Friday, October 20, 2017

Can you change?

I subscribe to three blogs which I mention in no particular order.  One is Pernille Ripp's, another is Dave Burgess', and the final, is George Couros'.  You have probably noticed that as I share at least one of them each week with you.  Last week Friday, George posted this blog- Change the World or Simply Maintain It?  Please take a few minutes to read it.  If you don't read the entire blog, please read the last paragraph.  It's the change we need to make in our classrooms and our school.  Are you ready to go there with me?  After conferences last night as well as some of our discussions during team meetings yesterday, I think we are.  No, I know we are.  The question is, can you find just one thing to do a little differently to make a difference for our kids?  I know you can.

Great things I saw this week...
Our BLT. like all of you, is looking out for all of our kids and all of our staff.
Our kids helping each other out in the STEM lab while learning Inventor.
Mark Flynn speaking to 5th graders about his knowledge of South Sudan.  Best thing- Mark asked the students what they thought about when he said Sudan.  The first answer was Sweden.  It caught Mark off guard, to say the least.
How much our staff takes care of each other.
How much our staff cares about our kids and their families as evidenced in conferences Thursday night and grade level meetings on Thursday.
An 8th grade student helping a 7th grade student, who was using crutches, carry his lunch tray to his table.

Calendar
Red Ribbon Week
Monday, October 23rd
Wear Red!
School board meeting  7PM
Tuesday, October 24th
Wear team gear!
Homework Club  4:15PM
Wednesday, October 25th
A-team meeting  1:30PM
Thursday, October 26th
Professional Development Day
Friday, October 27th
No school- You better hang out with your family and friends!

Tweets, quotes, and blogs

(from Pinterest)


(from Joni Stevenson, a principal friend of mine from Idaho)

Curiosity Leads to Growth (from George Couros)
Who Do You Need to Thank (from Dave Burgess)
Family smore for 10.20.17

You gotta love your family...
I'm sitting in one of the last conferences last night and my watch started to vibrate to let me know of an incoming phone call.  It was my parents, but I didn't answer my phone.  I just finished up the conference.  Once the conference was over, I called my parents and their first question was if I was watching one of our family friends playing the organ in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.  It's kind of a big deal and they wanted me to be able to hear him.  I told them that I couldn't due to conferences and then our discussion went to their trip to Connecticut, the state where I was born and where almost all of my parents relatives live.  I asked how they were getting to the airport and they said they were driving and parking there.  As my mom said, "It was cheaper than taking a Huber."  We then had a discussion about the difference between an Uber and Huber.  It was just the laugh I needed after an exhausting and exhilarating day.

I hope that today you find one thing that makes you smile and can share that smile with the students or one of our Merton family.
Be the one!
Jay
Take care of the kids.  Take care of each other.  Take care of yourself.- John Gunnell

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