One of the benefits to our downtime in the summer is that we actually HAVE downtime. I have the opportunity to dive deeper into data, start plans for next year, and spend some time deep cleaning/organizing my office. This week, I also had a reminder that even when I think I’ve covered my bases, I […]
When awards go wrong… Read More »
Summer has either already begun for you, or is JUST around the corner. I am sure there are many things a principal can do in the summer, but use your time intentionally to get yourself ready! June is my “close it up month” that I spend wrapping a big red bow around our 16-17 school
My beast is a freshman in high school. High school (if you haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing YOUR child in high school yet, just you wait), is a whole. new. ball. game. She is fiercely independent (which she comes by naturally), but is unable to grasp that I am still the conduit to all
“13 reasons why” I’m ok being a helicopter momma! #cpchat #leadupchat #momsasprincipals Read More »
Advice. ədˈvīs/ noun guidance or recommendations concerning prudent future action, typically given by someone regarded as knowledgeable or authoritative. Everyone has advice to offer. Sometimes it’s solicited, sometimes it’s not. Sometimes it is helpful, sometimes it’s not. I always get questions in the spring asking how to handle certain questions or how to prepare for
Looking for advice or its been given? You can go your own way! Read More »
At some point, as the adult in the room, we have to recognize that as long as students are reading and writing for a fabricated purpose, there is only so much energy and time that they will commit to the assignment. Churning out students who hate a subject but can perform in a standardized way
Why should reading and writing be authentic? #taketwo Read More »
It’s easy to have great ideas, or energy, or a big grand vision. The hard part is remembering that it is your experiences that led you to a place where those ideas, or big changes you want to make, is your reality. Making changes is not inherently bad, unless it’s at the expense of damaging
All about changes? Remember this… #IMMOOC & an @ASCD giveaway Read More »
I started blogging in 2005. It was something new, something different to engage my 4th graders. I didn’t even contemplate the power that using it for reflection would do later in my career. Permission from my parents was the easy part. More difficult was convincing the technology powers that be that it was safe and
Reflection is personal power… & other people might grow too! #LeadLAP #IMMOOC, week 5 Read More »
I have the benefit of being at the annual ASCD conference, #EMPOWER17, this weekend, and as always, there are so many incredible things to learn and to see. But the best thing that happened today? Completely random and happened because I just have no social fear. We were walking back and forth down one of
#empower17, step out of your lane! Initiate conversations! Read More »
While walking around the week before spring break, I had the opportunity to visit a 3rd grade teacher’s classroom. As I watched her model and talk through the writing of an expository composition with our Wolves, and saw the energy in which her students attacked it, I had to stop and ask what the secret
Sometimes leading means…get out of the way. #IMMOOC Read More »
I listen to sports radio on the way to work each morning. It is my happy place. Luckily, mixed in all the Cowboys news and such there is a lil’segment they do that highlights different musings. I thought it quite ironic that yesterday’s referenced a study out of Harvard, about happiness. Happiness comes from choosing
The best way to be happy? Focus on relationships. #IMMOOC #IMMOOBC1 Read More »