It’s thankful season, but that’s not the reason I am reflecting on all the reasons I am grateful in this moment. Life’s in the principal’s office is sometimes hard, sometimes frustrating, and sometimes I feel like I am not accomplishing anything. There are days where sometimes I am a firefighter (metaphorically) and not really an educator….at least the to the eye that doesn’t know. But right now, and in general, I am grateful. I am grateful for Dawn, my administrative assistant. I joke that she I saw my work wife, because next to my husband, she is probably the person…
Reset/Refocus
If you have been following me, one of the things you know is that we have been working on self regulation and teaching students to identify their feelings, and practice strategies that help support ‘being on green’ emotionally. But sometimes, kids end up in red….and can’t get back to blue or yellow, much less green. What does all this mean? See below for information. When a student is in red, they can’t focus on learning, and chances are they are disrupting their classmates from learning as well. When a student is in red, their brain isn’t problem solving rationally, they…
Why I cancelled school Holiday parties…and why I think other schools should too
Just call me the Grinch who stole Halloween. I didn’t really, but judging by the reaction I had from some parents and families the first year I cancelled holiday parties, you would have thought I was. Yes, yes, I know…school parties are fun….the kids look forward to them….it is just one (5 days) day…I have heard all these reasons and more about why school parties were necessary. My favorite was the parent who was upset because I was taking away her opportunity to volunteer…How about popcorn Wednesday? Reading log Thursday? Daily reading buddy….or any of the millions of little tasks…
Apple trees…
Why is she writing about apple trees? Seriously? Yep. Read on. You may see the connection here. I need to preface this post with the statement that although I am employed by Jackson Public Schools, this is purely my opinion and does not reflect the positions or opinions of JPS. As a teacher, I always had a pack of paperwork that I sent home on the first day of school: the forms from the office, a personality inventory, and my discipline procedures. My discipline procedure letter started out to the effect of, ‘This is the letter that is my least…