Dodgeland Middle School News
September 20, 2020
A Message from Principal Johnson
It has been so wonderful to welcome students back to school, whether in person, blended or virtual learning. Although school is very different with precautions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, staff and students have enjoyed returning to school. As I walk through classrooms I have enjoyed seeing: students creating lab safety videos, students working together in teams, class game of jeopardy as they practiced math problems, students from home joining into a group conversation, and beautiful music from the band and choir room that I hadn’t heard for so long. In a student survey, the majority of students were glad to be back in school. Here are some of the specific comments students shared that they enjoyed:
I enjoyed a lot of the class activities I’ve done so far, and I really like a lot of the teachers I have this year. They are all very respectful and kind, I enjoy being able to see them.
How the teachers are taking the change, keeping calm. And planning if the school has to go virtual again
How the teachers learn about us
All of my teachers were very very helpful with virtual learning!
I liked that we got to go back to school
How fun the teacher are and seeing my friends
Actually being inside of school
I like playing getting to know people games
The games we played.
Parents, we could use your help to remind your child of the following:
iPads must go back and forth between school and home daily. We recommend setting an alarm on the iPad for an evening remind to plug it in. Additionally, set a morning alarm as a reminder to complete the daily self-check and to put it in the backpack. Much of the work we do in school is through Schoology, so school will be challenging without an iPad.
Face coverings are required at all times in the building and on a school bus. Only when students are outside and six feet or more apart can face coverings be removed. The majority of students are following this well and even help remind their peers. Thank you!
Student Absences/Logging in for Live Instruction
We ask that students continue to complete this daily self-check each morning: https://bit.ly/DSDscreener We want students to remain home if they have possible symptoms of COVID-19, however, we want learning to continue. ALL students have been taught how to login to BlueJeans and how to find the code for each teacher. In order for us to mark a student’s attendance as present, the student must follow their daily schedule by virtually attending each class in BlueJeans. This is a new attendance process that we are continually working on, so we appreciate your patience.
Some notes for parents to know about this new process:
We still need you to call the office in the morning (or email attendance@dodgeland.k12.wi.us) to notify us that your child is staying home and for what reason.
The office will keep track of this list each day, however, the absence will not be put in powerschool yet. Teachers will check BlueJeans during each class period to see if students are in virtual attendance and mark it appropriately.
If a student does not login to BlueJeans, they will be marked absent.
A student does not need to login to BlueJeans for a Study Hall, they should just use this time for school work. If a student has been virtually present in other classes, we will mark them as present for Study Hall.
If a student has tech issues during a class, the student should email the teacher to inform them of their attempts to get into class. However, please know teachers will not see this during class, but can follow-up with the student later about how to catch up.
Free Breakfast/Lunch for ALL students!
Did you know that ALL Dodgeland students will be able to get both breakfast and lunch at no cost through December 31, 2020. Students who picked school lunch, received it free starting on Thursday, September 3, 2020 and received their first no cost breakfast on Friday, September 4, 2020.
USDA extended their funding through their Seamless Summer Option for meal service. All meals served will meet the USDA meal pattern requirements. If a milk for cold lunch is needed or an extra milk is desired for hot lunch the cost is $0.30
Automated Messages from School
We continue to utilize an automated system, School Messenger, to send out mass phone calls, text messages and emails to our families. When parents aren’t receiving this information, we often find the following:
Emails are going to your email address, but are going to spam/junk. These emails may come from the email address of a school administrator (i.e. johnsonj@dodgeland.k12.wi.us, modaff@dodgeland.k12.wi.us) or from schoolmessenger@dodgeland.k12.wi.us. Please mark this as “not junk” so you aren’t missing out on future emails.
If you did not “Opt In” to the original text message from school then your phone will never receive a text message from us. But you can change this now by simply texting the message of “YES” to the phone number 67587.
Middle School Athletics Update
The first day of practice for football and volleyball is Monday, September 21st. Practices for the first two weeks will run from 3:05 - 5:30 with the late bus departing from the MS/HS entrance at 5:30. Students needing to ride the late bus must sign up each day. The google link is provided to all students in the daily announcements posted in Schoology.
All required documents must be received and confirmed by the office for a student-athlete to begin active participation in practices. Copies of all documents are available in the office and also on the high school website. The website link is provided for your quick access: Athletic Forms & Documents Athletes are required to attend practices and watch if they have not been cleared for active participation by the office. Participation fee of $20 must also be paid to be eligible to compete in MS athletics..
Coaches provide each athlete with a handout of their individual and team expectations. The signed copies of the student-athlete agreement should be returned to the coach. Please contact Athletic Director Mrs. Modaff or Mrs. Feilbach in the MS/HS office if you have any questions regarding athletics.
Need Technology Help?
Contact Dodgeland Technology Department through the Help Desk Ticket: http://bit.ly/DSDHelpDesk.
About Dodgeland Middle School
Email: johnsonj@dodgeland.k12.wi.us
Website: http://ms.dodgeland.k12.wi.us/
Location: 401 S. Western Ave. Juneau, WI 53039
Phone: 920-386-4404
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DodgelandSchool/