I am so ready...

As I think about the upcoming week, one line came to mind over and over.
I am so ready...
I am so ready for all of the scheduling and hiring to be done.
I am so ready for you all to be back at school.
I am so ready to work with you to meet the needs of our students.
I am so ready not to be in my office.
I am so ready to greet students, visit classrooms, and have lunch duty.
I am so ready for the students to be back.
What are you so ready for?

Calendar
Tuesday, August 25th  Teacher work/meeting day (8:00-4:00)
                                       7:45  Breakfast at Primary School
                                       8:15  District updates
                                       9:30-10:45  F&P meeting (5th grade, 6th-8th LA teachers)
                                                          All others dismissed at 9:30 for work time
                                       10:45-2:00  Individual and team work time and lunch on your own
                                       2:00-3:00  All staff meeting
                                       3:00-4:00  Individual and team work time
                                       (Please find 30 minutes for me to join your team!)
Wednesday, August 26th  Teacher work/ meeting and Open House (11:00-7:00)
                                       All staff meeting at 11:00 in the Little Theater to hand out grant money!
                                       11:30-3:30  Individual and team work time
                                        1:00  IA meeting
                                        3:30-4:00  All district photo and individual photos
                                        4:00  Food provided by PTO
                                        4:30  Ready for early arrivals
                                        5:00-7:00  Official Open House time
Thursday, August 27th  F&P testing

Tweets, quotes, and blogs
"Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere as long as the policy you've decided upon is being carried out."- Ronald Reagan, 40th U.S. President
"The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it."- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th U.S. President
"If things seem under control, you are just not going fast enough."- Mario Andretti, race car driver
"There are no shortcuts to anyplace worth going."- Beverly Sills, opera singer
Learning Lessons by Saying Goodbye ( A great blog from @Tim_Dawks that puts focus on thinking about the issues our students and colleagues bring to school every day.)
"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more.  If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough."- Oprah Winfrey, businesswoman
"Happiness depends upon ourselves."- Aristotle, philosopher
@mertonint on Twitter
#mertonint hashtag on Twitter
Merton Intermediate School Facebook page

                             (Thanks to @DrRoyTroddy)                      (Thanks to PixTeller)

Three words activity

As we prepare for the students and their families to return, I have something I would like you all to do for me.  I will be sharing this favor with our families in a Google presentation that I'd like to have running during Open House.  Where this is going to be running, I have no idea.  I'll figure out that little detail later.  I got this idea from a superintendent in Massachusetts, Kristan Rodriguez (@Dr_Rodriguez21) through a parent of one of her students, Mary Ann Stewart (@MAStewartMA).  So here's what you need to do.  In 3 words, no more and no less, tell me what motivates you as an educator to be your very best or the message you'd like to share with our students and families.  Take a picture of yourself with the 3 words and email it to me.  Have some fun with it.  Here is my example.

Enjoy the weekend, and I'll see all of you on Tuesday, August 25th at 7:45 in the Little Theater.

Jay