Out goes 2015... In comes 2016

The week before Christmas holidays, we had a staff meeting after school. Yes, with 2 days left...after school...oh, and it was pajama day. How excited were they for a meeting? I know, I felt like the Grinch. We have 4 monthly awards that staff members pass out at each meeting, so it was important that we circle up. Of course I had some general info as the first half of our year began to wind down as well. (And snacks - we always have snacks! December was a popcorn bar.) I also wanted to respect their time but accomplish something in the process. It is my goal that everyone leaves my meetings "a little more" - a little more prepared, excited, determined, etc... I never want to "meet to meet". I value their time. Plus, to have every staff member together - that should be powerful and electric!

At the start of the meeting we passed out a blue and a purple sticky note. During the meeting, they reflected on what they accomplished in 2015 (purple), and stated what they hoped to accomplish in 2016 (blue). They stuck them on as exit tickets when they left. 

I am going to type them up and share them with everyone on our staff blog. They are so motivating! I'm super proud of their variety of successes and I love the way they are pinpointing one specific area. It was a great way to end the first half of our year. 

Here is my staff in their pj's. They are amazing - and look how cute they are!

We are ready for 2016! 

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It's a Canva Christmas!

I have played around with Canva a little bit this year to make a few signs or invitations. There are so many options out there that I wasn't fully committed...until this holiday season! Here is a screenshot of our 12 days of Christmas activities that my secretary and I plan out for our staff. I used Canva to make each sign one evening (with my laptop while I was catching up on some tv shows!). Then, each morning I send an email with the day's invitation in it. They are fun and beautiful! I have the invitations already ready in my email draft folder, so all I have to do is open and send. It has been super easy!

In fact, if you look at the bottom, you will see my family's Christmas card. I had a hard time uploading and designing the card on Shutterfly to fit the image in my mind (although I do love Shutterfly products and quality!). So, I used Canva to design the front of the card, then uploaded it to their site on a blank card template. Boom. Love.

I am always excited to try new technology sites and apps. I hope you enjoy this one, too.

Christmas Challenges

We are doing something fun during these crazy 3 weeks before Christmas break. Of course we will have exciting events for the students (parties, choir concerts, programs), and we are doing a 12 Days of Christmas mailbox surprise for all of the staff for those 12 days leading up to Christmas break. However we are also undertaking a Christmas challenge each day as well. It is how the staff can earn jeans/warm ups/comfy clothes with their holiday or spirit shirts (perfect time of year & weather for this!!)

In our Christmas Challenge, the staff members must agree to perform the task listed in order to wear their jeans, etc. I post the daily challenge on our Staff Site. This is a website I've created to keep our staff up to date. It has a weekly blog for the daily events and reminders, a page with different forms and helpful information (so they don't have to spend time searching), and a home page for general pictures and info.

I'm attaching a screenshot of a few days that show our Christmas Challenge. I hope you can see it. On days where people will get treats in their boxes, I am going to have my office elves make sure that all staff get something. Some of the days' challenges are focused on staff, and some of the days' challenges are focused on students. All of the activities will increase the positive attitude! It has been fun to get this started, and I know it will help with staff morale over a stressful, busy time of year!