Motivating, encouraging, and celebrating life
(Photo credit: Tommy Brown) An active visible principal is a viable one. We’ve moved from the principal as a manager to one that is an effective education leader. But how do you balance those administrative business duties (office time) with making an appearance in the classrooms? I found the “Classroom Visitation Calendar” a valuable tool to document the principal’s time spent in classrooms. It was
The creative and humorous lady in the picture above was my librarian, Lori. The library took on amazing transformations through her giftedness. Parents, staff, and kids absolutely loved her. This BEACH theme was incorporated in the last few weeks of school to get everyone ready for summertime. I want to show you Lori’s ideas that transformed the library and also a couple of ideas to
If you’ve followed me any length of time, you know I like different! It can sometimes be tricky trying to find a staff activity that everyone will be engaged with. That’s why I created the “Paper Bag Book Staff Activity”. It’s different and lets your staff do the hard work while having FUN! Your crafty staff members will love it, however, it won’t intimidate your
The professor at my first administrative class had just asked the formidable question, “Why did you want to become an administrator?” I shrunk down in my seat while scanning the room making a quick assessment of the seating order. Maybe this professor wouldn’t see me or solicit everyone’s input. I could only hope! After a few minutes, I realized with dread that I was going
Exit tickets or exit slips are a quick and easy assessment tool…and can be much more! They are essentially a closure or exit out the door after a lesson, meeting, the end of a unit, or the end of a term, etc. There are many ways to use exit tickets. They are useful for: Reflection Self-Analysis Checking workplace climate Boosting morale 1) Reflection Reflective exit
Last week I was with my daughter and grandson when we dropped him off at his elementary school. So fun! My daughter made the comment that they were always trying to hurry everyone through the line. I had to stifle a laugh. I was reminded of the signs I ordered from a sign company (no longer in business, sorry!) when I first started as an administrator.
This post may contain affiliate links. See the full disclosure here. Principals! Are you ready for a FUN challenge? This annual event, held the second week of November, is in conjunction with National Young Readers Week. It is sponsored by Pizza Hut’s BOOK IT! program and the Library of Congress Center for the Book. What is the challenge? Principals pick one day during the second week
As a former elementary principal, I was crazy enough to send weekly staff memos. It was grueling at first to keep up until I developed a few tricks (e.g. Boomerang for Gmail to automatically schedule, jotting down notes or taking pictures as events occurred, etc.). Eventually, it became routine. I also made the rule not to beat myself up if I missed a week! The
School is out and summertime is here! Are you ready to spend more time with your kids? For those of you who just screamed, “NOOOOOOO!”, hold on, I’ve got a few ideas for you. 🙂 Planning Your Days It’s easy to get stressed about being home with the kids all summer…unless you have a plan. It doesn’t have to be a detailed plan at all.
Do you look forward to staff meetings? Most people would answer that question with a resounding, NO! Thirty-minute meetings turn into 90-minute meetings while you’re wondering if you’ll have time to run your errands that day. Too much talk on the part of the leader or too much talk from that staff member that dominates the conversation. No practical applications to the real-world workplace…and for
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy for details here. 2020 is a year most people will not forget…but many would like to. History will proclaim it as the year the pandemic hit. A run on toilet paper, masks (of many types), virtual school, six-feet apart social distancing, and stay-at-home orders was just the tip of the iceberg. My husband Gene
If you’ve visited this page previously, I’ve changed it up! I’m attaching a link to a FREEBIES category so that you can add to the cart and then have unlimited downloads for that product. That way I can update the items along the way without you losing the link. I hope that makes sense! And if it doesn’t, no worries…just click the link below for
