Friday, November 18, 2016

Communication possibilities

As we have ended the 1st quarter, and nearly the 1st trimester, one of the things I am proud of is the communication we have with our families.  Although I am proud, there is always room for improvement.  We rely a lot on Skyward and emails, but I encourage you to also use the phone or to have face to face meetings.  The personal nature of these communications is so much more powerful than written communication.  I know that we just finished conferences, so this may seem like a strange request, but reach out again soon.  Reach out because the student you just spoke about at conferences has made a great improvement.  Reach out because the student you just spoke about dropped a letter grade, or more, since the last time grades were entered.  Reach out because the student you spoke about wrote a magnificent paper or taught the class a math concept.  Reach out because the student you spoke about just always does the right thing.  And if you'd like me to make a phone call or two, send some students down to the office this morning.  I'd be happy to make some calls.

Great things I saw this week

  • Conferences.  You know our kids and their families.  And it shows.  Lots of smiles and handshakes and fist bumps.
  • 7th and 8th graders and their smoothies at lunch time.  Sharing the health.
  • Two of our Merton grads coming back to help out in Homework Club.
  • November weather that keeps the kids enjoying recess.
  • Thank you letters from our veterans to students and staff.  Here's one that's my favorite.
Calendar
Friday, November 18th
  • I have a pretty free morning but my afternoon is packed with fun.  Seriously.  I have an observation from 1:08-2:36, a meeting with students from 2:36-3:06, and then I'm covering a class from 3:06-4:00.  That means I'm out of my office and in classrooms with staff and students.  If you need me for anything, don't hesitate to contact Barb.  She knows how to get in touch with me if it's an emergency.
Monday, November 21st
  • Coaching  7:30-8:15
  • IEP  1:15-2:15
  • Observation  2:36-3:06
  • IEP  3:15-4:15
  • BLT  4:15-5:15
Tuesday, November 22nd

  • Staff awards  8:15-8:30 in the Little Theater
  • No office day!
Tweets, quotes, and blogs
Cool idea for book commercials (from edutopia)
@mertonint on Twitter
#mertonint on Twitter
Merton Intermediate School Facebook page
Family smore for 11.18.16
*These three quotes about success really struck home with me after our grade level meetings yesterday.  We are successful because we don't settle for what we did yesterday.  We strive to do better.  We prepare, work hard, and learn from our failures.  But don't forget about how we always talk about family first.  That helps us be a public and private success.  We won't rest on our laurels.  We're not that kind of family.  We keep striving to be better.  As James Collins says, "The enemy of great is good."  Let's celebrate what we do well, but then let's set a new goal and reach for it.

Have a great weekend.
Be the one!
Jay
Take care of the kids.  Take care of each other.  Take care of yourself.


Saturday, November 12, 2016

#Thankful

It is an honor for me to be a part of #SAVMP (School Admin Virtual Mentor Program), a wonderful opportunity to learn with and from administrators throughout the country.  Our next challenge is to share what we are most thankful for, and the list is short but powerful.

  • I am thankful for my family, every one of them, for believing in me, helping me set and reach goals, and picking me up when even I don't realize I need a pick me up.

  • I am thankful for my co-workers who come to school every day, giving their best for our students and each other.  They keep me focused on what's most important (relationships with our students, relationships with each other, and relationships with our families- the real "3 R's" of education) and hold me and each other accountable.

  • I am thankful for my PLN (Personal Learning Network), especially the two principals who helped me become a connected educator, Curt Rees (@curtrees) and Jessica Johnson (@PrincipalJ), the original #WIAmigos.  Without my PLN, I'd be on an island, writing S.O.S. in rocks on the beach, and stagnant in my thinking and actions.

Thanks to all of you who have helped my become the educator I am today.  Who are the people you are most thankful for?

Friday, November 11, 2016

The kids are why we are here

I must honestly say I was happy with our staff meeting on Wednesday.  We came in after what was a long night of election results, turned our focus to the kids and each other, and had an awesome day.  After all, the kids are why we are here.  If you missed the meeting, or can't find the link to the presentation, here it is.  As I sit in my office after a night of conferences and Veterans' Day decorating (wait until you see what the kids did), I wonder what other line of work allows someone to be energized by kids, colleagues, and families.  I challenge anyone to find something that does all three.

Calendar
Monday, November 14th
  • Stone Bank visits LA classrooms
  • I'll be riding bus #2 home
Tuesday, November 15th
  • Conferences 4:30-8:00
Wednesday, November 16th
  • A-team meeting 1:30-3:00
Thursday, November 17th
  • Grade level/ specials meetings
  • Homework Club  4:15-5:15
Friday, November 18th
  • Kick back with Favorite Shoes Day!

Tweets, blogs, and quotes
We Continue the Path (from Pernille Ripp)

(I made using Google drawings)


How to Disagree (from Kid President)
@mertonint on Twitter
#mertonint on Twitter
Merton Intermediate School Facebook page
Family smore for 11.11.16


This is pretty short, Jay...
It's been a long week.  You've been awesome with the kids.  You opened up with one another on Wednesday morning.  Some of you had scheduled conferences.  All of you had unscheduled conferences.  We are celebrating our veterans this morning.  It's been a long week.  Enjoy today with our kids and veterans.  Maybe stop down and eat lunch with us.  And as always, give it your best.  We only have this day with our kids once.
Be the one!
Jay
Take care of the kids.  Take care of each other.  Take care of yourself.

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Where did the 1st quarter go?

Holy mackerel!  Where did the 1st quarter go?  I know we only use quarters in 7th and 8th grade, but a quarter of our school year is over.  When you look back, what are your favorite memories from the 1st quarter?  Here are some of mine.
  • The Color Run and getting slimed.
  • Stopping in classrooms and reading, just reading, right next to our kids.
  • Having in depth conversations about Science with our kids.
  • NJHS tutors almost running Homework Club by themselves.
  • Our new playground!
  • Listening in on election discussions about the process.  They have been polite and informative, quite unlike the real election.
  • Grade level meeting conversations, BLT meetings, and our new SIP team.  I am so proud of the work that we do together for the benefit of our kids and each other.
  • Our group of kids this year are awesome.
  • Have you heard the bands and choirs?  They are sounding awesome!
  • The creativity in our art room is amazing.
  • Working together with students on their math.
  • Each of you stepping up to help out colleagues at all different times.
  • Mr. Olson, our Red Ribbon speaker, and our Boosterthon team, stopping me to say how polite and respectful our kids are and how impressed they are about staff sitting with the students during our assemblies.  You set the tone!
  • Our 8th grade mentors really making our new 5th grade class feel special.
  • The occasional unexpected hug from a student.
Calendar
Tuesday, November 8th

  • Election Day (Don't forget to vote!)
  • SIP team meeting  8:00AM in Jim's office
  • Homework Club 4:15-5:15
  • #edprep chat at 7:00PM (Topic is mindset.  Join us if you can!)
Wednesday, November 9th
  • Jeans for Troops for Veterans' Day (pay $5 to wear jeans)
  • RtI/PLC Monday 8:00 in someone's room
    • Library has the Book Fair
    • Any volunteers?
Thursday, November 10th
  • Jay at the dentist 7AM
  • Grade level/ specials meetings
    •  6th and 5th grades optional due to conferences
  • Family conferences
  • No Homework Club!
Friday, November 11th
  • Veterans' Day Celebration

Tweets, blogs, and quotes
A Quiet Moment (from Pernille Ripp)
(from Pinterest)

Booksnaps (from Dave Burgess- using Snapchat for book reviews)
How do you connect? (from me for AWSA and SAVMP- Just ask me if you want to know what these stand for.)
(from Pinterest)

Audience Needed- Silly Poetry Videos (from Pernille Ripp)
Letter to a Tired Teacher (from @SteeleThoughts)

(from Pinterest)

I added the visual above for a special reason.  These next two weeks can often be difficult due to the additional stress of conferences.  I know that you have been communicating with families all year long so nothing should really come as a surprise.  But there's always that unknown element.  When you can, take a moment for yourself the next couple of weeks.  Go for a walk.  Read a book.  Talk to a friend you haven't seen in a while.  It will make you feel better.  And do what I do.  Sit down and have a conversation with one of our students.  They can really make you feel good.
Be the one!
Jay
Take care of the kids.  Take care of each other.  Take care of yourself.- John Gunnell

How do you connect?

As I thought about all of the relationships that we build as educators, I also thought about all of the ways that I connect with students, colleagues, and families.  Although this is not an all inclusive list of communication tools, it is a list that has helped me connect with people in my school, my community, my state, and beyond.  Special shoutouts go to Chris Reuter (@chris_reuter) and Mark Flynn (@m4flynn), former Merton colleagues, for their influence on my connectedness using Twitter and my #WIAmigos friends, Curt Rees (@CurtRees) and Jessica Johnson (@PrincipalJ) for furthering my connections using Voxer.  Now on to the ways I connect with students, colleagues, and families.

Face to face
I hope this doesn't need an explanation.  Sit down with people.  Walk with them from spot to spot.  Eat lunch with them.  Visit their classroom or invite them in for a discussion in your office.  Have Principal Chats.  Attend PTO meetings and family conferences.  Walk around during Open House.  Go to concerts and sporting events.  I really feel that face to face is the most important of our tools to connect.

Phone calls
Phone calls are the next best thing to face to face meetings.  These can also be done at a time that is convenient for both individuals.  I use phone calls to speak with families about student progress and behavior, but probably not as often as I should.  I also spent a full day calling home to families of students who were recognized for being good kids.  The silence at the end of the line when I said I was calling from my office with their child makes me want to do this more to change the perception of phone calls from the Principal's office.

Email
This is probably how I do my most communicating with colleagues and families.  I really would like to limit the use of email, but the ease of using this tool makes it difficult to get away from.  I'm rarely at "inbox zero", but I'm able to keep my inbox to a manageable number.  I also have a rule that if I receive an email that is longer than one paragraph, I invite the person in to meet with me or make a phone call.  I find that writing a long response can sometimes muddy the message and leads to many more emails.

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Twitter (@posickj, @mertonint, #mertonint)
Thanks to Chris, Mark, Curt, and Jessica, Twitter has helped me grow and connect as an educator in ways I can hardly explain.  I have connected with educators from all over the United States and a couple of other countries, too.  The wealth of information and ideas I can find on Twitter at any time of the day really blows my mind.  I have found that joining chats (#satchat on Saturdays at 6:30AM CST and #edprep (shameless plug for a chat Eric Rodriguez (@erod129) and I co-moderate) every other Tuesday at 7:00PM CST are two of my favorites) has helped expand the scope of those educators I learn from and with every day.

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Facebook (Merton Intermediate School Facebook account)
I'm pretty new to Facebook, but I do have a school facebook account as that's where I find most of our families are connected.  Sometimes I post pictures but I also post daily student announcements and weekly family emails.
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Voxer
This is one of my favorite communication tools.  I use it with colleagues and haven't reached out to families yet.  Voxer allows you to text, send photos and videos, and, most important to me, voice responses.  It's like Twitter with an extra feature.  It is a private community, too, so you can invite individuals to join a group or just communicate with one individual at a time.  It's asynchronous meaning you can use it when you have time, a great feature that allows conversations to last for a long time.

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Smore
This is a great tool to share stories, pictures, and videos with colleagues and families.  I use this in place of the paper newsletter we used to send home.  Here's a link to my smores for this school year.  As I am someone who takes a lot of pictures during the week, I can share the photos I've posted from Instagram here, too.

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Instagram
I use Instagram to post pictures of the great things going on around our school.  Instagram is one of the newest tools that I'm using and there are a number of students who follow this account, too.

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Remind
Remind is another way that I connect with families.  Remind provides text messages instead of emails.  I've found that parents might not read all of their emails, but they will read a text when it comes to their phone.

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IFTTT
This app (if this then that) allows me to post pictures and text to Instagram which then posts to both Twitter and Facebook.  One post equals three posts, in reality.  This really cuts down on the time it takes to post to social media.

Google tools
I use Google hangouts to connect with colleagues and have also connected with families if they are unable to join us for conferences.  I use blogger (right now, for example) to reflect and write my thoughts as well as for our weekly staff nuts and bolts.  You can look through the list of blogs on the right side of this blog if you'd like to see some examples of our staff nuts and bolts.

I know that there are many other was to connect, but these are my "go to" methods.  There are a lot of them listed, but the variety is powerful.  Not all of the people you connect with will use all of these tools, but they will use at least one of them.  Let them choose the ones they are most comfortable with and you will build stronger connections with your students, colleagues, and families.

I'd also like to share this with you.  I don't follow anyone on our school Twitter or Facebook accounts except for our PTO.  That's just my way of making sure that I have more control over what appears on our timeline.  If you'd like to connect about any of these communication options, I'd be more than happy to discuss any of them with you.  And if you'd like to meet face to face, that would be pretty cool, too.