World Read Aloud Day!

 Principal ponderings...

Did you know that Wednesday is World Read Aloud Day!?  It's the 13th annual World Read Aloud Day.  Perfect day to read aloud to your class, have students read aloud to each other, join into virtual read aloud events, and celebrate the benefits and joy that comes from reading aloud at any age.

Here is a link to sign up for Scholastic's BookFest .  

Join us for #WorldReadAloudDay Book Fest! Literacy events, trivia, sing alongs, and activities featuring your favorite authors including Tami Charles (@tamiwritesstuff), Peter H. Reynolds (@peterhreynolds), and Lauren Tarshis (@laurenTarshis)! Sign up: https://t.co/PyARWR6h3N pic.twitter.com/Ku3f6VNjqh

— Scholastic (@Scholastic) January 30, 2022

And check out the author Kelly Yang...she is doing a live YouTube event and we will get a sneak peak of her newest book!

 Check out this schedule of read alouds that will be the world's largest live read aloud event! Register here: https://storyvoice.live/

Not sure why read alouds are so important?  Here you go!

And how about the benefits for English Learners (and every kid!)...

I was part of a reading discussion the other night with some principals from across the country and I loved the idea of asking this question to our students on World Read Aloud Day...

There are tons of ideas, printouts, booklists, and live events on the this website: https://www.litworld.org/worldreadaloudday

How will you celebrate World Read Aloud Day?

Currently reading:

My husband walked by me this weekend and laughed because I had about seven books around me.  I was reading a chapter in one, then putting it down and picking up a different book and reading.  There are just so many books to read and not enough time!  This weekend I was reading more poems from Amanda Gorman's Call Us What We Carry collection. 

And I have been working my way still through All the Light We Cannot See and Sticky Notes.  I am also rereading The Confidence Code for Girls since I am starting some lunch time book chats with a few 5th graders using this book.

Events this week:

Tuesday - Liz out of building, STEM Club K-2 in the library 3:30-4:30

Wednesday - World Read Aloud Day!  2/2/22 - Palindrome Day! Chess Club 3:30-4:30 in the library

Thursday - Liz in Admin Leadership from 9-11

Great things I noticed last week:

• The newest member of the Mayo community arrived!  Baby Everett Bercume arrived Saturday morning...8 pounds 8 ounces of love! 
  
  
  
• Virtual BINGO Night was a huge success on Friday night!  We had over 80 families participate, tons of fun! 

  

  
  

  

  
  

Check it out:

Check out this Build a Story Challenge!  Maybe some of our students will want to try this out and share their story on Fligrid.  Read more about it here: https://www.litworld.org/buildastory

A New Form of SEL

 Principal ponderings...

We have all heard about SEL - social emotional learning, but I am beginning to think more about SEL - social emotional literacy.  I have said it many times before...I believe books can save lives, books can be our therapy, books can help us deal with difficult emotions.  

I was excited and honored that I was approached by Pam Allyn and Bookelicious to present this summer at a conference with another principal friend of mine from Oklahoma.  Pam is a literacy expert and an author of several professional development books.  She has recently been creating a new learning platform that is focused on supporting families and caregivers.  It's called Dewey and Bookelicious has worked with Pam's team to create a collection of books that I would consider great books to help with SEL - social emotional literacy.

Dewey has a 7 Sparks Framework and provides some important skills and values to focus on while using the books in the collection.  We were lucky enough to receive all of the books in the collection for free.  I have the books, both picture books and chapter books, in two bins in the office.  Some of them I have used individually with kids and some I have started reading aloud in classes.  

Here are the 7 Sparks.  I like the different headings that they have created, but I like the simple directive statements that go along with each spark...

• joyful bonding - Connect deeply.
• curious learning - Wonder boldly.
• creative thinking - Imagine fiercely.
• empathy building - Care kindly.
• problem solving - Navigate bravely.
• thriving independently - Grow courageously.
• mindful balance - Breathe calmly.

There's a lot to unpack in each of those.  As I learn more about the Dewey platform, I will share with you, but for now I am excited to use the books in the collection to address some of these areas.  Here's a picture of the chapter book stack and the picture book stack that we were gifted.  After I use them for some more read alouds and share them with students, I plan to add them to our library collection.

I challenge you to think about how you could use any one of these books and select any one of the Sparks to engage with your students.  I have certainly pulled out Front Desk before with kids and talked about how the main character used writing to do some problem solving; she was certainly navigating bravely, and our kids can learn about how writing can help them to problem solve.  I read the beautiful book My First Day to 4th graders and was able to experience joyful bonding with some of our students whose families are from Vietnam; it was amazing to see kids connect deeply with a picture book and others who have a shared cultural experience. 

How can you practice this new form of SEL...social emotional literacy?

Feel free to come borrow a book or simply incorporate some of the phrasing related to the 7 Sparks.

Currently reading:

I said to my husband this week...I wish I could just sit in my home library and read everyday all day.  He told me to win the lottery and then I could do that.  For now, I will settle with spending a few hours throughout the week reading.  I finished reading Pax Journey Home this weekend.  This is the sequel to the book Pax.  Both books are about loss and love, told from alternating perspectives of a young boy and a fox. 

I was excited to dive into an adult realistic fiction book, All the Light We Cannot See.  Looking forward to reading this book...already got pulled into it and didn't want to stop reading. 

Events this week:

Monday - Welcome to Patrick Hoey, our new lunch/recess monitor, Liz in virtual MSAA meetings from 11:3-3:00

Tuesday - Liz in virtual Mass Literacy Support Network meeting from 9-11:00

Wednesday - 4th grade BAS/F&P all day PD, Half day, dismissal at 12:30, bag lunch option, PD sessions in the afternoon, report cards available in PowerSchool

Thursday -  2nd grade virtual author visit - Kevin Kurtz, 9:45 - lockdown drill - doors will be locked and students will remain distanced in their desks

Friday - Motoko visiting 5th grade in person for writing work

Check it out:

I can't remember if I already shared this but it's worth a re-share if I did...

Reflect Back To the Future

 Principal ponderings...

New year, new beginnings, new inspiration.  Yeah, so far 2022 is not feeling shiny and new, not feeling like it's an exciting start to the year.  So maybe it's a good time to reflect on the past year in order to help get us in a better mindset for the future.  I don't know about you but I dream about the days when I can see kids' smiling faces without masks.  I get lost in thought, imagining what it would be like to be a principal again, not a "COVID Coordinator" or "Urgent Care Facility Manager."  Oh to just be able to walk into classrooms, cozy up next to some kids and watch them soak up math concepts or engage in animated discussions about books.  I so wish I could ask people what was the best part of a lesson instead of are you vaccinated?  Or countdown the days until a writing celebration for parents instead of counting how many days left on someone's quarantine.  

I came across a podcast that had some great reflection questions.  I am hoping that taking the time to think about these questions, maybe write down the answers to some, or have a conversation with a peer about them...maybe that will help us keep moving forward this year.  Maybe it will help us get back to the future.  Because I am not one to wish away time, but I really could use a 1981 DeLorean right about now.  I would be adjusting the time machine dials to maybe April 3, 2022.  (I am no fool...definitely not sending myself to April Fool's Day!).

Here are the reflection questions...

What made you feel most happy this year?

What made you unhappy this year?

What was the biggest lesson you learned this past year?

What do you wish you would have done more of this year?

What's something you want to do less of next year?

What was your biggest success this year?

When was a moment you failed this year?

What is something you want to learn next year?

What is your favorite way to refuel?

(Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/9-powerful-reflection-questions-for-2021/id1450994021?i=1000546010728)

Maybe if we focus on questions like what made us the most happy and what is our favorite way to refuel...maybe, just maybe, we will be able to reflect ourselves back to the future.

Currently reading:

I continue to force myself to set aside dedicated time to read.  This weekend I sat and finished a new book written in verse called Red, White and Whole.  This book is about Reha who is struggling between two worlds, the world of her Indian family and the world of her American school life.  At the same time she is dealing with her mom battling leukemia.  Not sure why I keep doing this to myself, but I definitely had a good cry at the end of this book. 

I also had a recommendation for this book called Sticky Notes.  The main character is a boy dealing with his father's gradual memory loss.  Books can be healing and cathartic...clearly the ones I am reading are serving that purpose for me. 

Events this week:

Monday - Welcome back, hope you enjoyed the snow day!

Tuesday - CST follow up meetings @ 8:00 and 8:30, Motoko, Japanese Storyteller launching Writer in Residence program in 5th grade, Virtual PTA Meeting at 6:30pm

Wednesday - Virtual Staff Meeting @ 8:00, 5th grade BAS training all day

Thursday - SIMCO Meeting @ 3:45

Friday - Paws Pantry Spirit Day!

Great things I noticed last week:

What I noticed most was that even with all of the COVID struggles, absences, issues...people that could showed up for kids.  Thank you.

• When Mr. Leith had to be out, Mr. O stepped up and kept the learning going in 2nd grade. 
  
  
  
• Even though there were many students absent, teachers like Mrs. Leroy jumped back into math instruction. 
  
  
  
• And speaking of math, I caught Mrs. Mackoul working on solving math problems with some 5th graders in green pod. 

  

  
  
• When you are 4th graders still surviving and learning during a pandemic, then you write realistic fiction stories about "Surviving Quarantine" modeled after the "I Survived" series. 

  

  
  

Check it out:

A friend posted this over the weekend and I loved it, wanted to share...

Also, my edu-hero Pernille Ripp, an awesome teacher in another state posted this so important message...

My One Little Word - 2022

 Principal ponderings...

Hard to believe I have lived in my new house for a year now.  Especially since I still have a room that has not really been set up/unpacked.  That room is my office/library space.  As much as I have wanted that space this year, I just haven't taken the time to get it set up.  During the break, I made myself go into the room and start slowly unpacking boxes.  It has also become the catch-all space.  Not sure where to put this?  Throw it in the library.  I started slowly and worked my way around half the room.  I have one wall where a bookshelf is filled and set up.  I have a closet that is organized now.  I have my writing desk that is cleared off and placed in front of the window with a view of my neighbor's turkeys and chickens roaming in their yard.  I have my purple upholstered rocking armchair and ottoman cleared off.  I still have several boxes and two more bookshelves to organize, but it's a step in the right direction.  I was so excited to be able to sit in my chair and read or sit at my desk and write.  

Why am I telling you all of this?  Well it's how I came up with my one little word for 2022.  As I was cleaning off and organizing my writing desk, I discovered a small dish buried under boxes and other things.  In the dish was a pile of stickers.  Emerson came in to see what I was doing and since she is all about reading everything she comes across, she started reading all of my stickers.  Here are some of the stickers she discovered...

 

Her favorite one was the "Write Now" sticker.  She liked the play on words about writing and "right now."  Over the break, I also participated in a virtual open mic night through the TeachWrite group that I am a part of.  I read a free verse poem about conversations with my mom.  There were lots of tears from the virtual audience members and myself.

So as I was thinking about my one little word...I realized that once again instead of me finding a word, my word found me.  Since my mom was a Latin teacher, I have selected a Latin word for my one little word.

Scribo is the Latin word for "I write."  When I was going through a rough patch a few weeks back, I wrote in an earlier post that... I can't not write.  This year, I know that I need writing to keep me sane, to keep me whole, to keep me...me.  We are all still dealing with this pandemic, and I know that writing will help me deal.  

I chose the Latin form of this word to honor my mom.  I also need to write for her this year.  My mom was a brilliant lady, a constant teacher, and a lover of language.  Now my mom has lost the ability to read or write, and she is quickly losing all of her language.  She is only 70.  Alzheimer's has attacked my mom's brain and is slowly...actually now it's feeling like rapidly...stealing her from me.  So I will write for her and for me.  I will write to help us both hang on.  I hope to write down our memories to keep them tangible and visible.  Since we can no longer have conversations, I will write down all the things I still need to say to her, the advice I still need to ask her, the stories I still need to tell her.  I will write down my feelings in the hopes of relieving the immense pressure pushing me down and suffocating me.  I will write so that I can breathe.

My One Little Word is Scribo.

What will yours be?

What will your students' words be?

I would love to fill the big display case (yes, the one I slept in!) with all of our words!

Currently reading:

I definitely carved out time to read during the break.  I have several books that were sent to the school and I have been working my way through the ones that I had never read.  I will explain more about these books and how they can help us with SEL in another post.  One of the books I read was a graphic novel called The Crossover.  This is a novel written in verse by the amazing Kwame Alexander and recently he published it in graphic novel format.  It's a story about basketball and family and twin brothers. 

The next book that I read almost in one day is called The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind.  This is the true story of a boy living in Africa, in a village in Malawi, who against all odds uses science to create "electric wind."  He teaches himself, survives a famine, and is able to provide electricity and opportunity to his family and his community. 

I am finishing out my break reading by starting a new verse book that I bought a while ago but never started.  It's called Red, White and Whole and it's about an Indian American girl struggling between being the only Indian American student and dealing with her family and community. 

Events this week:

Monday - Welcome back!  2 hour delay - see lunch schedule in email from Liz, test kits and KN-95 masks available in the office

Tuesday - CST meeting @ 8:00am

Thursday - Admin Superintendent Focus Group from 8:30-9:30

Friday - Motoko, Japanese Storyteller back to work with 5th grade!

Check it out:

I have a good friend who is a principal in Michigan.  I love that she started making a New Year's playlist instead of resolutions: https://allysonapsey.com/2021/12/29/what-vibe-are-you-going-for-in-2022make-a-new-years-playlist-rather-than-a-resolution/

Here's one that I would put on my list to go with my One Little Word:

'Twas the Week Before Vacation...

 Principal ponderings...

Twas the week before vacation 

and all through building

The staff was exhausted

and everyone was dragging.

We have four days.  Four days to make it to break.  We have a few things planned to help you get through this week...

On Monday, we will be "rolling" into the break and "wrapping" up 2021.  Come to the office and grab a roll of wrapping paper!  There will also be coffee and bagels available to fuel you on the Monday before break.

The children were wrestling

and falling out of their chairs,

While the staff tried hard

Not to pull out their hair.

On Tuesday, it's time for some "elfing" fun around this place.  You will find a surprise in your mailbox that you can't open until you are in your classroom.  Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find the elf that matches your elf, the perfect partner in crime.  Hint: If you see Liz G, then you need to find Laura R.  No technology allowed!  The first 3 partners that find each other need to come to the office to collect their prize!

When what to my wondering eyes should appear?

Children crawling on up the walls I fear.

On Wednesday, we will be closer to break but yet still far away.  We need chocolate stat!  Thanks to Laura and Lindsay, there will be a hot chocolate bar with all the fixings set up in the office.  Come fill your cup and scoop in extra marshmallows...you deserve it!

And I heard the staff exclaim

As the buses shifted their gears,

"We barely made it through another exhausting year!"

On Thursday, breakfast will be served in the library.  Come hungry, the PTA will be providing quite a spread.  And since it's pajama day, you won't even have to think about what to wear.  The parents have been helping me with a little surprise.  Can't wait to unveil a special "giving tree" for the staff!

This week we have a few little things to show our appreciation for all you do.  If only we could give you so much more.  Showing you appreciation doesn't make this year any easier.  It won't take away your problems.  It won't give you more energy.  It won't stop people from directing their anger at educators.  But it might just remind you that there is still a reason to smile.  We can still find joy amongst the struggle.  We can be exhausted and still laugh.

Four days.  You got this.  

Currently reading:

I was excited to get some awesome new picture books last week.  The first one is a beautiful book called Trees.  It's full of simple, poetic text, but, more importantly, the illustrations are amazing. 

I also got the newest book by Andrea Beaty called Aaron Slater, Illustrator.  Can't wait to read this one to classes! 

Events this week:

Monday - Festive Wear Day! CST Meeting @ 8:00am

Tuesday - Teamwork Day!

Wednesday - Color War Day! CST Meeting @ 8:00am

Thursday - Pajama Day!  Book Swap in the gym during specials

Some images I wanted to share:

Thank you for working with the little humans and helping make this world a better place...

T.E.A.M.

 Principal ponderings...

It didn't take long for me to say yes when Marie Kuniholm came to me several weeks ago and asked, "Do you think we could plan a special surprise for one of my students?"  How could I say no to being part of the best surprise ever?!  Fast forward to Friday afternoon and I would say that thanks to a team effort, we pulled off something amazing.  

It's been two days, but I am still smiling and tearing up when I think about the moment when Maverick ran into his dad's arms.  And the fact that he said he couldn't wait to snuggle in bed with his dad...well that is just about the sweetest thing ever.  

During our assembly, I reminded everyone that "Together Everyone Achieves More...T.E.A.M."  I saw how true that statement was on Friday.  Marie got the ball rolling with brainstorming with me about how we could make an assembly work.  She started coordinating with the family.  When Marie had to be out, Shelley Brennan stepped in to continue coordinating with the family. Liz Bercume had her class, 1K's buddies, make posters.  Merle Olson had the 5th grade student council members make posters as well.  Lindsay Dupuis created and laminated the letters to spell "teamwork."  Karen Haynes, our PTA President, reached out to a friend who works in PR.  She created a press release and sent it out to all of her press connections.  Laura Ramos hid mom and dad in her office and then helped them with their cue of when to enter the gym.  And of course all of the kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade students and staff helped us create the assembly.  

It took teamwork and all of those people doing their part.  Teamwork is defined as the combined action of a group of people.  It took the combined actions of the Mayo community to create one single moment that I don't think any of the adults or kids will forget.  Working together, we created a special memory for Maverick and his dad.  Teamwork is a powerful thing.  Now, more than ever, we need teamwork in our lives.  Our kids need to see teamwork in action.  There is so much division.  So many silos happening, groups and people working in isolation, pulling people in different directions.  

As Helen Keller once said, "Alone we can do so little; together we can so much."

Our phrase that I used so much last year was "in this together."  Thank you for pulling together as a team on Friday and continuing to pull together through everything.

P.S. Especially today when we are so short staffed!

 

Currently reading:

I am enjoying listening to The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth and discussing parts of the book with my Mastermind group on Monday nights. 

I also got a new graphic novel called Twins that I was reading this weekend.  It's part of an SEL collection that Mayo School was gifted thanks to Pam Allyn, Bookelicious and a new family learning community called Dewey that Pam Allyn co-created.  They sent us a whole bunch of books which teachers will be able to borrow to us with their classes. 

Events this week:

Monday - Laura R out

Tuesday - ELA Community of Practice virtual meeting from 4:00-5:30

Wednesday - Liz in an online district training from 8-11

Thursday - CST Meeting @ 8:00, Liz in Franklin for MSAA Board Meeting

**Spirit Week next week - Festive Day, Team/Mayo Spirit Day, Color Wars, Pajama Day

Great things I noticed last week:

• 2nd graders in 2H were working on solving some math sequence patterns. 
  
  
  
• The last STEM class until the new year...they got to program root robots! 

  

  
  
• During bus duty, this K student was proudly displaying his teamwork note he earned. 

  

  
  

Check it out:

Loved finding this graphic...