Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Collaboration is the Key

Principal ponderings...

I came across this quote and I thought it was fitting for my first Mayo School blog post.  This is a space where I will write about various topics.  It could be something simple that came up in conversation during the week or it could be something that I feel like you should know about.  Every week I will write, and I hope I will make you ponder, make you smile, or make you start up a conversation.

The above statement was made by a women who was a superintendent in Washington state.  There are many reasons why I like her words, but the the main reason is that she started with what was most important, the children.  As you get to know me as an educational leader, you will learn that I strive to always put kids first.  Kids are why we do what we do every day.  Kids need to be our priority every single day.

As a school, you have been through a lot of change over the last few years.  And now I am new and that in itself is a change that everyone will be adjusting to.  It's your reality.  Of course, even without me you would encounter change.  Every school year is a new experience.  Every day is a new fresh start.  We educators are used to constant change.  Change is a good reality as long as we continue to remember the first sentence: children are the priority.

But Judith's last statement is a crucial one: collaboration is the strategy.  How can we deal with change and keep kids first?  We must be willing to collaborate.  We can't do this alone.  We can't shut our classroom doors and do our own thing.  We need to be inviting each other into our spaces.  We need to be asking for help and feedback.  We need to be meeting with our teams and across grade levels and areas of expertise to have conversations about all of those priorities in our classrooms, our students.  I am looking forward to a year of listening, learning and most importantly collaborating.  Our students don't learn best from just one teacher; their learning experience needs to come from all of us.

How will you collaborate this year?

Currently reading:
In this section, I will share what I am reading.  Sometimes it will be picture books or chapter books.  Sometimes it will be professional books or personal books.  I am always reading!  And I love to share book titles and book recommendations with anyone who reads this.  One book I am reading right now is The Truth As Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor.  It's an interesting read so far about a boy with a learning disability who struggles with being bullied and losing his best friend.
I also just started reading How Women Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back.  I have only read the first two chapters, but it came highly recommended from several friends of mine.  
A great picture book that I have been re-reading as I visit classrooms is School's First Day of School.  Such a fun book that turns the school into a character who is nervous about all of the kids coming to school on the first day! 

Events this week:
Monday - Labor Day, No School
Wednesday - Staff Meeting @ 8:00, Para meeting @ 9:00 in the library
Thursday - Liz at PLT meeting at Central office from 7:45-10:00
Friday - Paws Pantry Spirit Day - Wear your green! Office Staff hosting breakfast.  Patty and Liz meet with the bus drivers @ 9:00

Great things I noticed last week:

  • Our staff gathering on Monday was so much fun!  Loved the energy and enthusiasm as we started on our new adventure together.  Lots of great pictures, but the smiles in this photo certainly summed up our day. 
  • A collage of some pictures from our getting to know you chats, #KidsDeserveIt quote-off, and scavenger hunt...
  • I did not get a chance to snap any pictures of our opening day "New Year" countdown, but I did have fun taking some photos on the bus that I rode on the first day of school! 
  • Our kindergarteners had fun exploring classrooms on Tuesday and practicing riding the bus.  Then on Wednesday they were all eager for their first day! 
  • I definitely had fun beginning to give out birthday books this first week! 
  • It was a long, hot, amazing, tiring, awesome first week...thank goodness for the support of Marilee and Patty to help me survive my first week at Mayo! 

Check it out:
A great video clip about the importance of our words.  Remember the impact, that ripple effect, that we have on each of our students:

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