Each year our students have a Celebration of Giving rather than the traditional holiday party that is typical on the day before winter break. When we opened the school three years ago we decided that we wanted our students to understand the notion of giving instead of focusing on a holiday wish list or thinking about what gifts they were going to receive.
Each December our students do chores for family and friends to earn money to donate to a charity. We ask parents to help out by taking pictures of their children doing the chores. They send the pictures in so we can make a slide show for our Celebration of Giving Assembly held on the last day before winter break. The assembly reminds us all that together we can do great things and that there are many reasons we help others who are less fortunate.
Our Student Leadership Team is in charge of choosing the charity each year. This year I am so impressed with their thinking. They have decided that instead of giving to one charity they want to choose a local, a national, and a global charity that needs our help. They are doing some research and will soon make a decision about the three organizations that we will support.
I am first impressed each year by the many ways our students open their hearts to give to others. This year I am so proud to be working with a group of children who understand the small as well as the big picture. They understand the importance of helping our local charity. But I am even more proud that they have chosen to consider a global charity.
These are the things that cannot be measured on any test. These are the things that make us hopeful that our students can impact their world - close to home and far away.
Portwiture is an interesting program that grabs photography from Flickr that matches the content of your most recent Twitter updates. You can view the photographs on a grid or in a slideshow.
The beginning of the school year can be daunting for our youngest students in Kindergarten. Today I was called down to a kindergarten class because a child was not cooperating and being pretty disagreeable. I could tell that he was highly frustrated and impulsive. My goal was to calm him down and figure out just what led to his state of mind. His class was on their way outdoors to observe a tree. I asked him if he would stay inside to calm down a little and talk with me. He parked himself under a table and seemed to prepare for a battle.
In the first few minutes of our conversation, we just weren't connecting. He was still too frustrated to be logical or cooperative, but slowly he began to talk with me. I made it apparent that I was very interested in what he had to say. In a few minutes, he got the idea that I wasn't there to make his day more miserable but that I was genuinely trying to understand him. We spent the next 15 minutes talking - he stayed under the table as I sat near trying to make eye contact.
Some moments in education are magical. In just a few minutes, I found out what was making him so unhappy and learned about what he liked. But more importantly, we connected. The class returned from observing a tree outside and went out for a bit of recess. I watched him and two other boys play soccer. When the children came inside, they spread out with books for a few moments of independent reading. He chose a book about bugs that we both found pretty interesting. We looked through it together, and I invited him to come to my office to read with me sometime.
In those last few minutes together, I could have imagined it, but I think he nearly reached for my hand. In our time together, I learned some things about him and he learned some things about me. We can build on the friendship we began today. I am looking forward to more opportunities to spend time with this child. He has some challenges but he is a most interesting child. In small ways I hope I can help him find his place in our school.
Our school's vision ends with the phrase "encourage the unlimited potential of the whole child."
It's a lofty goal in these times of grades, competition, testing, accountability, and an outdated school structure that impedes authentic learning rather than encourages inquiry, collaboration, discovery and a meaningful and thoughtful pursuit of new learning.
I continue to have a steadfast belief in our school's vision. But there are days when it is tough to sustain the vision and to rely on my beliefs about learning and teaching. I believe in the possibilities. I believe in the unlimited potential of every child. I believe in a caring and nurturing learning environment. I support the work of teachers who bring out the best in our children. I appreciate their dedication and commitment. I believe in the power of relationships.
Watch the video when your belief in the potential of every child is shaken by the rumblings from the conditions that seem out of your control. I intend to encourage my staff to watch the video and reflect on its connection to their own learning and teaching.
And I am wondering what it would be like to share the video with children and listen to their responses. I hope to do that this coming week and will post my reflections.
We finished our third day of school today. It's amazing how quickly we settle into our routines. How do we re-establish those routines but guard against the complacency of doing things the way we have always done them? How can we start the year with a new set of lenses through which to view our learning community? Can we get in the habit of asking "Why?" so we know our decisions are meaningful and purposeful?
Today I was strolling around the cafeteria helping students open the juice boxes, milk cartons, and string cheese wrappers when a second grader stopped me as I walked by. He said, "My name is Jaden. I'm new here and who are you?" I love the way he felt comfortable enough to strike up this conversation. I told him my name and that I was the principal. I knew he had transfered from another school in our district and told him that his principal had told me he was coming to our school. We had a brief conversation, and I moved on. I won't forget Jaden's name tomorrow or the next. We have made a connection. My challenge is to make those connections with all the children at our school.
Tomorrow will be the end of our first week of school. We are settling in and making our new friends feel welcome. The hope of the new school year is ahead of us.
Today, June 12, Scott McLeod from Dangerously Irrelevant is holding a blogging Leadership Day. I am really anxious to read what others post.
My thoughts on this Leadership Day ...
For me, it is the power of conversations about learning and teaching and the potential of technology that will move people toward new ways of thinking.
It's having clear expectations that we will enable our students to pursue learning in new ways and that we will give them the privilege and the responsibility to enrich their learning with new technologies.
It's encouraging teachers to discover what new technologies have to offer and to begin a conversation about thoughtful and purposeful technology integration in the classroom.
As a leader, it is about knowing what you stand for. It's about holding onto what you believe about learning and teaching. It certainly isn't simply about technology. For me, it is about the unlimited potential of our children and their future.
My grandson, Zeke, is just learning to pull him self up to stand. He is a sponge for all the new things he is discovering. I love the fact that he found some books on his journeys today.
