Challenge Day Recap...

We'll it took a little bit, but I want to write down my feelings about our Challenge Day on Monday. The day started off with lots of high energy games and goofing off. Our leaders, Devon and Khayre did a great job of getting the kids (and the adults!) to be involved and lower any filters they had. There was lots of music and crazy running around looking for chairs and lots of jostling and close-quarter activities. They would intersperse small talks about stereotypes, and how things get ingrained in what we do. Here's an interesting activity... Fold your hands. Which thumb is on top? Now fold them so the other one is on top. Feels weird, huh? Point being, we have a set way that we do things.

After the morning games and crazy jumping and dancing, things started settling down, and we started getting serious, talking about things such as society's messages to young men and women. We got into small groups and started opening up to each other. It was great to see the adults participating as well. The day progressed through more activities that continued to open up the differences, but more importantly the similarities, between the students. By the end of the day, through lots of hugs and tears, the students were told that they had the power to be the change to help make the school the place we'd all like to be part of. It was a very powerful day, and I'm looking forward to building on the momentum of the day to help improve the culture of the school.

Challenge Day

Tomorrow we will be an interesting day. We are hosting a "Challenge Day" for our 7th and 8th graders. Challenge Day is a national organization that addresses bullying in the schools. I'm excited about tomorrow, as there has recently been a spate of news, both locally and across the country, about bullying in schools. Challenge Day addresses bullying head-on and then challenges them to "be the change." I'll post more after tomorrow about how it went, but if you'd like more info on Challenge Day, their website is www.challengeday.org.

Here comes the tests!

Over Easter break I got a note saying that our CST tests had arrived. I guess they are unavoidable, unfortunately. It's always an anxious time of year (especially for a new principal!) as it seems everything we do gets boiled down to this one test. We've made some pretty big changes, especially in the middle school, as a result of our last few years' test, and I am really looking forward to see if they pay off. Specifically, we've worked to eliminate the combination classes during core instruction, and increased the instructional block for mathematics. Since middle school math was our lowest area, hopefully these changes will help bring those scores up. Next year, I want to continue emphasizing math and work on implementing some whole-school programs to help bolster our students in the lower grades so they are better prepared for the middle school program. Also, we will look closely at implementing benchmark assessments to be able to know how students are progressing throughout the school year to better alter our course of instruction during the year.

I know that not all the good things our teachers and staff are doing for the kids will show up on these tests, and that is one of the biggest complaints about them. I try to keep everything in perspective, as I know the tests are important as a measure of student progress, but should not be the thing that dictates our every action. Trying to find that balance and keeping the big picture in focus is a difficult job!