McKinley Monthly
January 2018
A Word from Mrs. Hoffmann
Dear Families,
Happy New Year and welcome back! Sorry for the delay in this month’s newsletter--because of our water main break last week we didn’t get everything put together. Again thank you to everyone for your quick response to that crisis. We are back up and running, with the music room dried out and everything working again. Thanks also to all of the families for the wonderful holiday cards, gifts, and treats before the break—we have such an amazing, supportive community. It is heartwarming and humbling!
This week it looks as if we will have a little reprieve with the weather; however, as winter continues, please remember to send children with hats, gloves or mittens, boots, and snow pants every day. Despite a couple of indoor recesses last week, most days, we will be outside. Also, it might be good for those who drive students to and from school to take a few minutes to review the Hug and Go drop off and pick up video. Please share this link with everyone who drops off or picks up children from school (daycare, the nanny, grandma and grandpa, aunts and uncles). Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmQNxfeMZHw.
The better we get at this, the safer we make it for everyone.
I hope everyone enjoyed the break and that your New Year’s Resolutions are serving you well. As I listened to podcasts and read voraciously this winter break I found myself drawn to many of the pieces on resolutions--Why we make them, how to keep them, when to adjust goals. My goal, to live with more intention, kept surfacing. With that, I found myself reflecting on how the process is much like what teachers, specialists, and I go through every school year as we define our direction with Student Learning Objectives and a School Improvement Plan. As an academic community, we must serve with intention. Almost halfway through the year, our reflections at this time gauge progress toward our goals, and we reset our focus to be certain that we are serving students in the best possible ways so that they experience success. This is the “hunkering down and getting deep” time of year for learning--an exciting time for intellectual growth!
This month, Chess resumes (preparing for the first McKinley Chess Tournament coming in February!) Destination Imagination is in full swing, and Battle of the Books for our fifth graders will begin. Thanks to everyone giving their time facilitating these groups for our students. Events and dates to take note of: The PTO meeting is Thursday, January 11th, at 6:30; Friday, January 12th is Hero Day; Monday, January 15th students do not have school--it is a teacher in-service day; Wednesday, January 17th is a Monday schedule (so morning orchestra is 4th grade), JK/SK registration dates are Wednesday and Thursday, the 17th and 18th (let your neighbors with incoming 4 year-olds know!), and on Friday, January 19th, the PTO will host family game night.
Also, keep your eyes and ears open for coin, plastic bottle, and pet supplies drives that students will be conducting for service projects. Wow! So many involved kids with so much heart and the desire to contribute to various causes. This doesn’t happen by accident--our students believe they can make a difference in the world because they see examples of this all around them. For that we are truly grateful.
This month will surely breeze by quickly! Happy 2018! Have a wonderful January!
Mrs. Hoffmann
Cold Weather
We go outside every day, unless the weather is extreme. Our district rarely closes, since few students in the district stand outside to wait for buses. District policy is that a “feels like” temperature of five below is the standard for indoor recess; however, we will be reasonable with the call. Negative five degrees and sun with no wind after a week of 20 below can feel like a welcome heat wave; whereas, negative five with biting wind feels terrible for kids having to be out for 20 minutes. Before school we will continue to use the blue dots on the doors to help inform you if we need to be inside.
Dates to Remember
Please mark these dates and times on your calendar:
** January Dates **
Math Night has been moved to April 10
2-26 - Right at School - charity drives
8-22 - Green Team Plastic Bottle Drive (see below)
11 - PTO Meeting
15 - MLK Day - No Classes
17 - Monday Schedule
17 & 18 - Kindergarten Registration
19 - Family Game Night from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
22-26 - Destination Imagination service project - Humane Society coin drive
22-26 - Wisconsin Adult Crossing Guard Recognition Week (Thank a crossing guard!)
McKinley Messengers
Seven McKinley Messengers and their parents (and even two older siblings!) volunteered at the Salvation Army holiday meal set-up and gift bagging on December 23rd at the Wisconsin Center.
The Salvation Army Christmas day meal is the largest meal that the Salvation Army serves in the nation. Over 6,000 people come on Christmas day to enjoy a delicious meal!
Thanks to these seven Messengers and their families for volunteering their time and efforts and putting the McKinley Message into action!
PBIS - Tier 1
The Messengers will be spearheading a coin drive at McKinley for Pennies for Patients, a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The drive will be February 1-14. Each McKinley student will come home with a coin donation box to collect coins from family and friends. Each classroom will also have a donation box. At the end of the two week drive, the coins will be counted, and the cumulative amount will be donated to LSS.
The next McKinley Spirit day is Friday, January 12th. It is "Hero" Day. Students are encouraged to dress up as their favorite super hero or dress as someone they believe to be their hero (firefighter, police officer, doctor, etc.).
PBIS - Tier 2
Our team decided to designate part of our December staff meeting to a discussion about McKinley’s behavioral data. We asked staff members to review their minor and major data reports and notice any possible patterns or trends. At the meeting, staff got the opportunity to work in different groups and talk about current strategies being used to address behavioral issues, and also brainstorm new ideas that have been successful for others. We will use our January Tier 2 meeting to review staff feedback in order to help guide any future discussions.
Tier 2 Team Members: Jean Hoffmann, Jeremy Roloff, Karen Lonski, Jennifer Botelho-Chojnacki, Rachel Kumferman.
Green Team Project!
Dear McKinley Families,
Will you help us do even more good for our planet?
The Green Team is endeavoring upon the creation of bottle bricks. Bottle bricks are a building material we can easily make from recyclable and non-recyclable materials. In warmer parts of the world, many structures are made using Bottle bricks. The main material we need from you is clean, hard plastic bottles. The 16 oz size will work best, but we may be able to use 2 liters, as well. Think plastic soda bottles. Nothing smaller than 16 oz and no soft or thin plastic bottles, please. Our Bottle Drive will start Monday, January 8th and run through Monday, January 22nd. Bottles will be collected by classroom. Please place the bottles in the large plastic bag located in the hallway outside your child's classroom. The class collecting the most bottles will receive a popcorn party as a reward for their work.
Any questions, please email or call Ms. Leigh: leighje@wauwatosa.k12.wi.us
414-773-1567
Keep on Keeping it Green!
Perception Survey Feature - Segment 2: Conduct
Hello McKinley Families,
This is the second installment of the Parent Perception Feedback Information that was requested of me by the McKinley School Culture Advisory Committee. The first installment was about Food Service in my December newsletter. On last year’s survey, the item “Rules and standards of conduct are enforced” came in at a 3.5 out of 5, with 71.5% of respondents feeling comfortable or not aware of how well rules and standards are enforced. This item generated much feedback from the 28.5% who disagreed, many of the comments stating “this has not been my experience; however this is what I have heard.” Given that perception, I think it is important to address.
As a school of over 400 students aged 4-11, teaching students appropriate behavior is an important part of school, and something we continually strive to do better. Students in this age range are learning appropriate behaviors, testing limits, working on learning how to be a friend, differentiating home/play behaviors from classroom behaviors, etc. We can be sure that there will be conflict--it would be abnormal if we didn’t have any. In fact, it is important for students to experience conflict in order to learn how to handle conflict. General misbehavior in the school setting is something that gets much attention from staff--focusing not only on teaching appropriate behaviors, but also digging into the functions of behaviors so that the adults in the building can recognize triggers for students who struggle with meeting expectations.
Our main system for tracking behavior is part of Positive Behavioral Supports and Interventions (PBIS). Some parents may think of PBIS as only about the red tickets and prizes or special functions that students can earn. The system for teachers and staff is much more complex. Every year, we begin the year teaching students about our behavioral expectations in the classroom, the hallways, the bathrooms, the cafeteria, and the playground. Midyear, we always take the opportunity to reteach these common schoolwide expectations. We also have two guidance curriculums, Bullying Prevention and Second Step, which are used to teach students kindness, empathy, the ability to distinguish peer conflict from bullying behavior, and the like.
One aspect of enforcing standards of conflict is through teaching and reteaching. Universal classroom expectations and teaching, including classroom matrixes and Cool Tools (teaching tools) comprise PBIS Tier One. Most minor violations of these rules and standards of conduct can be corrected with simple redirection. More than 80% of our students will respond positively to reteaching after a school rules violation. Last year almost 90% of the minor violations that were written up by teachers were singles, meaning that those children never had a second write up for any other violation the entire year. With students who have behavioral struggles, we have more teaching and support in place, and here PBIS Tier Two comes into action with various supports for students and teachers. The expectation across Wisconsin would predict that this encompasses about 15% of students, but at McKinley it is much less than that. Students who continue to struggle despite Tier Two interventions move to Tier Three, where more supports and resources district-wide come into play. This is generally expected to be about 5% of students in a school; however, once again, at McKinley few students ever get to this level. Rarely, if all other interventions and supports fail, Special Education services might be recommended and implemented for a student with behavioral challenges. The goals set and adult responses in these cases are specifically tailored to the student and the difficulties that child experiences.
We never ignore or dismiss inappropriate behavior. The trickier a situation becomes, the deeper we have to dig to find solutions, the more resources are tapped into, and the more we need to work together to create consistency in responses and team communication so that no one feels alone.
The perception that rules or conduct are not being enforced happens sometimes with student emotional regulation struggles. As you know, due to confidentiality protocols, other parents, students, and even teachers who do not work with the involved students cannot know what supports and interventions we have in place, or what is being done. This sometimes leads to misinformation being shared and spread by those who do not understand all of the intricacies of a situation.
Our excellent, well-prepared teachers keep students engaged and work tirelessly to form deep relationships with their students, which greatly diminishes the potential for misbehavior. The dedication of all support staff and the willingness of everyone to come together and work as a team when we are faced with tricky or unusual situations is a wonderful part of what makes McKinley the special place that it is. Positivity and a belief in all students’ ability to grow and learn is essential for all employees in our district. I know that there is always room for improvement and there is always more to learn in this area. I am committed to continuing all efforts to ensure safe and positive learning environments for all at McKinley. Please continue to keep me informed about concerns you have. We are always better when working together.
Ms. Kumferman’s Korner
News from your School Social Worker
Happy New Year! Starting this month, my graduate intern, Betty, and I will be going into all 5th grade classrooms on a weekly basis during guidance time. Each student will create an Academic and Career Portfolio (ACP) as part of the important preparation for the middle school transition. During these weekly lessons, we will help students explore interests, strengths, study skills, learning strategies, career exploration, goal setting and building positive relationships. Each week will be a new lesson and activity to help promote that self-reflection! Later this spring, the process will culminate in each student sharing his/her portfolio with a parent/other important adult during a student-led conference. I will also be present to help guide the process and am eager to listen to all the student’s hard work! As a district, we have received very positive feedback about this portfolio and conference over the last 6 years, stating that students felt more prepared for middle school and parents got to learn about their child in a different light. Watch for a brochure to come home soon describing the process a bit more….and then, stay tuned!
Destination Imagination
January 22nd through January 26th. The money will be used to buy food for the Humane Society. Bins will be in your kids' classroom to collect the money. The drive is for all students from JK through 5th grade. Another way to help the Humane Society will be a drive to collect paper towel and toilet paper tubes for the animals at the Humane Society. This collection will take place February 5-9th. A bin will be outside of the office to collect these items. Thank you for helping!
Right at School!
Right Club Junior Educators are leading a community service project from January 2nd to the 26th. Right at School will be collecting items for three charities that the students felt hit a wide range of need in the community. We will be collecting items for the Rescue Gang (a foster home based animal rescue in Milwaukee County), Children’s Hospital Toy Donation (the hospital is always looking for toy donations not just for the holidays), and the Hunger Task Force. Suggestions are listed below. Donation bins will be located outside of room 11 with detailed posters about specific items each organization is looking for. Our goal is to fill each of the bins to the very top! Thank you in advance for your generosity.
Rescue Gang-
Dog Treats
Dog Toys
Dog Collars
Leashes
Blankets/Towels
Manila folders
Lavender Lysol
Front Harnasses
Children's Hospital Toys-
All toys must be NEW
Arts and Craft Supplies
Dolls
Lego Kits
Small Bubbles
Books
Coloring Books
Hot Wheels
Teethers
Hunger Task Force-
Canned Fruits and Veggies
Grains- brown rice, sugar free cereal, multi-grain pasta
Protein- peanut butter, canned tuna and chicken
Packaged snacks
Condiments
Office Max / Office Depot Gives Back
* * Tosa Cares * *
Tosa Cares is a local, non-profit organization located in Mount Zion Lutheran Church that helps families with food donations and so much more. Here are the dates for the monthly food distributions. You are encouraged to contact Linda Ertel before you come either by email Tosacares@gmail.com or phone 414-861-4725, or you can just show up on one of these dates.
2018 dates:
January 13
March 10
April 28
June 16
Aug 11
Sept 29
Nov 17
Tosa Cares is also always looking for donations of food, or cash. There are 3 permanent donation sites/times which you can find on their website: tosacares.org
Here is a list of the most needed items:
- Cereal
- Nonperishable fruits, vegetables and juices
- Peanut butter and jelly
- Spaghetti sauces and noodles
- Pastas and rice
- Canned protein, such as chicken, tuna and beef stew
- Snacks such as granola bars, crackers, popcorn and cookies
- Packaged dinners, especially those with meat
- Hearty soups
- Toilet paper, diapers, baby wipes, paper towels and tissues
- Personal care items such as shampoo, hand soap, lotion and toothbrushes and tooth paste
- Dish soap and laundry soap
McKinley contact info
Website: http://www.edlinesites.net/pages/McKinley_Elementary_School
Location: 2435 N 89th St, Wauwatosa, WI, United States
Phone: (414)773-1500