Creative Spaces and Inspirational Places

Principal ponderings:

Spring forward...yes, we all had to move our clocks ahead this weekend, which means we lost an hour, but on a positive not...spring is just about here.  And with the weather being what it has been for the past week, I am thinking that we can look forward to more good days ahead.  Only a week away from the first official day of spring!  This is the time of year when everyone starts thinking about spring cleaning.  Spring cleaning might also mean rearranging.  At least in our house that is what it sometimes means.  My husband loves to rearrange our furniture in a room or reorganize the cupboards and closets when I'm not home.  It's always fun when I suddenly need to hunt for the measuring cups or locate a certain pair of shoes!  (There might have been some slight sarcasm in that last statement.)

But the thoughts of spring cleaning and/or reorganizing got me thinking about my old classroom and how many times I used to change the layout throughout the year.  I loved changing things up quite a bit.  I wish Pinterest had been around when I was teaching.  There are so many creative classroom set ups that teachers are trying out.  And then what's great is they are sharing their ideas online for everyone to see.  I have been participating in a book chat about Donalyn Miller's book, The Book Whisperer, and the chapter that we are discussing this week talks about the spaces in classrooms that are available for independent reading time.  Of course, I am well aware usually our classrooms do not have much space to begin with, but sometimes a little creative energy can make space that you never knew was there!

I might have spent some time getting lost in lots and lots of pins on Pinterest this weekend.  And I am definitely missing the days when I had my own classroom to arrange and rearrange.  Although it's not the same, I did find some pins that I might be able to use in my office.

Here are some pictures and links to get your wheels spinning, thinking about classroom design or redesign...

In this post, 2 teachers talk about how they emptied their classroom and completely redesigned it...definitely not your traditional classroom set up: http://minds-in-bloom.com/2014/11/new-classroom-set-up-encouraging-self.html

Here's a creative use of the chairs in the room for comfy reading...

Unfortunately this teacher's blog link is no longer available

I used to have a million crates...when I was going through my addiction to storage containers stage...check out how this teacher made these great DIY stools! http://www.theeagerteacher.com/2013/08/did-it-myself-crate-stools.html

Have filing cabinets in your room...how about creating a reading nook with them?

http://www.aburstoffirst.com/2014/06/weekend-warriors-reading-nook.html

Several teachers have been looking into alternative seating, alternatives to having a classroom full of standard desks.  Here is one teacher who did some looking into alternative seating and then shared what she purchased in her classroom:
http://alternativeseatingclassroom.blogspot.com/2014/08/getting-started.html

And here is a teacher who shared a whole bunch of pictures of favorite reading areas in classrooms:
https://aliciaeyer.wordpress.com/2010/12/05/reading-area/

And finally...here is a list of 'epic inspirational classroom decor.'  I know you might look at some of these pictures and think it's a little over the top, but I thought you might pick out something in the pictures that would get your creative juices flowing for your own classroom.  http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/30-epic-examples-of-inspirational-classroom-decor?sub=2609621_1842769#.uh2QOZ4e6

Or do your own search to find inspiration for spring cleaning or future planning.  In fact, you will be getting a survey that asks you to think about furniture and needs for your classrooms.  The district is developing a 10 year capital plan which means we need to be thinking about how we will improve the physical space of the school.

If you could create your ultimate classroom in the space you are in now, what would it look like?  And then there's the question of what to do with all of the old furniture...

Currently reading:
I checked out some cute picture books from my local library.  Considering the bug that has been going around school, I thought this one was an appropriate book to read...

I read another book by the same author.  This book reminded me of my husband when he gets frustrated that his students don't practice in between music lessons...

This book put a smile on my face, especially since I am always talking to the kids about how being a student is their job...

And finally, this was a sad one, but certainly a good book to help a child understand when a grandparent suffers from Alzheimer's...

I have also been selecting certain sections to read in the book, The Reading Strategies Book: Your Everything Guide to Developing Skilled Readers.  This is a great resource!  I know that there are several copies in the curriculum office so if you are looking to earn some PDPs in a book club or on your own, this is a good one.  It has 300 strategies to work with readers on!  I have been reading over the strategies in the 'Teaching Reading Engagement' section.  It tells you the strategy, gives you some prompts to use with your students, and then includes a possible anchor chart or visual or template to use.  Everything is broken down to let you know what level reader the strategy would be for, genre, and specific skill.  Check it out!

Here is short video of the author explaining her book:

Events this week:
Monday - Happy Pi Day! Variety Show Practice @ 8:30, It's a marvelous Monday in March...check your mailbox! Zumba with MaryKaye @ 3:30 in the gym
Wednesday - 1st grade school concert @ 9:30 in the PAC, Staff meeting @ 3:30
Thursday - 2nd grade attending 'James and the Giant Peach' 9:30-12:30, Variety Show practice 3:30-6:00, 1st grade concert @ 7:00 in the PAC
Friday - Community Reading Day! Dr. Rodriguez visits FloRo in the am, Variety Show at the PAC @ 7:00!

Great things I noticed last week:

• On Tuesday, I was hanging out in the OT room and watched Mrs. C working her magic with some of our students.
  
• Also on Tuesday, I enjoyed sitting in the lunchroom while kindergarten was eating.  So great to see a student effectively using his assistive tech device to express his needs.
  
• On Thursday, I was lucky enough to be the guest teacher during computer lab.  2nd graders were working on creating Google slide presentations about endangered animals.
  
• On Friday, I listened in as Mr. Wiesner had the entire 1st grade in his room practicing for their concert this week.
  
• Also on Friday, we hosted the admin team from around the district in our building.  Officer Mead and Karen Tuomi continued to work with training us on how to handle different safety issues and protocols to use.  The admin team also had a chance to pop into a kindergarten class, a 1st grade class and a 4th grade class.  They were all impressed with what FloRo students were doing!
  
• Student Council members worked hard to get posters put up around the school.  We have Community Reading Day this Friday and we are reinforcing the themes of kindness and empathy from the books being read by having a food and supplies drive for Loaves and Fishes all week.
  

Check it out:

It's a long article, but an interesting read about distributed leadership ideas: http://www.bain.com/publications/articles/transforming-schools.aspx

And here is a post about using your colleagues to create professional development: https://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2016/03/07/using-colleagues-to-create-your-own-professional-development-pd-possibilities-series/

And since I was posting about design...love this video of the "Evolution of the Desk"

http://bestreviews.com/electronics#evolution-of-the-desk) (You have to scroll down a little bit to get to the video.

A Child's Eye View

Principal ponderings...

On Wednesday, I took the #shadowastudent challenge.  I spent the entire day as a student in 3rd grade.  It was quite an experience to see everything from a child's eye view.  Having been a classroom teacher, I feel like I understand the teacher perspective, but it is entirely different to go through the school day as a student.  I started my day by riding the bus with the young girl who I was shadowing.  I was told by several students that normally on the bus kids were much louder and were not always sitting in their seats.  Apparently, the principal sitting on a seat on the bus changes the environment!  I have to say that the conversations that students were having with me on the bus were a pleasant surprise.  One student asked me what my reading goal was this year...how many books was I going to try to read?  Another student chimed in that he was trying to read a certain number, and a different student shared that her class was trying to read a certain number of books.  Then the conversation changed to a student asking me what my favorite book was.  He was sitting on the bus reading one of the MCBA books, and I told him I had read that book.  I also told him I would have a hard time picking a favorite since I love so many books.  And then a little girl sitting in the seat next to us shared that she was writing about a book in her journal that she had and she showed me the page that she was writing on.  Everyone wanted to talk books and reading with me!  I was excited to witness firsthand that the students see me as a reader.  They see me as someone who will always want to talk books with them.  The bus pulled up to the school, and we were off and running (well not running, more like quickly walking through the hallways to get to class!).

When we arrived in the classroom, I was excited to see that I had my own desk set up, complete with a name plate and my own behavior chart to monitor my own behavior throughout the day.  Everyone has one on their desk and moves themselves up or down the color coded chart.  Adriana told me that I needed to get my snack out and bring it to my desk.  When we got settled in our seats, we were able to work on some writing or do some reading.  I realized that the day got started pretty quick, announcements happened, the teacher entered her attendance, and then she called us to the rug to start talking about writing.  The class has been working on writing, revising, editing and now publishing some informational writing pieces.  Our mini-lesson was about how the students had been working hard and now it might be a good time to stop and compliment your writing.  The students talked about what they were proud of in their writing, something they had learned as an informational writer, or just talked about how they had really put a lot of time and dedication into their stories.  And then it was time to get into writing.  The student I was shadowing was working on copying over the final draft of her piece that was several chapters long, all about bunnies.  For students who were already done with their writing or someone like me, we were given some different prompts that we could work on.  I chose to write about which sport I thought was the best and why.  It seemed like we had not been sitting very long when we were called to go to work with the special education teacher in a different room.  So we gathered our work and made the long walk to the other side of the building.  Some of us in the small group were working directly with the special education teacher on writing pieces and others were able to continue to work on re-writing and publishing.  Soon it was time to gather our work again and head back to the class so we could go to art.

The art teacher gave us some quick instructions on how to make 3-D masks.  She also had some students help remind everyone of the difference between 2-D and 3-D.  I love art so I was excited to participate in this special!  We were working at different table groups, and what was most interesting was being a part of the discussions at the table.  A few students were eager to jump right into the project.  What I noticed was many of the girls at my table lacked confidence in completing different steps.  They wanted me or someone else at the table to draw out the different parts for them.  Or they would see someone else's piece and want that person to make theirs for them.  One girl started to try to do it on her own but kept feeling like what she made wasn't good enough.  So for the majority of the art period, she really did not get much accomplished.  I was able to get some of mine completed, but definitely had to leave art with an unfinished project that I will be sure and finish up and share with the art teacher!

After art class, it was back to the classroom for math.  There were rulers out on the desks so I knew we were going to be doing something with measuring.  The teacher led us in a discussion about measuring and finding area, and we talked about why we would need to know about area...how could we use this in the real world?  She helped us measure a few rooms that were displayed in the math journal, reminding about starting at zero and using the centimeters side, displaying the page and ruler on the ELMO for us all to see.  Then we were able to work independently.  After some time working in the classroom with the special education teacher, we again had to pack our work up and head back to the other side of the building to work in a small group with the special educator.  In this small group, even though we were all working on area, some students from one class were working on a slightly different assignment while the students from the class I was in were working on the assignment that had been started in the classroom.  The special educator had the difficult job of going back and forth between the different students, giving them individualized attention.  Pretty soon it was time to pack everything up and go back to class to get ready for recess and lunch.

Recess!  What did I learn during recess?  Well I learned that my hips can just barely squeeze down the slide!  But more importantly, I learned that kids still need help figuring out what and how to play on the playground.  There were a few students engaged in a version of soccer and some were trying to do some kickball.  But the majority were running up and down and all around the play structure, tagging and retagging each other in random games of tag.  And a few kids were walking around carrying hula hoops.  Our mostly blacktop playground, combined with kids not really sure what to do, makes for a recess time that definitely has room for improvement.  We headed into the lunch room and took our place in the long line to get the spaghetti and meatball lunch.  Since I had just had that exact meal for dinner the night before...I brought a delicious peanut butter and fluff sandwich and some fruit!  There was a discussion about how one of the girls at the table had packed her own lunch for the first time.  She was quite proud of herself and her friends let her know that they were impressed!  Once again, it seemed like we had not been sitting there very long when it was already time to quiet down, take our last few bites, clean up and line up to go back to class.  

Finally after lunch...my favorite time of day...reader's workshop!  The teacher gathered us on the rug and told us that we were starting a brand new unit, biography.  We talked about what biographies were and how there was a difference between biography an autobiography.  We were instructed to go back to our seats and have some independent reading time and that small groups would be called to the back table to pick out some biographies to browse through.  Our group was called first.  I selected a book about Ghandi and a book about Louis Armstrong.  I started to read the Ghandi book and was able to read the whole book.  The teacher was conferring with individual students while we all read.  You could have heard a pin drop in the room.  A few times I popped my head up to survey the classroom...everyone was really into reading.  At the end of reading time, we came back to the rug to talk about what we had learned about the people we had read about.  This was definitely the time of day where I did not feel rushed or had to move from classroom to classroom.  And the teacher told us that we actually showed awesome reading stamina...we read for almost 50 minutes!  

The last part of the day was a little different than normal.  We were all heading over to the PAC to see the play preview.  Some of the students in the class were actually in the play so they were going to participate in the preview and then stay to get ready for the dress rehearsal.  When we returned from the performance, we were missing several students from the class and there was not much time to start anything.  So we packed up our bags and played a quick game of 20 questions and heads up.  And just like that, the day was over and it was time to head to the bus.  

It was a busy day, and I was certainly tired as I headed into a classroom after school to lead our staff meeting.  My mind was busy thinking about my experiences throughout the day...it took a little adjusting to put myself back into the principal role!  I am still thinking about and reflecting on my day as a student.  It is clear that those little minds get quite a bit thrown at them throughout the day, on top of just juggling being a 9-year-old!  And if you add to that being a student who may be a struggling learner and who needs specialized, small group instruction...well, the best word I can use to describe the day of learning is disrupted.  It is hard to focus on tasks, not necessarily because of learning needs, but because of the schedule that we, as adults, have put in place for kids.

I still have a lot to think about.  But I will ask all of you...what do you think it would be like for you to be a student in your classroom for a day?  How might changing your perspective change your teaching and planning?

Currently reading:
While I was spending my day in a 3rd grade classroom, I had the opportunity to read a biography about Ghandi.  It was an interesting read, and I learned some new facts that I did not know.  During independent reading time, I also had time to read more of Crenshaw, by the same author that wrote The One and Only Ivan.

I checked out some picture books from my library to read, including these two: Still My Grandma and Lulu's Piano Lesson.

Events this week:
**Kindergarten registration taking place this week.
**Teachers are able to begin entering report card info.
Monday - Marvelous Monday for a 'soup-er' staff!  Check the staff room for soup, sandwiches and salad! Zumba in the gym with Mary Kaye @ 3:30!
Tuesday - Variety Show practice @ 3:30 in the gym
Wednesday - Curriculum half day, dismissal at 12:15, paras multi-part series sessions, School Committee Meeting @ 7:00
Thursday - Variety Show practice @ 8:30 in the gym, Student Council Meeting @ 8:30, Zumba with Mary Kaye @ 5:00 in the gym
Friday - Variety Show practice @ 8:30 in the gym, SLT meeting - hosting admins from the district in the morning at FloRo!, 1st grade chorus @ 2:25 in the gym, Trimester 2 closes

Great things I noticed last week:

• I was so proud of this 2nd grader who shared his informational writing with me...he knows a lot about parakeets! 
  
• I had such a great day shadowing Adriana in 3rd grade all day on Wednesday! #shadowastudent 
  
• Thanks Mrs. Pierantozzi for organizing the bulletin board in the lobby for our school-wide book, Red, A Crayon's Story.  Can't wait to see the final product! 
  
• I caught Mrs. Taylor's kindergartners filling in some number bonds and writing out addition equations. 
  
• The 3rd and 4th graders did an amazing job during the performance of Seussical, The Musical this weekend! 
  

Check it out:
An article that talks about importance of work life balance for educators: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/02/17/teachers-take-care-of-yourselves.html
Love this!...

How to read more. #WorldBookDay pic.twitter.com/FdGOuiCxbZ

— Austin Kleon (@austinkleon) March 3, 2016

The Power of Pronouns

Principal ponderings...

Yes, I was an English major who actually enjoyed learning about parts of speech and grammar.  Yes, I have a secret desire to become an editor - a job where I get to read books all the time and edit mistakes.  And yes, I am a huge fan of mad libs.  But none of these statements explain the meaning behind the title of my post.  Take a look at the following sentence and see what happens when you plug in different pronouns.  How does the sentence change?

______ (They or We) should figure out how to help _____ (my, our) students because ______ (I, we) need to make sure the needs of all of _____ (my, our) students are met.

Pronouns are small, but mighty little words.  While it's true they are simply words used in place of nouns, pronouns are important, and our sentences would not be the same without them.  When we are talking about education and classrooms and students, it's important to choose the right pronouns.  

It can't be about me and you; it needs to be about us and ours.  

We have to be careful not to always fall into the trap of I am planning this and 

my classroom needs that.  

Instead of thinking I can do it on my own or you don't have the same group of students as me...We should be looking at how his or her classroom management strategies can make all of us better, and their student growth data trends can push us all to make changes in our practice. 

If you are thinking why am I feeling overwhelmed and not able to help all of my students...let's figure out how we can support each other and make improvements for our students.

In the district, we have to move away from thinking in terms of us and them and move towards thinking we are responsible for their future.

This isn't my school.  It isn't your school.  It's their school.

And they need us to do everything we can to give them the best education possible.  

Which pronouns will you be using this week?  

Will it be all about me and you or will it be all about them?

Currently reading:
I am listening to an interesting story on my drive to work.  It's called Rooftoppers, and it's about a little girl who survived a shipwreck and how she is trying to find her mother.  The young main character, Sophie, is a book lover raised by a man who found her and is also a book lover.  So far, it's an enjoyable book to listen to.

I just finished My Happy Life.  This book is great on so many levels.  First of all, it is an early chapter book, with very short, easy chapters that some early readers who really want to read chapter books could certainly handle.  It is simply written, but handles difficult subjects like the loss of a parent and friends moving away.  I like how the School Library Journal reviewed it, saying, "The difficult subjects are handled gracefully, allowing children to realize that happiness comes and goes, and that everyone has hardships to face."

I am excited to be part of another online book chat.  I am rereading The Book Whisperer.  Donalyn Miller is so great.  If you haven't read this professional book yet, I am pretty sure there are copies available in the curriculum office to borrow.  I came across a cute picture book in my local library called Previously.  It goes through lots of famous fairy tale characters and talks about what they were up to previously!

**Don't forget March is Reading Month!  (Even though...every month is really reading month!)

Events this week:
Monday - ELA/Math curriculum day for 3rd grade, Zumba with MaryKaye at 3:30 in the gym!
Tuesday - ELA/Math curriculum day for 4th grade, Variety Show practice in the gym after school
Wednesday - Happy birthday to Dr. Seuss!  Shadow a Student Day! Liz will be shadowing a 3rd grader all day! Play preview @ 2:15 in the PAC, Staff meeting @ 3:30
Thursday - Kindergarten Orientation @ 6:30pm
Friday - 1st grade chorus practice @ 2:25, Performance of GDCE's Seussical, the Musical at 7:00 in the PAC
Saturday - Performance of GDCE's Seussical, the Musical at 7:00 in the PAC
Sunday - Performance of GDCE's Seussical, the Musical at 2:00 in the PAC

Great things I noticed last week:

• Check out our new comfy seats that are in the library now!
  
• I popped into Mrs. Riley's class and caught her 1st graders working on identifying adjectives that they could add to their writing.
  
• Ms. Johnson and Ms. Hoke's 2nd graders were practicing their listening skills and discussion skills in non fiction book clubs.
• Kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade teams had ELA/math curriculum days with the coaches, and I was able to sit in for a little bit with kindergarten.
  
• I enjoyed pulling up on the rug and sitting next to this 1st grader who was reading all about penguins during independent reading!
  
• I was excited to open up my mail and find these books.  I ordered them for our school council members.  Looking forward to some small group book chats!
  

Check it out:

Watch this video clip!  Simple, yet powerful message to students.  This project had teachers selecting one student to tell them why they think they are important and that they are "the reason they come to work each day." 

Check out this new feature on Scholastic...students can write their own book reviews and read book reviews written by other students! http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/swyar/index.asp

Can't remember if I shared this article with you already: Becoming a Math Person: http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/16/01/becoming-math-person...read about how you can help students develop a math mind.

Making It Count...1,2,3,4,5 Challenge

Principal ponderings...
I am part of a Voxer group called #PrincipalsinAction.  No, that's wrong.  I'm not just part of this group; I am engaged, motivated, pushed, inspired, challenged, changed for the better by this group of principals from all over the map.  Every time I listen to messages from this group or read what they are writing on their blogs, I learn something new.  I think...yes, awesome, how can I try that?! They push me to keep improving my practice.  They challenge me to do more for our students.  They remind me every day why I love my job.  Recently a member from the group named Kas Nelson (@kasnelson), an elementary principal from Oklahoma, challenged our group to write a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 blog post...and I accepted the challenge!

1. What has been your ONE biggest struggle during this school year?
Hmm...only one?!
I think back to my first staff meeting where my message this year was that this would be the best school year yet.  Fast forward to today, and I have to admit that it has been a bumpy ride this year.  The year started with the teachers being asked to bite off more than they could chew...implement a new, rigorous math curriculum and at the same time dive into the Lucy Calkins Writing Units of Study.  It was a daunting task, one that would have had teachers spending all of their time reading and planning, leaving little time to think about connecting with kids and meeting the kids' needs.  We ended up moving the writing work to next year and focusing on math this year.  This gave everyone some breathing room.  But for me, I have to admit I was discouraged with the process of reaching an agreement.  I let myself get discouraged and definitely began to doubt myself as a leader.  I am the eternal optimist, yet I found myself letting the negative thoughts creep in.  I have been working hard to push the negative out and get myself back on track so that I can keep encouraging my staff to still make this the best year yet!

2. Share TWO accomplishments that you are proud of from this year.
Even though it was part of the struggle I discussed above, I am extremely proud of the staff rising to the challenge of a brand new math curriculum.  Eureka math is a rigorous program.  Eureka math makes kids think.  Eureka math makes parents think.  Eureka math makes staff think.  At the beginning of the year, reading through one lesson was difficult...it was packed with so many activities, so many new vocabulary words, so many new techniques.  We were all dealing with learning how to teach with this new program.  Now, teachers have actually said to me, I love it.  Parents have told me they are amazed at what their child is able to do.  And the students...well there is only one word for the joy, the sense of accomplishment, when they find an answer and can explain their thinking...Eureka!

I am also extremely proud that our students love reading!  Kids get excited about their reading stamina.  I walk into classrooms and everyone, every single student is reading.  (Not too long ago, I walked into classrooms and no one was reading.)  And more importantly, they are reading books that they have chosen, books that interest them.  Thanks to our PTA and other donated funds, we have continued to build up classroom libraries and our school library so that we have books, books and more books!  Students, teachers, and administrators are recommending books to each other.  I am so proud of the reader's workshop model that our school has embraced.

3. What are THREE things you wish to accomplish by the end of the school year?
There are more than 3 but I will just list the top 3 that come to mind...
I want to be better about planning my days and weeks.  I want more time in classrooms and less time in meetings.  I need to get better about being selective when scheduling in meeting times.  There are days when dismissal comes around and people wonder...was she even in the building today?  I want to be part of the magic that happens in the classrooms.  I miss being in a classroom all day.  It's simple...I need to make sure that most of my time is spent with students and teachers.

And being present in classrooms more means I also want to get better about giving timely and effective feedback.  When I was a teacher, I craved feedback, and I never got it.  Actually, I did get some feedback, but that was only when I invited my peers into my room to observe me.  I want to continue to try to spread the message that educator evaluation is about helping every educator grow so that we can keep giving our best to students.  We all have room for improvement and that should not be viewed as a bad thing.  I want to push and challenge my teachers to be better than they were yesterday.  #kidsdeserveit!

Thanks to my #principalsinaction group, I started purposely making positive phone calls home.  Best. part. of. my. day.  Typically, when a parent hears that it's me calling, their first instinct is...what happened, what went wrong?  It was amazing to call parents and simply share with them how proud I am of their child and how I think their kid is awesome.  Is it possible to hear a beaming smile through the phone?  Yes, it is.  I certainly had tears in my eyes during several conversations.  And another bonus...reading the positive thoughts that teachers had to share about their students.  I plan to keep up the positive phone calls home!

4. Give FOUR reasons why you remain in education in today's rough culture.
At the beginning of the year, the superintendent challenged us to share what education is in 3 words.  My words were: molding future minds.  That is why I have to be in education.  We get to do awesome things...we mold kids' brains!  We are shaping the future.  That is super cool!  How could you want to do anything else??

Even though there are a million different acronyms, and even more initiatives, and mandates...there are so many hard-working, passionate educators who care about kids before anything else.  Watching educators connect with kids...you won't find anything like that in a 9-5, cubicle job.

Another reason why I stay in education?  Every day is new.  Every day I learn more.  Every day I make connections with educators across the world.  I see the big picture, and I love that I am a teeny tiny piece of the puzzle.  For every challenge that comes up in the field of education there are dozens more inspirational stories that energize me and renew my faith in society.

Three years ago, during my first year as a principal, my mother retired after 25 years of teaching.  The speech I gave at her retirement party can be found at this link, and it talks about her influence on me.  She was and always will be my favorite magistra.  The impact she had on so many kids over the years...I want to have that same impact on kids.  Someday I want someone to give a speech at my retirement that describes how every interaction I had, every decision I made was for kids.  Maybe someday it will be my daughter telling me how proud she is that her mom was an educator.

5. Which FIVE people do you hope will take the challenge of answering these questions?
I challenge any of the fabulous teachers at Florence Roche to take the challenge.  If you don't have a blog for yourself or your classroom, then start one.  Here's your first prompt!  Actually you don't even need to do this on a blog if you aren't ready for that yet...simply answer these questions for yourself.  And I'll even throw in a challenge to our superintendent, Kristan Rodriguez (@Dr_Rodriguez21).  She is a blogging queen...I know she might not want to stray from her Friday update...but even answering these questions for yourself is good for the soul. :)

I would like to challenge Patricia Wilson @PKJWilson, a new principal in North Augusta, South Carolina.  She literally just sent me a random message through Twitter thanking me for writing my blog and helping her figure out how to connect with her staff.  Made my day reading a message from a complete stranger!  Here you go Patricia...better get writing!

I would like to challenge Rachael Peck (@rachaelpeck23) .  She is a principal out in Roseville, CA and through #SAVMP...a virtual mentor program that I joined through Twitter...I am her virtual mentor and have been working on connecting through email, Twitter and Voxer.

I would like to challenge Claire Giardino (@cgiardino3), a principal in Ohio, who I recently connected with through Voxer.

I would like to challenge Scott Middlemiss (@ScottMiddlemiss).  Not sure if he blogs, but he should!  A little birdie told me that he has been giving me a hard time for not being able to attend our collaborative admin meetings...well I am going to throw this challenge at him...get to it mister!

I can't do a counting post without throwing in a counting song video clip...

Currently reading:

I sat down and read Fish in a Tree cover to cover over the break.  This book is amazing!  I put it in the same category as Rules, Wonder and Out of My Mind.  It's about a student who doesn't believe in herself and a teacher who cares enough to help her see her potential.  The author paints such a powerful picture of a young girl struggling with dyslexia: "I wish she could understand my world.  But it would be like trying to explain to a whale what it's like to live in the forest."  Go read this book right now!  It's contains a message that everyone needs to hear.  I am also finishing up listening to Hoot on my drive.  I am rereading The Book Whisperer as part of a Voxer book chat.  I did not read the whole thing before, and I want to.  And I started reading Cynthia Lord's newest book in her Shelter Pet Squad series....Paloma.  A copy will be in our library as soon as I am done!

Events this week:
Monday - Welcome back!  Hope everyone had a great vacation week!  Zumba with MaryKaye in the gym @ 3:30
Tuesday - PTA Meeting 7:30 pm - Topic will be about summer camp opportunities
Wednesday - ELA/Math curriculum day for K, 1st grade chorus practice @ 2:25
Thursday - ELA/Math curriculum day for grade 1
Friday - Liz and Dianna at SLT meeting in the am, ELA/Math curriculum day for grade 2

Great things I noticed last week:

• Be sure and pop in the library...you might see some changes!  Thanks to Ann, Casey and some parents (and Ann's son) for coming in and helping rearrange book shelves, redesign the layout and shelf books in new spots.
  
• I was super excited to open up a special package that was delivered on Friday before the break...new books from Cynthia Lord for our library!  She autographed them for our kiddos and reminded them all to "Dream big!"  Cynthia Lord rocks!
  
• Thursday before vacation the 2nd graders put on an amazing concert and performed some Valentine's poems.  Here's a clip of some scatting happening...cool! 
• Spirit day was on Thursday...check out the crazy hair, crazy socks and sports jerseys!
  
• And Sydney, our principal for the day had a jam-packed Wednesday! 
  
• Last week, the staff started practicing for our special performance at the upcoming variety show...we should start every morning with dancing!
  

Check it out:
Great article about the importance of letting children cry, tears help support social emotional development: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/tears-support-social-emotional-development-diana-rivera
Love this simple message of starting a writing conference with a student by saying, "I want to give you a compliment."  I know I like when conversations start that way! https://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2016/02/17/i-want-to-give-you-a-compliment/
Thanks Marcia Cragg for sharing this article about how important it is for us adults to play...helps with our work/life balance! http://www.edutopia.org/blog/summer-professional-development-play-elena-aguilar
The World Book Talk Championship has narrowed down the list to 4 people...2 literacy legends and 2 lead learners...watch the clip and vote for your favorite! https://adjustingcourse.wordpress.com/2016/02/19/world-book-talk-championship/

What if?

Principal ponderings...

It's Super Bowl Sunday, and even though around here most of us are rather upset that our beloved Patriots are not in the game, it's still on many people's minds today.  I know when I went to the grocery store...the packed parking lot and the deals on chips, dips, and wings were certainly signs that many would still be watching the game in the evening.

I thought I would reflect back on last year's game.  The one where the Patriots won.  I actually don't really want to talk about the specifics of the game.  Instead, I decided to do a little research and want to share some interesting numbers with you.

Did you know that last year's Super Bowl was the most tweeted Super Bowl ever?  There were 28.4 million tweets about the game or the half time show.  Last year's game also broke records on Facebook as well.  There were 265 million posts, comments or likes related to the Super Bowl.  That's a lot of people talking about a football game.  Posting on social media.  Reading what others are writing.  Writing and sharing thoughts with each other.

What if one day, that many people were talking about what we were doing in school?  What if for a few hours millions of people were talking about student learning?

Here are some more numbers.  Did you know that prior to the Super Bowl, NBC sold out of ad space at a record $4.5 million per second.  Per second?!  Are you serious?  So that means...if my math is correct...that's $270 million in a minute!!

What if we were able to have that much money and more go to our schools, our educators, our students!?  Here I am writing out grants for $2,500 or $500.  Imagine what we could do with the money spent just on Super Bowl ads alone.

The average price of one Super Bowl ad?  Last year, it was $4.2 million, up from $2.5 million in 2005.

What if businesses gave that money to each school instead?  You want more technology in your classroom?  You got it.  You want to purchase standing desks and exercise balls for students who need them?  You got it.  You want to redo the playground?  You got it.

It's the start of budget season around here.  There's lots of talk about data and numbers and dollars and needs.  Of course lots of talk does not translate to millions of tweets, or millions of dollars for that matter.  We are not the Super Bowl.  We are just a bunch of hard-working educators trying to mold future minds with minimal funds.  Yet, for some reason, our society puts more money into trying to sell us stuff while we sit on a couch watching grown men play a game.

Did you know that in 2013, the average amount spent per student in the U.S. was $10,700.

What if kids, the future of our nation, were more important than Doritos and Budweiser?

Currently reading:
I am still working on listening to Hoot in my car and am enjoying it.  I checked out some picture books from my local library.  Appropriate for our snowstorm last week and the potential ones this week... If It's Snowy and You Know It, Clap Your Paws!  I think any kiddo would love to listen to this read aloud.  In fact, if you want me to pop in and read it to your class this week, let me know!

Another interesting read was a book called The Library Pages.  Pretty funny story about what happens when the librarian is on maternity leave and the kids decide to be "helpful" while she is out!  I have been working on Fish in a Tree and even sent a tweet to the author Lynda Mullaly Hunt (@LynMullalyHunt) and now she is following me!

Events this week:
Monday - Zumba at 3:30 in the gym with MarkKaye!
Tuesday - School Council Meeting @ 3:30
Wednesday -  Sydney D. will be Principal for the Day!, 4th graders from Potter and Roundtree doing the pledge at School Committee Mtg @ 7:00
Thursday - Student Council Meeting @ 8:30, Curriculum half day, dismissal at 12:15, Grade 3 Enrichment program in the am - Groton Light, Spirit Day!
Friday - Dianna and Liz at SLT meeting in the am, Grade 1 chorus practice @ 2:25 in the gym
Enjoy your February vacation!

Great things I noticed last week:

• Unfortunately, the stomach bug, a meeting at DESE and a snow snowstorm meant that I was only in the building for one and about one fourth of a day last week.  Looking forward to being out and about and healthy this week!
• I did love reading aloud to all of you at our staff meeting and then beginning to discuss the book...before we had our lovely fire drill.
• And when I was in Wednesday afternoon, this picture shows Dianna with a 2nd grader...right before we all did the happy dance because he had been working so hard in class.  Afterwards, he informed me that I needed to get some more legos for my office.  I will work on that over the break!
  

Check it out:
I heard that lots of you enjoyed the math snippet I sent you on the snow day.  Here's another one...about going to the nurse!

Check out this post about the Super Bowl of Book Chats! 
https://adjustingcourse.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/the-super-bowl-of-book-talks/
And are you looking for a great new shirt?  I will be ordering some of these.  Adam and Todd are two awesome principals who are putting out a great message...#KidsDeserveIt!
http://www.kidsdeserveit.com/#!The-KDI-Project-KidsDeserveIt/jykdy/56ae2eba0cf2dc1600d97888