There are few moments in my life these days when I can actually say I feel like a kid again. And right up there with Christmas morning, are snow days. It’s funny because I love school; I love everything about it. But, the thrill of getting that early morning phone call telling me that school is cancelled just never gets old. Yes, it’s true, principals work on snow days, but I still LOVE them. On Tuesday, I sat in my office during our first snow day of the school year. I finished projects that I otherwise may not have gotten to until March or April. I organized files. I checked emails. I read a few articles. I answered phones. And, still, I felt like a kid again. When I got home I was greeted with the excited squeals of my four kids as they held their hats and gloves and boots because they had waited for me to get home to go sledding. I tossed my school bag on the floor and bundled up. As I spent the afternoon sledding with my family, I forced myself to pause and take in the excitement of the day. As the day came to an end, I was left with happy memories of an unexpected day off from my normal school day routine. To my surprise, I was reminded that we all need to take time to play. I remembered what it means to feel like a kid again. I didn’t take myself too seriously. And, most importantly, I slowed down and enjoyed the moments.
Here is your staff update for February 19th.
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Do you know what I love? Kindergartners!
Do you know what Kindergartners love? Everything! Kindergartners have passion. They can get excited about anything and everything. They love to learn to read and write. They love to play and make friends. They just love everything we expose them to. The excitement and passion they have for learning can take them far! But imagine what happens when we combine that passion with a purpose. A few weeks ago I read a blog post from AJ Juliani called “Why Creativity Begins with Purpose (Not Passion)”. In the post, Juliani says: I used to think all I needed to create something that mattered was passion…I was wrong. It turns out passion might start the engine and get the creative process moving, but purpose is what takes it all the way to the destination (and beyond). I saw this passion and purpose play out last week when, Dolly the Dolphin and I were invited to Kindergarten EdCamp. The kindergartners who delivered the invitation stood in my office jumping up and down. They told me that they had spent the last several weeks exploring lots of different ways to share information through writing. They squealed as they explained that on February 10th I could come to their classroom, with Dolly the Dolphin of course, and learn to make a newspaper; comic book; greeting card; song or poem; story book and MORE! I quickly hung up the invitation and had my little friends watch as I added “EdCamp” to my calendar.
And then the day came, the day when the passions of our youngest students were combined with purpose! These children were charged with being teachers.
Check out the video of our EdCamp highlights.
If we want creative students, we’ll have to allow them to choose a purpose for much of their learning. AJ Juliani
_Here is your staff update for February 11th. We’ve finished the first two parts of our R Factor training. It is up to us to implement what we’ve learned.
If we want to be elite we must be intentional, on purpose and skillful in our behavior. We must stop ourselves from impulsive, autopilot and resistant behaviors. This isn’t easy. We’re tired. We’re 101 days into the school year and we’re headed into conference week. When we get tired and stressed out, it is easy to allow ourselves to go below the line. But, we want to be elite. We must be relentless. We cannot allow ourselves to give up. So, now, more than ever, we must put in the effort to stay above the line. We have worked hard on R1: Press Pause. As we practiced pausing we learned that “to pause” doesn’t mean to ignore an event but to instead give ourselves time to gain the clarity and courage needed to determine our response. This week in R Factor training we focused on R2: Get Your Mind Right. We had a lively discussion about how this part of the training impacts us. We were open and honest and not afraid to share our successes and failures. The trust that we have in each other as a staff shined through. I left the training feeling like we could accomplish anything because we work so well together. As we move into conference week next week, let’s remember the importance of pressing pause and getting our minds right. Your mindset is the internal mental state that affects first how you see and then how you respond to events. In other words, every response is internal first and external second. –Tim Kight How will we see the events in our lives? What story will we tell ourselves? The mind is a battleground where your greatest struggle takes place. The thoughts that win the battle for your mind will control your life. –Tim Kight Let’s all keep working to hold one another accountable on our relentless pursuit to be elite. We're on our way. Here is your staff update for February 5th. We have so many duties as educators. This week I was reminded that one of the most important duties we have is that of the warrior. We don’t just fight the good fight; we fight the right fight. We root for the underdog. We protect the innocent. We are honorable. We are courageous. We spend long hours away from our families to ensure that we are doing what is best for our students. We do these things because it is our duty, our passion. It is in our blood. We will not stop. We will do what is right for children. Thank you warriors. Here’s to you. Here is your staff update for January 29th.
Have you ever experienced a moment when you were truly inspired? A moment when the words you were hearing made you want to stand up and cheer. A moment in which you were ready to take on any challenge, any crazy dream, and jump in head first. I had one of those moments on Thursday when Mark Tremayne and Sharon Esswein spent an hour at our administrator meeting helping us deepen our understanding of developing a growth mindset.
Mark and Sharon shared a video of clips of interviews with Will Smith over the years. His words speak volumes. I ask that you take ten minutes to watch the video which is embedded at the end of this post. Let his words sink in. And reflect on this statement:
Next, I want you to think about our Dream Project. I want you to evaluate your ideas.
Are they realistic? Or, are they so big that they could be called unrealistic? We are not on a quest for mediocrity. We are creating something that has never been created before. We don’t have time for realistic. Thanks Mark and Sharon for the inspiration.
Here is your staff update for January 22.
It’s January, that long, cold, dark month full of indoor recess and the passing of germs. It’s a time of year that we could easily get caught with a case of the winter blues or wrap up in a blanket on the couch and wait for spring. But, for teachers we know that the time from January to March brings huge growth for our students. Which is why, now, more than ever, we must be at the top of our game. We’re at an advantage right now because we know our students very well, we understand their strengths and weaknesses, we know what they enjoy and what they could live without. We have built relationships with the children we spend our days with. They are part of who we are. And, we owe it to our students to be at our best each day. On Wednesday, we had our first R Factor training in which we learned the important skill of pressing pause and the dangers of being on autopilot. Let’s all recognize our autopilot moments. Let’s think back to the excitement of the beginning of the school year. Think about all of the ideas we had and things we wanted to try. Did we let those ideas fade as we drifted back to doing what we always do? Have we allowed ourselves believe that our students aren’t ready yet? When this school year began what did you want to try? Have you tried yet? Jump in! Do it! Don’t wait until the end of the year to reflect and think about all the things you wanted to do. Seth Godin speaks often about taking risks. On Thursday, I read this post from him and I think it’s just what we all need to hear this time of year: It's all a mistake ...until it works. That's what innovation is. Mistakes, experiments, mis-steps. Until it works. The process isn't to avoid the things that don't work. Because that means avoiding the things that might not work... Instead, our job is to eagerly embrace the mistakes on the road to the impact that we seek. Don’t avoid your ideas and goals because you’re on autopilot. Press pause. Gain clarity and courage. Take a risk, it just might work. Here is your staff update for January 15. ![]() I’ve always known that words are powerful, but until a few years ago I didn’t realize just how powerful ONE SINGLE WORD could be. In 2014 I read One Word That Will Change Your Life. The words in the book took me on a journey of reflection and discovery and helped me realize that I could change my life with just one word. My first word In 2014, I chose my first word. CONNECT During that year I set my sights on connecting with my family and friends, building my PLN through Twitter and connecting with other educators through my blog. In 2014, I stepped out of my comfort zone into a world of digital professional development. I connected with educators in Hong Kong and Louisiana to plan a global professional development opportunity for teachers using the book Teach Like a Pirate. We used Google Hangout to talk about the book and were even joined by Dave Burgess, the author of Teach Like a Pirate, for one of our Hangouts! How cool is that? And, I am sure that if it weren’t for my word, I wouldn’t have pushed myself to do any of it. My Next Word THOUGHTFUL It took me no time at all to pick my word for 2015. I know myself well and one thing I know is that I am often quick to make decisions, quick to share my thoughts, and well, just plain quick. So, I decided to focus on being thoughtful in 2015. My goal was to slow down and take my time before making a decision, before sharing my thinking, before being , well, “quick”. I definitely thought about my word every day. I tried really, really hard to slow down and make thoughtful decisions but slowing down and being thoughtful was hard. This word taught me a lot about myself and even more about failure. I failed at being thoughtful more times than I succeeded. I have lost count of the times over the past year that I’ve said, “My word is ‘thoughtful’ if only I would have been more thoughtful, that would have turned out better.” What I learned in 2015 was that when I do slow down and take time to really think things through, great things happen. The Big Reveal: My Word for 2016 I’ve been going around and around about my word for 2016. I decided that I needed to give myself time to think (I learned this trick in 2015), so I didn’t rush to have my word chosen on January 1. I thought about myself, my goals, my struggles, my failures and my successes. I tested some words, tried them out for a while to see how they felt and waited for one to “stick”. Here are a few that I considered: Purpose Intentional Start Patience Surrender Believe Inspire More (I really like this one-maybe 2017!) Journey Reinvent Pause Even though I liked all of those words, I just didn’t feel a connection to any of them. Then on Wednesday I spent some time reading through reflections and goals that my teachers wrote about the first part of the school year. As I read the thoughtful comments, I was moved by how openly and honestly they shared their insecurities, their struggles and their plans to grow and change. I read their words over and over again and marveled at just how amazing these teachers are. I sent each of them an email thanking them for taking the time to reflect, sharing some positive feedback and then asking them how they were doing with their goal. And, to my surprise many of them replied back to me with even more thoughtful words about their progress, their struggles and the things they still needed to learn. I loved the fact my teachers were thinking about growth. I loved that they were seeing our work as a journey. But it made me wonder if they take time to CELEBRATE their accomplishments and recognize how hard they work. So, I replied to one of my teachers with the following words: You are amazing. Remember, you'll never feel "finished" because you are such a learner. So, I hope you take some time to celebrate all that you do. Thus, my word was born! CELEBRATE will be my word for 2016. I will celebrate success, I will celebrate what is learned from failure, I will celebrate the little things and the big things. All too often, we can become so focused on the journey that we forget to stop and take in the sights. So, this year, as I continue my journey with my teachers I will take in the sights and celebrate along the way. What do you need to celebrate? Please share! ![]() Every year that I’ve spent as an educator has been a journey of discovery. Some years I discovered more than other years. Some years I grew deeply in my understanding of content, some years I grew as a leader, but this year is different. This year I feel like I am able to take a step back and see the big picture all while noticing how small day-to-day interactions with children make a huge impact. I can see the impact of educators everywhere I turn. This week, I noticed the impact in my own home! On Wednesday we were eating dinner, as usual. My boys, who usually don’t have much to say about school except for their very detailed recaps of the happenings at recess and PE; both were enthusiastically sharing all of the details of Mr. Ford’s impending retirement. I mean they could barely keep from talking over each other. I was trying to follow their story that went something like this “Mr. Ford is RETIRING! He is going to spend his time working on a farm! I wish he would wait until the end of the year. Why do people retire? Why doesn’t he want to come to school anymore. He loves school…” I was a little embarrassed to have to ask, but I wasn’t sure who Mr. Ford was. The boys stopped dead in their tracks when I asked and both said, “THE JANITOR!” This was followed by, “He the nicest person at school! Yeah, he is funny and he jokes with us.” My 5th grade son, Rocco said, “He calls me Taco and I call him Bob. And, mom, I’m NOT being disrespectful, it’s our inside joke.” Gino chimed in with, “He always waves to me. He really likes me.” This conversation made my heart sing. Not only, is it so comforting to know that the adults at school make meaningful connections with my kids, but I also loved the fact they my kids respected and appreciated the custodian. So, I said, “Boys we should get him a retirement gift. When is his last day?” Of course I wasn’t expecting the answer to this questions to be, TOMORROW, but as luck would have it, that was exactly their response. So, instead of a gift from a store, my boys each made a card for Mr. Ford and I think there words are better than any gift I could have purchased from a store. There are so many "Mr. Fords" in schools everywhere. To each and every one of you, I say, thank you! Thank you for enjoying children, thank you for making a connection with them, thank you for being a smiling face that they get to see every day. Whether you are a custodian, secretary, bus driver, cafeteria employee, teacher, or librarian every little interaction you have with children makes an impact.
To the real Mr. Ford, thank you for being who you are. Thank you for loving your job and making my children happy each day. Enjoy your retirement and I hope you know that your impact will last a lifetime. Here is your staff update for December 18. The ability to impact students is one of the special superpowers that all teachers possess. It can be used for good or evil. We can have extremely positive or extremely negative impacts on the lives of kids. The thing about impact is that it’s hard to measure. Most often our impact can’t be measured for years, long after our students leave our classrooms. Dave Burgess speaks about this very thing in his book, Teach Like a Pirate, Dave says that, “A teacher’s impact can only be measured through generations!” The story I’m about to share, proves just that… My mother-in-law, Rosanne Prati, spent over 30 years teaching first and second grades. She retired about 4 years ago and started working at Hallmark just last year. On Saturday, I noticed that I had a voicemail from her. She told me to call her so she could tell me a teacher story that my father-in-law just didn’t fully understand. When I called her back she shared this story with me: Yesterday I was at work and it was really busy. I noticed a lady at the register next to mine who looked familiar. I could tell that she was looking at me, too but couldn’t place me. Then I remembered that she was a former student of mine. So, I said, “Tammy! You don’t remember me do you?” The lady looked at me and quickly said, “Mrs. Prati!” I came around to the front of the register and gave her a hug. We didn’t have much time to talk, but she said, “I’ve always wanted to thank you for what you did for me. I’ve thought about you so much over the years.” If the story ended there, it would probably have been plenty. To me, the thought of hearing those words from a student you taught 20 or 30 years ago would be music to any teacher’s ears, but this isn’t the end of the story. My mother-in-law went on to say: I was so happy to see her and I wasn’t even really sure what I’d done for her. Then the next day I came in to work and there was a package and a card waiting for me. I opened the card, it was from Tammy. Here is what it said: ![]() I wish I could find the perfect way to thank you for being such a thoughtful, caring person. You always seem to know just what people need and what will brighten their day. Kindness is such a part of your nature that I'm sure you're not aware of some of the little things you do that make such a difference in someone's life. That's why I want you to know your generous spirit has touched my life more times that I can count. She then read the message that Tammy wrote inside:
Upon hearing what she wrote, I instantly had chills. I could feel the impact that my mother-in-law had on her former student’s life coming alive in the words of that card. Proof! This is proof that our impact can’t be measured by test scores, can’t be measured by an SLO, but instead is measured by the way we make our students feel and how they live their lives years after being in our classrooms. As we talked more about what had happened. Rosanne continued her story. Later that day someone else came in to the store and said, “Mrs. Prati! You were my cousin Tammy’s teacher when she was in first grade. She told me she saw you here and that you had helped her at school one day when she had an accident. You gave her clean jogging pants and none of the kids ever found out that it had happened. She tried to find you on Facebook because she wanted you to see this post.” The person then handed my mother-in-law her phone so she could read this: Yesterday I went to get a couple things for Christmas and I got my Christmas gift in return! I stopped in The Hallmark store at the OV Mall with my daughter and this lady asked if it was me. A little confused (normal anymore) I said yes. It was Mrs. Prati! A teacher who helped a very shy scared little girl on several occasions (yes ME). She has always been in my heart throughout the years. When you think of someone with such a huge heart, caring personality and the patience of God...you get her. Over the last couple of years I have begun apologizing from my heart to several people that I've hurt or was mean to because I was a fool. She was always the mentor that I always thought of and wanted to be like. Thank You Mrs. Prati for being such an angel and making a positive difference in this girl's life! God Bless You! I couldn't find her on Facebook but I hope she gets to read this. I did leave her a special personalized "Forever Grateful" gift at her store that I hope she likes. Our impact is real. What impact will we make today that may not be measured for years to come? Here is your staff update for December 11. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been reading Above the Line by Urban Meyer. Chapter 5 is called “Competitive Excellence”. At the very beginning of the chapter Urban states that, “The best ‘gamers’ are the best ‘practicers’.” Makes perfect sense, right? However as this statement began to sink in for me, I realized that there is one glaring difference between elite athletes and elite educators. Athletes have the benefit of practice! Remember what Urban said? “The best ‘gamers’ are the ‘practicers’.” But, wait, we don’t get to practice. Educators must be at the top of their game every day. We have 180 days with our students and it’s “game on” from Day 1. Not one of those 180 days are practice days. So what do we do? How do we become elite performers when we don’t get a chance to practice? Luckily for us, Urban has the answer to this question in his book as well. He says, “Elite performers don’t get to that level by accident, but through great coaching and careful attention to preparation.” Coaches! That’s right. We must use our coaches. Since I became a principal four years ago, I have said time and time again that it is my goal to create a culture of coaching in my building. By this I mean, a culture in which it is deemed unacceptable to not ask questions, reflect on practice and seek out the expertise of others. It is amazing to watch this culture take shape. Over the years I have seen teachers go from anxious and uncertain first year teachers, to educators who are mentoring new teachers, leading data team conversations and confidently making decisions that are positively impacting the lives of students. I’ve seen ELL teachers who were transferred to my building become valued members of our staff. These ELL teachers have coached classroom teachers as they learned to work with students who speak languages other than English. I have seen veteran teachers step up and say “the way I used to teach doesn’t work anymore and I’m trying something new.” When the teachers on a staff trust one another enough to grow together, reflect together and coach one another, amazing things happen. What makes a staff truly ELITE is when they’re not afraid to say that they’re not satisfied with the work they do. I am so happy to work with a staff that isn’t satisfied. We want to be better than we are today because our students deserve it. Game on! Here is your staff update for December 4. Meyer, Urban (2015-10-27). Above the Line: Lessons in Leadership and Life from a Championship Season (pp. 104-105). Penguin Publishing Group.
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