?  

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Have a great weekend - and hope you mom's are taken care of this weekend!

-Justin

May 2 Update

Happy Friday, McKinley!

Lots of random, yet important, updates!  

Lunchroom Super Heroes:

A huge thank you to our Food and Nutrition Services team for all they do to keep each of our learners fed so they can do their best work.  Thank you to Jill, Stacy, Carol, and Sarah - we are so thankful for you.  Happy Nutrition Services Week!  

Educator Appreciation Week

Next week is the week to honor ALL of you! 

Track Meet - Tuesday:

Linked is the schedule for Tuesday's track meet.  Please take a moment to look at it (please note - all grades may be impacted, even if you aren't at the track meet).  It's suppose to be a beautiful day weather-wise for our track meet!  

Family Scavenger Hunt:

The below paragarph was shared with families yesterday.

Saturday, May 24 is National Scavenger Hunt Day! And, McKinley is joining in!

Below is an RSVP to request a family scavenger hunt kit. The kit, which contains everything you need to do a scavenger hunt at home, will be sent home with your oldest child on Friday, May 23. Your family can join in on the fun the next day to participate in a scavenger hunt!

If you are interested and plan to do the scavenger hunt, please RSVP below by Friday, May 9. Please only complete if you are planning to do this. One kit per family. Your family will do the scavenger hunt at home on your own timeline.

If you have questions, please reach out to our Main Office at 507.444.8200.

https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSdJASh7Wfb.../viewform...

Fastbridge Schedule & Plan:

Please take a minute to read below:  

Reminders for Fastbridge benchmark assessments:

• If, for any reason, you feel a student's score is invalid, please contact the building principal and coach to discuss whether the test needs to be re-administered. Our district coordinator monitors if a test is taken more than once to ensure the validity of district-wide results. Teachers should not be deleting scores and re-administering assessments.

•  Refrain from pre-teaching or practicing specific test items or passages.

Thank you for your help in maintaining the validity of our testing practices.

Click here to see the schedule and plan for Fastbridge testing

End of Year Dates/Stations:

End of Year Stations - Friday, June 6 (please sign up to lead a station)

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend - summer is coming!

-Justin

April 25 Update

Happy Friday, McKinley! 

Just a reminder - purchasing deadline is next Wednesday, April 30.  Please do not wait until the last day to enter something in.  

Educator Appreciation Week:

May 5-9 is a week to honor all of you educators (teachers, paraprofessionals, EA's, etc. are all educators!).  Below is our plan to honor you!  

Staffing Update/Sections:

Thank you for your flexibility with the staffing process this year.  Below is what our tentative sections will be (I say tentative because there could be a small chance we have to add or reduce if we lost a large amount of kids - rare, but could happen) - 

Kindergarten - 3 sections (Hugs, Brown, Schlauderaff)

1st Grade - 4 sections (Simon, Gonzalez, Larson, Bricko)

2nd Grade - 3 sections (Gadient, Seath, Wilke)

3rd Grade - 4 sections (Furniss, Seifert, Valentine, Thurnau)

4th Grade - 4 sections (Gilligan, Tepp, Baumann, Tolle)

5th Grade - 3 sections (Oppegard, Staloch, Rypka)

Special Education - Herbst, Schlueter, Biegert, Matt Williams, and a new .5 FTE teacher

PE - Smith, Melcher, Mark Clauson (.2) 

I am sad to share that we have three staff who will be moving to other buildings next year.  Melinda Clugston will be moving to Kindergarten at Washington and Chelsea Grambo will be teaching 1st grade at Wilson.  Additionally, Zach Waletich will be full-time at Washington next year.  We will greatly miss all three of these amazing educators and know they will do great things in their new roles!  

If I did not list a team or department, it means there was no changes. 

Friday Grill Out in May:

An annual tradition is our Friday Grill Out!  If you/your team brings the meat, I will have it grilled and ready for you at your lunch time.  Please sign up for a date and time on the linked sheet.   

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Have a great weekend! 

- Justin