As 2017 draws to a close, I realize we are halfway through a school year that will lead to new beginnings. Next year Maple Elementary will contain a combination of new grade levels, new staff and new families. This being said, I am forced to reflect. My reflection is a list of 17 of my favorite memories from this school year that "pumped the positive" at Maple Elementary School. Through all of these memories I am reminded of the phenomenal students, staff, and families that I work with daily. My assistant principal, Dr. Eric Carlin, and I are committed to spreading passion to our school community every day! Sometimes one has to remind the other that the hard time will pass, and to face every new challenge with a positive mindset and grace. In the end, I can look back on the start of this school year with a grateful heart and excitement for what the remainder of the school year will bring! Cheers to these 17 memories (celebrated in no particular order) and the many new ones that are waiting to be created in 2018! #1 Twitter Scavenger Hunt Through Smithville At the back-to-school meeting, staff participated in a Twitter Scavenger Hunt as a team building activity. This idea was born from my PLN on Twitter and from ideas in Lead Like a Pirate by Shelly Burgess and Beth Houf. This activity accomplished the goal of getting our staff out into the community, generating teamwork, and starting off the year with smiles! #2 Total Solar Eclipse Not even a full week into the 2017 school year, we prepared for the total solar eclipse with 500 kindergarten, first, and second graders with trepidation! The media had convinced us traffic would be at a deadlock, students who removed their glasses would be scarred for life, and this was the opportunity of a lifetime! Probably to our benefit, it was a cloudy day and a very memorable experience as the world went dark in the middle of the afternoon for a few minutes. #3 Building a Float To celebrate the Sesquicentennial (or 150th Anniversary) of Smithville School District, each school was charged with building a float to represent school spirit. A team of dedicated (and competitive) staff members met in a barn to paint, build, and dream up Maple Elementary's float. We stuck with our theme, Learning Under Construction, to promote 150 Years of Building Leaders. Students were invited to dress as their future occupation and walk with us in the parade. We won the district's spirit stick and a trophy for Best Group Entry from the parade committee. #4 Green Screen Videos Last year we worked hard to make Friday's announcements from the office digital with the use of the green screen and app magic (@DoInk)! This year we have stepped it up to promote more PBIS happenings, read alouds, and student celebrations. Here is a favorite from the year... #5 #NotableNovember With the letters that would announce each teacher's placement for the 18-19 school year impending...it was time to go to work and make November notable by pumping the positive with staff, students, and families. November consisted of a staff talent show, pancakes for staff, Monday Motivation on car windows (piggybacking off Car Window Poetry), a read aloud to all classrooms, admin presence at recess and on the bus, and an intentional attempt to say thank you to parents. It was our hope that kind acts for one would spread to many! #6 Staff Talent Show The most notable event in November was our staff talent show. Participants submitted their talent through a short video, and these were shared at a staff breakfast. Thanks to community donations, each participant receive a FABULOUS prize! Following is our video announcing the event. I think this activity taught us to not take ourselves too seriously! #7 #DaringDecember By December, staff knew their placement for the 18-19 school year. With a focus on collaboration, technology integration, and kindness, a challenge was issued to students and teachers. Students had a 15 day Kindness Challenge and teachers were asked to complete 6 of 10 challenges that included GHO, a Pineapple Chart (borrowed from Brandi Miller), #BookSnaps, and Twitter chats. #8 DESE Leadership Academy Joining DESE's Leadership Academy has created an opportunity to partner with leaders to support learning and collaboration. This summer's kick-off included learning about our leadership styles, Luis Cruz talking about Professional Learning Communities, and Cathy Lassiter promoting developing your brain to support risk taking. Occasionally I meet with my regional group in KC, and we have the privilege of touring local schools. While I did miss the Outdoor Leadership Experience due to the Sesquicentennial Parade, I hope to attend this next October. I am looking forward to our upcoming meeting in January. #9 12 Days of Christmas Book swaps, faux fur, treats, caroling, and more...oh what fun!! Again, borrowing from my Twitter friends, we celebrated the 12 days before Christmas break in a BIG way with the 12 Days of Christmas! #10 Learning Under Construction This year's theme "Learning Under Construction" is based on the millions of dollars of renovations scheduled for the summer of 2018. Staff has had great fun with this theme. Yes, our yearly staff shirts are bright orange to support our theme! Being a part of the design process, pre-bid meetings, and change process has been a great experience. #11 Twitter Connections #KidsDeserveIt, #tlap, #JoyfulLeaders, #warriorscreate, #ssdpride, #Culturize, #MondayMotivation, #BookSnaps...I have found so many professionals to help me grow as a leader this year. From book recommendations, motivating blog posts, and weekly chats, my PLN has pushed me to promote the passion and step out of my comfort zone. I was recently interviewed by Barbara Bray and will be on an upcoming Rethink Learning podcast!! #12 Grati-Tweets One of the most difficult moments of my career was delivering letters to my staff to announce their placement for the 18-19 school year. Three elementary schools will open in 2018, and all will house Pre-K through sixth grade classes. On the afternoon that I passed out letters, there were tears, hugging, and words of support shared. I returned to my office to find that my staff had created a book of Grati-Tweets for me. (Grati-tweets are what we post in the teacher's lounge to post a note of gratitude to staff.) Reading through these kind notes that evening, was additional proof that my staff is ah-mazing!! #13 Kids Deserve It The 10th Day of Christmas became #TeachersDeserveIt Day! Families from Grace Community Church in Smithville reached out to me asking about a practical gift they might purchase for teachers. I asked them if they would like to give a donation to our purchase of 42 Kids Deserve It books for teachers for Christmas. They exceeded my wishes and purchased the entire lot for us! Celebrating teachers with this gift brought cheer before the holiday break! What a blessing from Grace Community Church! #14 Leadership Hour This year all 500+ of our K-2 students hold leadership roles! Students have met 3 times during the school day in Leadership Hour in the first half of the school year. Students are working to lead in the school, community, and at home. The video presentation was highlighted at the Smithville R-II Board of Education meeting in October. #15 Cardboard Challenge and Family Reading Night If you viewed the green screen video for memory #4, you saw highlights from our Family Reading Night and Global Cardboard Challenge. Sara Freeman, our awesome Maker Space developer and technology teacher, dreamed up the events to support the Cardboard Challenge. Our gym was a cardboard design studio. Boxes of all sizes had been collected for months, allowing families to build and create together. The leftover cardboard vehicles from our float became a racing station and props for a photo booth. #16 Faculty Friday This year we take time to highlight a staff member each Friday with Faculty Friday. A bio is written based on a survey that was given to teachers at the beginning of the year. I try to take a picture of the teacher with his/her class, and the post goes out on our Smithville MES Facebook site on Friday. It is a great way for the community to get to know our awesome staff. #17 Principal Pride Awards Principal Pride awards started last fall. After reading Kids Deserve It last spring, we increased up our positive phone calls home and started announcing each one on the morning announcements. This school year we have called home with positive reports to families well over 250 times!! This is a favorite part of our day. It is important to our students and models the passion we want to exude as the #JoyfulLeaders of Maple Elementary! What a start to the school year it has been! We look forward to the return of school on January 2nd ready to kick off #JoinTogetherJanuary! Keep smiling!
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Dr. Rena Hawkins
I am the Principal of Maple Elementary School in Smithville, MO, and co-host of the #ShareMOEdu podcast. I am passionate about teaching and learning while supporting a school environment that promotes a positive climate. #ShareMOEdu airs every Thursday on iTunes and PodOmatic, highlighting an educator who has a positive message to share. Archives
January 2020
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