May 10, 2017 - Issue #32

Eight individuals and one team of teachers will be honored today as the Neenah Joint School District’s Employees of the Year for the 2016-17 school year. Please note the reception has been moved to the Riverwalk Hotel. The reception takes place from 3:45-5 p.m.

Recipients are Alliance teacher Julie Lennon, Shattuck teacher Cheryl Prosek, high school teacher Sara Roblee, high school counselor Beth Altekruse, Spring Road principal Michaela Neitzel, high school educational assistant Lori Harness, District facilities coordinator Jane Bahr and District groundsman Tim Wichman. The technology team will also be honored as the Team of the Year. Team members include Matt Anderson, Katherine Conor, Andy Dubey, Todd Hinzman, Cindy Kardong, Sandy Kasper, Rocco Marchionda, Bonnie McClone, Shawn McGrath, Austin Moore, Betty Proces, Neal Pynenberg and Bryan VonDeylen.

The final PLD of the school year will be held on Friday, May 26.  Registration will be open by 3:00 p.m. on Friday, May 12 and available in our Schoology NJSD PLD:2016-17 course. Itineraries will be generated and emailed to each registrant on Monday, May 22.

The schedule for the day includes:  

Staff wellness session:  Each certified staff member, both teachers and building level administrators, will participate in the medical training that is required annually.  This training is usually completed over the summer or during pre-session, but this year we are trying something new by scheduling the medical training during PLD.  Each certified staff member (teacher and building admin) will be assigned to one of three sessions held during the morning of May 26. Administrative assistants assigned to schools will participate in a medical training during May’s PLD  in the afternoon.  Educational Assistants will have their medical training in the fall at the start of the school year.  

Any staff person who is not required to complete medical training during May’s PLD is encouraged to take an hour out of their day on May 26 for a wellness activity of their choosing.

Technology session:  There will be a one-hour technology session.  Small grade level and department groups will be organized to review and share thoughts on certain aspects of our BrightBytes data results from this winter.

Curriculum/pupil services session:  K-5 classroom teachers will begin their orientation for Project Lead the Way (PLTW).  K-12 departments, 6-12 departments, 7-12 departments will complete data analysis #3 for their selected common assessment.  4K and selected special education teachers K-12 will finish AVMR Course 1 with session 6. Other pupil services groups and curriculum groups will receive more information during the registration process related to their activities.

Non-certifed staff sessions:  Staff wellness activity on-your-own unless participating in the medical training in the PM.  Look for more information during the registration process.

The first table below provides a general description of the schedule for May’s PLD. Group assignments are listed in the second table below.

Administrator and Certified Staff contracts will be arriving by the end of the week. Please keep one copy with your professional records.  Please sign and return the second copy to your school's Administrative Assistant before June 2, 2017. Please do not return your individual contract to Human Resources. The school Administrative Assistant will send all contracts to Human Resources at the close of the school year. Thank you in advance!

Eight individuals and one team of teachers will be honored today as the Neenah Joint School District’s Employees of the Year for the 2016-17 school year. Please note the reception has been moved to the Riverwalk Hotel. The reception takes place from 3:45-5 p.m.

Recipients are Alliance teacher Julie Lennon, Shattuck teacher Cheryl Prosek, high school teacher Sara Roblee, high school counselor Beth Altekruse, Spring Road principal Michaela Neitzel, high school educational assistant Lori Harness, District facilities coordinator Jane Bahr and District groundsman Tim Wichman. The technology team will also be honored as the Team of the Year. Team members include Matt Anderson, Katherine Conor, Andy Dubey, Todd Hinzman, Cindy Kardong, Sandy Kasper, Rocco Marchionda, Bonnie McClone, Shawn McGrath, Austin Moore, Betty Proces, Neal Pynenberg and Bryan VonDeylen.

Rocco Marchionda will again be acting as a third party holder of your responses in our yearly District Performance Feedback Survey. Be confident that no personally identifiable information is required or even collected. Your time and honest feedback are sincerely appreciated in our effort to improve our buildings and our district. If you have any questions about this process, please feel free to contact Rocco.

Please take a few moments to take our yearly NJSD Performance Feedback Survey

Our new laptop distribution project has come to an end. The last laptops were distributed this week and all of the old laptops will be picked up by our vendor on Monday, May 15. The entire technology department would like to sincerely thank all of the staff for their cooperation, and willingness to assist us as we replaced nearly 1,000 computers in our school district. 

We have two action items for you as we end this project.

1) Please be sure to take a few minutes early this week to verify that you have all of your files, calendars, bookmarks, etc. All computers we have collected will be erased starting the evening of May 11 at 5 p.m. No further data retrieval will be possible at that time.

2) We have created a google doc with answers to many frequently asked questions related to the laptop exchange. We encourage staff to review it as time permits.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LcE4aMZYTOSVtE9quYMyRzegiZJ2zbD-04UZqWdxRZA/edit?usp=sharing

Again, our sincerest thanks for your assistance throughout this project. We have simply amazing staff!

This year's class of retirees will be honored with a reception on Friday, May 12 from 3:45-6 p.m. at the Riverwalk Hotel. The event is open to the public and a program will begin at 4:45 p.m.

A total of 13 individuals will be honored for their service to the District. Retirees include: Mary Birling, Mary Coons, Patti Davis, Nancy Dombeck, Judy Erickson, Kim Novak, Kathy Paulus, Lori Polley, Betty Proces, Tim Robertson, Jennifer Ropella, Karen Schuman and Carol Steinert.

During the summer of 2017, Neenah Joint School District will be assembling curriculum writing groups for Human Growth and Development (K-8); College, Career and Civic Life Framework (C3) for Social Studies K-8; Science Curriculum Review K-5; and Math Performance Tasks K-5.  Please indicate your interest in participating in any or all of these opportunities by completing the attached survey.  From the list of interested participants, we will assemble a representative group to complete the work.  Thank you for your interest - Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Department.

https://goo.gl/forms/OZDJRq9C6FQTkSG63

Staff members are reminded that Friday, June 2 will be a day off for all District employees. Dr. Pfeiffer made this announcement at the winter convocation. The last day of school will be Thursday, June 1. This will be a half day for students, but will be a full day for staff members. Enjoy your extra day off!

The week of May 1-5 was National School Nutrition Employee Week. Meals prepared and served by school nutrition employees may significantly enhance the student learning environments, allowing children to concentrate on graduating with the skills and knowledge they need to be successful in the workplace or toward further studies.”

The food service staff that work for NJSD are awesome!  They care so much about the students.  All staff in the food operations go above and beyond to ensure that the children are getting the nutrients they need.

Please help acknowledge their great work throughout the school year!

Today is National School Nurses Day!  If you, your building, or your building's students have been positively impacted by a Health Assistant or School Nurse (which includes all of you!), please find a way to thank them today.  

Fifth grade students at Taft Elementary are supporting cancer research by participating in the Wagon Warriors project for Colton's Cure. Students designed, built, and decorated a wagon that is on display at Associated Bank in downtown Neenah during May.

Taft's wagon is one of 12 designed by students throughout the region. The wagons may be viewed at www.crowdrise.com/wagonwarriors. Individuals may "vote" for their favorite wagon by making a donation at the website. People may also fill the wagon with items from the Colton's Cure wish list. Items include tie blankets, pillow cases, gift cards, coloring books, iTunes gift cards, notebooks or journals, superhero costumes, gas cards, markers and crayons and toys. Financial donations may only be made online.

The theme of Taft's entry is “Sailing towards a cure.” Students came up with the idea based on Neenah's name as the Winnebago word for water and how scientists are just as determined as our explorers to find a cure for cancer with the help of compassionate community members. Taft art teacher Brian Felten coordinated the project.

1) Fox Cities Marathon

Need that extra push or motivational support to run one of the four adult events in this year’s Community First Fox Cities Marathon? Join the Neenah Joint School District team in the Business Challenge and WORK TOGETHER with co-workers and family to accomplish your goals! 

Participants registered for the Half Marathon (walk or run) and Marathon will receive a $20 reimbursement. Participants registered for the Marathon Relay will receive a $10 reimbursement. Participants registered for the 5k will have the opportunity to win a free entry. 

Register at www.foxcitiesmarathon.org/registration/ or mail in the registration form. Then, send a copy of your registration receipt to sara.moore@www.neenah.k12.wi.us. 

Please contact Sara Moore if you would be interested in joining supported group runs over the summer and check out the ThedaCare Training Guide to learn more!

2) Healthy You Online Store

Are you looking for some new Wellness Wednesday apparel? If so, check out the Healthy You Online Store to place an order (details attached at the blue link at the bottom of the page)!  If you have questions about sizes or would like to try apparel on, please contact Julie at Eagle Graphics: jjudnic@egpromo.com or call 920-486-1067. The Online Store closes on May 10 and orders will be received by May 26! 

3) CESA 6 will be offering a course called Mediation and other Mindfulness Strategies for Educators to both Pre-K-3rd grade and 4th-12th grade educators this summer.  The registration deadline is June 1! (see attached at the blue links at the bottom of the page)

The District is looking for some feedback to assist in researching a new wellness platform (our current being Go365). It would be greatly appreciated if staff could take the time to answer a quick survey, which will help understand your preferences and interests.  Please click here for the survey.

Eighth grade students in Brady Kiel's social studies class have been exploring podcasts, and learning how to create podcasts that are informational and engaging for the listener. Students started out by using the tool Vocaroo which allows students to record themselves and get an instant link to that recording. Students then used the program GarageBand on MacBooks to create and edit their podcasts. They were assigned a topic from their textbooks, and then researched to expand their understanding. Upon completion of this project, students listened to other podcasts in order to learn the information about the other topics, and completed assessment questions created by each group. Click here to listen to a podcast on the Louisiana Purchase!