Road Trip to Success

This week I took a road trip to Panama City, Florida. We were headed to Florida for a national softball tournament with my daughter's team. My drive to - and from - Panama City Beach were very different. The plan was that on the way, I would drive down with my 11 year old daughter and her friend. My husband, son, and his friend would fly in mid-week. Since my daughter was going to spend a few extra days with more family, my husband and I would drive back with the two 15 year old boys.  Two. Very. Different. Trips.
Our trip to Florida took two days in the "girl car". We made several small detours - saw a live tiger, drove by a gator farm, took pictures of state line signs, made multiple snack stops, and spent a night in Mobile, Alabama. The girls were very excited and spent the entire trip talking, singing, watching movies (which required more talking & singing), making music.ly. videos (more talking & singing), exploring the hotel (talking, singing & cartwheels), and checking out downtown Mobile. When we finally made it to PCB, we were worn out - but sooo excited that we reached our goal!
After a week of softball (in 100 degree temps) and downtime at the beach, my husband and I loaded up the car and squashed the two boys in the back. (Note - back seats seem to shrink when boys hit 15! They are tall, lanky, and full of energy...) We expected to make many stops so they could run off their energy.  Well...the trip back included two (2!!!) stops. The boys watched 6 movies and virtually never spoke. (True story - 15 year olds just text each other, even when they are sitting side by side.) We made it to our goal (home) in record time, with minimal interruptions, and were fairly surprised at the ease with which we traveled. 
Two. Very. Different. Trips.
This was a great "Back to School" reflection for me. Our teachers have very different personalities and instructional styles, and we need to remember to honor them. What counts for our students is that the goals are reached - not that everyone takes the same exact path or trip. Let's set everyone up for success by giving our teachers the tools they need to reach their goals and honoring teacher strengths. Our students deserve it!
Wishing you a fabulous new year!!

ps Here are a couple of pictures from our road trip

Honoring Teachers

I was looking through some photos on my phone and came across a few that I want to share. Honoring the Teacher of the Year is a BIG DEAL, and I know principals like to make it special. At my previous school, I would secretly invite the honoree's family to the staff meeting and surprise them that way. There were always a few sweet tears - it was a super fun way to start our day. Our window of announcement is a little narrower at my current school, and our staff meetings are in the afternoon. For the past three years we have been surprising our Teacher of the Year and our Spirit of the Bear (paraprofessional of the year) with a special area (like their door or work-spot) and a sign. I like to post the sign on social media, but crop off the name - so everyone will wonder who it is! We sneak back up to school at night to get it ready for them. Here are some examples of how we have done this:

Mrs. Jilek, our receptionist, won the Spirit of the Bear this year. We ❤️❤️❤️ her being on our "front line!"

Mrs. Burzynski, one of our sweet kindergarten teachers, was the 2016 Teacher of the Year. She loves them into learning!

Next we have a delicious dinner hosted by one of the area country clubs on the lake. My assistant principal and I had a wonderful evening with these ladies and their guests!

This is one of my favorite times of year -taking time to honor our special friends!!

Using SeeSaw app for Staff Communication

It has been a super busy spring for us at Lone Star! I know the end of year is very stressful for all teachers & administrators, and ours was no different. We are undergoing a little renovation this summer, which required my staff to box everything up and clear out their rooms. Wow, there were a LOT of boxes! Our renovation began almost immediately after the children left, and I know my staff will be curious about the changes & progress. I am using the SeeSaw app to keep them up to date. It is really for classrooms, so I am set up as the teacher and they are set up as students. I can upload videos and pictures to show them the changes, since they cannot come up to the school during the process:

They can even make comments below. I can tag everyone, or just specific people. The students (my staff) can also upload items for (just) me to see or they can tag others. We have certain items they typically text or email to me - like a picture of themselves reading - so I am going to have them send via SeeSaw. I am also toying with using it for some of the back to school paperwork so I can protect their time. I know they will be busy restocking, redecorating, and reorganizing!! 

Game Changer Event

This week I have had the opportunity to attend a Game Changers conference with my superintendent and our high school principal. This conference was hosted by Friends of Texas Public Schools, engage2learn, and Whataburger. Many districts participated and conversations were reflective & eye-opening. Whataburger started as 1 small burger stand and grew, under family supervision, to 790+ restaurants with 35,000 employees - but they have maintained their product and culture. Our sweet little district is ballooning - the secret is out, and everyone wants to move to Montgomery! (It is awesome; you should live here.) So we have many take-aways from these few days. 

Here are a few leadership tips that Tom Dobson, Whataburger chairman (and son of the founder Harmon Dobson) shared with us - I ❤️ them:

1. Listen before you talk

2. Trust, but validate

3. Have a passion for what you do

4. Be natural 

5. Be truthful

6. Talk to God

It has been so interesting to hear a business model perspective and make connections to our life as school folks! 

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.