Get Set!

Today we had our teacher meetings. Today is basically like my first day of school as I have to prepare my "lessons" and make sure I have all the bases are covered for setting the course for the year. We spent time review the goals for the year, reviewing the CST testing data (this is a subject I'll spend more time on in later posts!), looking at schedules and planning for the year. It's a jam packed few hours in the morning where I have to throw a lot of information at the teachers in a short amount of time. I feel so much more prepared this year! Last year at this time, I was still learning the teachers' names! Now I really feel as if we will be able to really hit the ground running. The teachers, of course, always do a bang up job at the start of the year, and this year I feel like I'll be able to keep up with them more. Heck, maybe I can actually get ahead and do some leading! ;)

On your mark! ( I know, I did this last year...)

Well, I'm now going through my agenda for tomorrow's staff meeting making sure I am prepared for the staff meeting tomorrow morning. I spent some time getting the library study area cleaned and ready to go. I'll have to come in early in the morning tomorrow for final preparations. Tonight I am going to try to look for a great motivational piece to start the year off. (Last year I used Dalton Sherman, a 10 year old who gave the keynote speech to a huge school district in Florida, look him up on Youtube! Very impressive kid there!)

We've got class list mostly finished (had a new kindergartner, first grader, second grader and two new fifth graders show up today!) Our student counts are 143 for Black Oak, 132 for Twain Harte Middle School and 52 for Pinecrest. Those numbers one year ago were 149 for Black Oak, 137 for THMS, and 49 for Pinecrest, so we are down a few students from last year. One encouraging statistic in our student numbers is last year we had 34 8th graders graduate from the district and this year we have 44 incoming Kindergartners!

Dusting ourselves off!

Well, we are just about ready for the year to begin, and it is time for me to update this blog! I hope everyone had a nice and relaxing summer. The teachers have been buzzing about for the last week or so getting ready for the new year. It's exciting to see all the energy and new ideas! We'll be posting class lists on Monday, August 23rd, and school starts on Wednesday the 25th at 8:20. Wednesday is a minimum day so dismissal will be 1:35 for Black Oak, and 1:40 for the middle school.

Looking forward to a great year!

Summertime!

Well, I know this blog has gotten plenty dusty, and I will pretty much put it to bed until next school year begins in August. It has been a great year, and I'm looking forward to next year! See you in Fall!

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!