I had the honor of presenting “virtually” to a TCEA group today. As promised, here is my presentation! Feel free to connect with me for additional resources, support, or information!
Make your Fridays in February…fabulous! #thefirstyear
What’s that? Am I writing something in ADVANCE?? Or is it that I couldn’t sleep and decided that the 4am hour just might could be a productive one? 🙂 I’ll never tell!
There is a voxer group of my PLN peeps that have genuinely become friends. We voxed pretty much every day for a good two years before we’ve kind of drifted into random/occasional voxes…and me so much more so than them. One of the greatest take away from that group was the idea of “Fabulous Fridays in February”, from the awesome Melinda Miller. Knowing that February can potentially be a dreary long month, she peps it up with fun activities each week…just a lil’something to look forward too. Each year I’ve added, adjusted, adapted to the campus I’m at to help being some of this fabulous along with me! Plus, you know I love a good theme!!
Now, I know I post a lot of “culture” building posts…please know for every one of these I post, there is a PLC meeting, a 504 meeting, or some kind of PD convo that is also taking place. There are walk-throughs, there are coaching comments, and there are deep conversations. All the roles and responsibilities of a school principal are important. I just also happen to feel that a positive school culture is imperative. School culture is the heart of improvement and growth.
It is the deliberate decision by the leaders of the campus to create a positive school culture that enables the other areas (effective, intentional instruction for student success for example) to also achieve noteworthy outcomes. Notice, I said leaders, not just the principal.
They have a power amongst their peers that is hard for an administrator to replicate.
Now, that being said, back to the fun stuff. February is a long month. No holidays immediately in sight, the Christmas break has worn off, and typically, the spring testing has started to rear its ugly head. I want my teachers to WANT to be at school.
Creative little celebrations don’t take much money, just some foresight to plan ahead. You can recruit PTA moms, involved moms, local churches, local businesses, team leaders, office staff…anyone to help you lighten the load. Something as simple as a thank you note can make a world of difference to a teacher who is tired. I have some special Wednesday incentives as well that I will be handing out for various things, which will be new for me this year that I’ve gotten from a new Plano principal, Mrs. Taylor. I’ve attached those below my fabulous Canva picture below! (If you haven’t started using Canva to rock your world yet, get to it!!)
Are you doing Fab Fridays? Or Marvelous Mondays? Terrific Tuesday? Tweet me your great ideas! Here is my 2014 version, and my 2015 version as well!
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Stay fab,
Amber
A book study via Facebook… #InnovatorsMindset #thefirstyear
We have a collective leadership team on this campus that is undertaking a book study this semester. When looking at the hectic schedule that we already know is in place, we had to get creative in how we would undertake adding an additional to do.
First, I knew that I needed a book that would be timely and relevant to where we are in our journey as a campus. I wanted something that was easy to read, but something that could guide us from where we are to a more collaborative, innovative place. It would also be more beneficial if it impacted our practices from THEIR mindset shift, versus a top-down approach.
Second, there wasn’t a day or an hour that would have worked for multiple teachers on multiple grade levels. I’ve done a Twitter book study before but knew that I wanted deeper conversations.
Third, I’ve had some great conversations with my PLN about how I needed to be able to sustain the energy and focus that I have this first year moving forward. I have to be able to manage adding a book study. I needed a time management piece.
The solution?
The Innovator’s Mindset, by George Couros…as a book study in a closed Facebook group, that I can schedule using PostCron.
Several friends have done book studies on FB, and speak to the ease of conversations, of the simplicity in posting images with questions, and the management piece.
I created question images using Canva and have scheduled them to post using postcron. They’ll post on Mondays, early, so that as teachers read they can come back and reflect on the questions. On Wednesday, I’ll post a video or blog post that goes along with the chapter as well for further thought.
Luckily. George has provided all of these resources for me on his website. It doesn’t get much easier than that!
I’ll keep you posted on how effortless, and yet impactful, this book study truly is!
Mindset ready,
Amber
The 30 day HAPPY ADMINISTRATOR challenge! #goals #thefirstyear
I am a firm believer in that if it isn’t written down, odds are I won’t remember to get to it with fidelity. I’ve written about my goals for several years now (2015, 2104, 2012) and love being able to reference not only where I was personally but also professionally. I’m only 8 days late into sharing my goals but have no fear! I am ready!
- Enjoy every moment. Matt Arend, a principal pro from Plano ISD, is blogging daily about a single moment that he took the time to notice and appreciate from that day. His posts are already impressive but thinking about the clarity of appreciating what every single day brings, especially in whatever stage of your life/career is in is alluring. Couple that with what I saw on Pinterest, “The 30 day Happy Teacher challenge“, I called on my pretty awesome administrators to help me create OUR very own admin version.
Feel free to download and share! I plan on working through this challenge several times this year. I’ll print and simply mark off each day that I complete.
- Read 125 books this year! I met last year’s goal of 100 books (!!!) which I tracked through Goodreads. I loved the accountability as well being as able to reference the books I’d completed by using the Goodreads app. It offered me suggestions based on what I had read and allowed me to scan in potential books I wanted to read when I came across a suggestion in a blog or Target aisle. Follow me and let’s share books!
- Listen more, talk less. If you know me, you may have actually just laughed out loud. I’m not what you would consider a “quiet” girl, and take my Gallup Strength of “activator” very seriously. Through some really great conversations with my leadership team, they don’t necessarily need to me to talk, they just need me.
In order to complete this semester and achieve my goal of being “the very best first year principal in the history of the world”, I need to be able to meet their needs, and be available for what they need, vs what I think they need.
- Find the time for what makes you you. I have definitely seen a dip in “what I’ve always done” this past semester. Less girl time, (Angela Watson, where are youuuuuu?) less husband time, (gulp.) less blogging…I know it is the ever moving target of finding a balance that we all struggle with. I’m hoping that with some intentionality, I can make these things happen with more fidelity this semester.
While having fewer goals this year, this all still pretty much hit all that makes me happy and what will move me forward as a mom, as a wife, and as a principal. I challenge you to not think about what you would like to see the year 2016 bring, but actually write it down…take steps to achieve it…make it happen!!
Purpose & Positivity, part 2
I shared these paragraphs with my staff in their weekly “Get Whitt it!” today…(See my other weeks here.)
A blank calendar. A fresh start.
It’s the perfect time to evaluate where you’ve been, where you’re at, and where you’re going. It’s a time for us to bring back that September enthusiasm, relentless joy, and excitement for what we get to do as Whitt Wolves.
This month, I encourage you to look at what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what your heart truly desires in this moment. Maybe you’ve been skimping on self-care and establishing a new routine that encourages you to think of you is what you need. Maybe you’ve been so wrapped up in work that you’ve forgotten how important what you do really is. Call a friend you haven’t checked in on in a while. Evaluate what you’ve accomplished this year so far, and how you want to feel by the time the clock strikes the end of this school year in June.
There will be challenges in the coming months, of course, and the stress of this semester will bring all kinds of highs and lows. But if we shift our perspective to refocus our minds, refresh our hearts, and renew our commitments, there’s no telling what kind of miracles the rest of this year has in store. Pick out your outfit, grab your backpack, and let’s get take this semester’s journey together. That’s what our Wednesday staff meetings are going to focus on…purpose & positivity.
I have plans for a staff meeting, just 30 minutes long, each Wednesday in January. Here are the plans thus far, and I will edit this as the month progresses. Keeping that p & p focus this month is my focus. Spring in Texas is pretty much about as stressful as it gets. You have all the normal school stress, no long breaks, and our state testing. While my campus has done well in the past couple of years,
We want to maintain the standard we have here, not just reach it every so often.
May your January be as purposeful and just as positive!
Amber
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