Monday Morning Musings: A Little Bit of Pixie Dust

Principal ponderings...

I just spent a week on a giant ship that I am pretty sure is fueled almost entirely by pixie dust. Every day, every interaction with the staff on the boat, was filled with magic. You can't do a Disney experience and not come away believing that anything is possible. We saw lots of great shows throughout the week, but my favorite was the last night, a show called "Disney Dreams." This was a compilation of songs and scenes from several different Disney shows such as "The Little Mermaid," "Frozen," and "The Lion King." It was all happened as a little girl was spending time with Peter Pan, trying to be convinced to believe in herself, believe in her dreams, so that she could fly. Of course in the end, she did the unbelievable on stage and flew all around the stage. As I watched the show and watched my mesmerized daughter watching that moment in the show, and thought back on our week, I was overwhelmed with emotion and fought back some tears. I know what was behind making that actor fly on stage. The practice, the equipment, the rehearsals, the lighting, the designing. And all of the scenes leading up that moment and all of the work it took to produce those scenes in order to get to that moment. But my daughter saw that moment very differently. What she saw was magic happening right in front of her. She saw a little girl, someone just like her, magically fly in the air. She saw the power of a little pixie dust change the impossible to possible.

And it wasn't just during that show that she experienced the power of a little pixie dust. Whether it was real Disney princesses kneeling down to get to her level and have a conversation with her or give her the biggest hugs or whether it was the waiter showing her a different magic trick every night or the even the glass elevators that she loved to ride in and narrate for anyone riding in them what was going on as we passed every level of the ship. Pixie dust was all around us. I saw all of the work and dedication and hustle of the crew and the expert design of the ship. That's the pixie dust that I saw. But what Emerson saw was magic, everywhere she looked.

As educators, I think we need to remember the pixie dust. We are coming to the last section of our marathon school year. It's going to feel like a sprint during these last few weeks, but we need to remember to pace ourselves, not tire ourselves out, and we need to remember the pixie dust. Think back to August when we came together and said we were going on an adventure. Everyone was refreshed from summer, excited to set up their classrooms and meet their new students. And we even kicked off the school year with some special pixie dust, a countdown and confetti cannons. Just like with Emerson on the ship, I have watched all of the hard work, patience, dedication that goes into creating lessons, engaging students, and making the school day run. But the students don't see that. Hopefully what they see is the magic of learning that you all make happen. It really is magic that you are doing. You take a student who does not know all of the letter sounds and then one day he is reading words and books. You show a student how to divide a number line into fractions and then the light bulb goes off and she gets it and she is able to explain to a friend how that works. You mention a concept and then students become passionate about learning more and they do their own research at home and share their creations with you. All of those experiences and so many more...that's magic! And we get to create these magical moments every day.

When things aren't going as planned or when you are tired or when a student makes a bad choice, remember the pixie dust. Reach into your pocket and sprinkle that stuff everywhere. Remember that our students don't see behind the scenes, they don't see all of the hard work. But we want them to see the magic. Try to stop and see school through your students' eyes. What do you want them to see? Use the power of the pixie dust. Make the impossible possible.

What magical moments will you create today?

Currently reading:
When you are out on a boat with no internet or laptop, you have a lot of time to read! One of the books that I enjoyed reading over vacation was The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise. This book is a heartwarming story about healing after loss and finding family and kindness in the most unexpected places. Definitely recommend this book, especially for 5th graders.

I also discovered a great easy chapter book series that I think many of our 2nd and 3rd graders might enjoy. I heard the author read a chapter from one of the books in the series, and I knew I needed to get myself a copy! The one I read is the first in the series, called The Infamous Ratsos. It's about two brothers who want desperately to be tough, but really end up being good, kind guys.

I also started reading a new graphic novel called A Unicorn of Many Hats. It's a collection of funny stories about a unicorn named Marigold Heavenly Nostrils, who loves herself very much, and her friend Phoebe.

Events this week:
Monday - Welcome back! Girls on the Run @ 3:45, School Council Meeting @ 3:45, Facebook Live Bedtime Story @ 7:30
Tuesday - Bus Evacuations in the am, CST Meeting @ 8:30, 5th Grade MCAS Make-ups, Grade 2 Animal Habitats Program in blue pod in the am, Liz at meeting w/Superintendent @ 2:30
Wednesday - Grade 3 team meeting @ 8:30, Girls on the Run @ 3:45
Thursday - Grade 3 ELA MCAS, Liz @ PLT Meeting 7:45-10:00, Grade 5 team meeting @ 8:00, Grade 4 Stormwater Education Program
Friday - Grade 3 ELA MCAS
Saturday - White Oaks Wildlife Program

Great things I noticed last week:

All of the kindergarteners enjoyed the amazing puppet program in the library!
I caught some 4th graders who found the best reading spot under the stairs.
I happened to come into 3D when a student was sharing a project he had worked on at home as a result of his genius hour project...a detailed scroll drawing of the Battle of Somme.
1st graders had a blast on their field trip to the Theater at the Mount on the Friday before vacation.
Did you see the live display in the lobby to announce the winner of the March Madness Book Bracket...Wonder?! We might have too much fun at work.
Caught some 5th graders putting their math skills to the test as they became city designers and engineers.