One Word 2019

As the 2018 year draws to a close, I try to intentionally build moments reserved for reflection of the past and the light moving forward to the new dawn.  Specifically, this past year was a year of change for me so it was a perfect opportunity to consider the shifts I've made personally and professionally. The #OneWord movement from Jon Gordon has become a way to re-think a new year resolution. 

Reflection
My #OneWord2018 was Balance.  (my blog post from last year is here)  Both directly and indirectly, I think my focus on this all-important word was the catalyst for much of the change over the past year. A significant change was the career shift I took from Elementary Principal to STEM Curriculum Coordinator.  I loved (and still do!) the school community and the work of the principalship, but this professional shift allowed me better balance.  It has provided a rich new challenges professionally, allowing for new professional growth and learning.  The balance of new responsibilities with familiar district and colleagues has been a great opportunity to grow.  Additionally, and even more importantly, this position has provided a better balance for my personal and professional well-being.  Although the work is not easy, it is more predictable, allowing for my most important role of mom to find balanced footing with my professional responsibilities. 

Looking Forward
My #OneWord2019 is Pursuit.  This word has been coming up for me in the last few weeks, and I hope it will help to continue as my guiding light in the new year.  Pursuit will mean both the act of the chase and seeking to accomplish. Being mindful of what it is I want to accomplish - both on the small scale (to-do lists, planning for professional and personal steps, etc.) and on the larger scale (life plans, multi-year hopes, etc.)  will require that I'm also attending to the process through which I will try to achieve the accomplishments.  It may also be that the pursuit is for grander things (think pursuit of happiness) beyond those that can ever be finished.  There is something about my word that puts the priority on the process and the journey - not just the end result- that speaks to me this year.




I wish you health, happiness, and pursuits filled with wonder in this new year!

What is your #OneWord?

I didn't march...

I didn’t march on Saturday. As the youth of our country took to the streets to share their message I didn’t march. 

Why? 

I fully support the citizens of our country (that happen to be students/children!) speaking up and marching.  On Saturday I was with my family. I have two young daughters; 5 and 7. I am thankful and blessed that they do not yet know what happened.  I will continue to do my best to maintain their innocence and belief in magic, fairies, and happiness as long as possible!  We spent Saturday together as a family and had conversations about what kind things we did that day, that week, and that we plan to do in the future. Although I wasn't there in person, my support was and continues to be!

As parents and educators we continue to raise this generation of amazing children – we will continue to support these engaged citizens who will be [who are!] strong, kind, and inclusive. 

As a mom, I will do my best to continue to help my girls understand that they must be kind – but also that they have a voice that is important and powerful.

As a principal and educator I will do my best to foster a sense of community with my students so they know they are important, valued, and loved. 

As a citizen I will engage and use my voice to reach out to my representatives, dialogue with peers and neighbors, and will share the message #NeverAgain #Enough

I didn’t march – but I support our children.  They deserve to be safe at home and at school every day.

My "One Word" is...

... Balance

 As an educator, leader, mom, and learner I am continually thankful for my PLNs (Professional Learning Networks.) From my PLNs I find ideas, a supportive friend, a critical colleague, resources, and (most often!) inspiration.  I was inspired to select my #OneWord for 2018 after hearing the stories of many of my colleagues in my Principals in Action and Moms as Principals networks.

My word found me this week as I enjoyed time with my family, then realized how stressed I started to feel once I thought about the list of 'to-dos' waiting once I returned from the holiday break.  I took a moment to pause and realized that where I was at that moment was where I needed to be and that my time, energy, and focus would be equally distributed once I returned to work after the new year.  This moment echos many we all face in education each day - a few extra hours in the office or classroom before heading home at night, the extra meeting or conference on a weekend or early morning, the stretch we place trying to "do it all."  You cannot do it all... while doing it all well... all at the same time.  My #OneWord balance is designed to help remind me that things will be added and taken away at any given point and my goal is simply to continually seek equilibrium, allowing me to be the best I can be.

The word Balance looks like...

...finding the priority and balancing my time and energy during the school day.  The most important things happening are in the classrooms and in conversations with students and staff.  Balance looks like a schedule of time that prioritizes these items while ensuring I accomplish all my responsibilities.

...an even scale of doing my best to be a good principal, a good mom, a good wife/friend/daughter/sibling/etc.  I know I can't do them all at the same time, but balance means that I make sure I'm making time and being thoughtful and intentional about all.

...taking time to balance my own individual needs with those of my job and my relationships.  Time to be thoughtful about my health and wellness as well as my personal interests and passions, while continuing to grow and learn.

At any given point the scales of balance may be tipped, but my goal for my #OneWord2018 is that it will remind me to pause and reorganize my time and priorities to ensure I can once again achieve the goal of balance for 2018.

What is your One Word? I'm sure it will find you soon if it hasn't already!
Best wishes for a wonderful and balanced 2018!
~Heather

I am inspired by other's One Word... check out some more One Word blog posts here:

• I love Jessica's One Word... NO: https://principalinbalance.wordpress.com/2017/12/29/oneword-2018-no/
• Connected: http://jayposick.blogspot.com/2017/12/connected-my-oneword2018.html
• Uncomfortable: https://principalschwartz.wordpress.com/2017/12/28/2018-one-word-uncomfortable/
• Believe: https://rsheehy.blogspot.com/2018/01/oneword2018.html
• Simplicity:  http://principalcolon.edublogs.org/2018/01/01/oneword-2018/
• Reflective: https://principalfrench.com/2018/01/01/my-oneword2018/

Check out these resources to bring "One Word" to your classroom: https://mrcssharesease.wordpress.com/one-word-project/

We're just "telling the computer what to do!"

During a meeting with my district Technology Integration Specialist, we were sharing the challenges we face with getting into classrooms to encourage more coding opportunities.  Especially for our younger learners first starting out, getting started requires time, exposure, coaching, and a chance to “play” with code.  Teachers and staff do an awesome job every day ensuring they are meeting the state standards, teaching key skills and content, while fostering the well-being of every child through social emotional learning.  Students often get a chance to try coding during their library/media time or during special events (like #HourofCode day), but it hasn’t yet made its way fully into daily instruction. I am hopeful that bringing coding into the daily routines of school will continue to grow as we see more and more of our future careers and college experiences requiring this skill.

After a long talk, what we realized is that there won't be a better time than now... and that since we can't find a good time, we would MAKE a good time! 

We started a trial (one session with grades 3-5, another day with grades K-2) with a morning Drop-In coding sessions. Our first day alone was a learning experience for us, as we had a significantly larger turn out than we were expecting (see 50+ as compared to our expected 15!) causing us to think on our feet while dealing with some wifi glitches. We connected together to reflect on what worked and what didn't, and with each session that has followed we have met to revise, reconsider, and plan how we are going to continue to engage our students in this work.  What originated as a chance to participate in #HourofCode has turned into an ongoing offering for all our students.

I have found joy in watching the process of discovery – a written code, a mistake, trial & error, and then success!  The whoops of excitement that come from groups that figure it out are contagious, leading others to inquire about what they did.  This process has fostered communication, flexible thinking, collaboration, applying skills to an unknown context, learning from mistakes, organization, and planning strategies.  Those skills are some of the many bonuses we’re observing, in addition to the learning gained from the growing coding skills our students are developing. 

It has also been a great chance to step back into a teaching role facilitating the learning.  the flexibility demanded from our teachers each day; planning for a lesson that doesn't always go the way you expect, taking advantage of the "found" learning opportunities that come along naturally when working with kids, managing unexpected glitches, and fostering quiet leaders - that have found a niche and a love of learning in this area.

Some of my favorite conversations have been at the end of the session when students turn in their devices and I have asked them "What is something new you learned or new you tried?"  My favorite is when a student starts off with explaining how they made a big mistake and had to change what they were doing to figure it out.  I am also finding students approaching me when they see me in the cafeteria, hallways, or classrooms to talk about their excitement about coding or their plans for our next session. That's when I let them in on a little secret... I'm excited for our next session too!

It may not be your fault...

It may not be our fault but it is our responsibility.

I have been thinking about the many tragedies that have occurred lately, with Las Vegas being the most recent one and I am heart broken.  Author Mo Willems' tweet had a sad and significant impact on me;

It is easy to feel helpless with these continued senseless acts of terror and violence. When these events occur I try to listen and hear everything I can. Where was the glitch? What went wrong? How can we prevent this in the future?  Unfortunately, no answer comes.

What I know is that there is never one reason, one organization, or one law that are at fault. And while we may not be able to cleanly lay blame or fault, that does not excuse us from our responsibilities. Because it takes just ONE to make a positive impact on a life. 

As leaders in our classrooms, leaders in our school, and leaders in our community, we play a massive role in the development of our future generations. Yes, a daunting task - but one as educators we embrace each day we enter our schools. It is our responsibility as educators to build the relationship bridge for these little humans we have the honor of working with every day.

It is our responsibility to teach, model, and reinforce what we hope our communities will look like and sound like in the future.

It is our responsibility to model what caring and loving adults do.

It is our responsibility to connect with our kids, with our parents, and with our wider community to build a support network for our children.

Our work has ripple effects, and if we want to make a change in the world, we must start within our four walls, cultivating our future generations.

it's about the HOW...

I received a great reminder this weekend of the impact we have on our students.  My kindergarten daughter wanted to play school, she was the teacher.  We couldn't play right away, as she spent a long block of time getting prepped and ready (very true to life, right?)  

Once we went into play, she had set up the materials at our “desks” and had even hand-made our Fundations papers.  

I watched her play the role of her teacher (whom she adores!) and could see and hear her mimic her teacher’s inflection, catch phrases, and even her physical movements. How she called on her "students," her nonverbal strategies for getting our attention, and even her positive feedback about our work (and coaching when we made a mistake!)

It was a powerful example that students are not only focused on what we say but, even more so, how we talk with them.  This was a wonderful reminder to me as I get ready for a new week – and I share this challenge with you.  If the students you work with were playing school, what sound bites do you want them to pull from you?  How do you hope they say it?  Go out and model it and be great for kids!

#KidsDeserveIt #MomsAsPrincipals #PrincipalsInAction

I Broke Out!

I did it!

I broke out of being a “reader not user” of Breakout EDU!  I have been hearing about Breakout EDU from colleagues in my Professional Learning Networks for about 8 months now.  I did my research (on breakoutedu.com, Facebook page, Twitter, and more!) to learn how it works and why it was such a big hit with everybody.  It became pretty clear that the excitement around Breakout EDU was focused on what we’re all looking to do for our students; create engagement, have authentic challenges, foster perseverance, develop opportunities for collaboration, and embed hands-on learning opportunities to apply our knowledge and skills.  That was it – I was hooked.

About 3 months ago I decided I was going to jump in and I purchased 2 kits for my school.  Once they arrived I spent a lot of my own “play” time to learn how to use and set the locks, playing with the kits, exploring Breakout EDU Games, and playing with the UV light/pen (super fun!) 

Ok, I was ready… It was official and I put it on a staff meeting agenda!  I used the Faculty Meeting Breakout game from the website.  Kits were put together, resources were printed, locks were on.  And then… SNOW DAY!  My Breakout EDU staff meeting had to be put off for another month.

Yesterday I finally had the opportunity to share this resource with my staff.  After sharing some of the information I’ve learned about Breakout EDU with them, I turned them loose.  It was awesome to watch.  My staff members got working together in teams – some jumping right in and trying while others hung back to watch how this was going to unfold.  Some folks stepping up as leaders of the work, others were thinking creatively outside-the-box ideas for clues and combinations.  I split the staff into two groups, to provide more opportunities for each person to engage with the tools – which created an unintentional fun bit of competition between the groups -I overheard a team plotting to swallow the other team’s key (all in good fun of course!)

Both teams were able to successfully Breakout of their boxes – to find some exit tickets from our meeting.  My teachers’ feedback highlighted some of the things that worked well for them or their team;

• Teamwork
• Communication
• FUN
• Chance to show different strengths
• Working together/collaboration
• Upbeat – no cheating
• Teambuilding
• Listening
• Everybody coming at the task from different perspectives and ideas
• Patience
• Brainstorming
• Trial and error
• Perseverance
• All people invested

Many staff were also able to think about how they could utilize this with their students! As much of a learning activity as it may have been for participants, I think I learned more as the facilitator of the activity (both about myself and about my staff.)

After some reflection time, some of my take-aways are;

• Back off!  Don’t rush to help… be patient.  I offered multiple times that if teams wanted a hint they could ask for it – and each time the teams said “NO!”  They wanted space to try it for themselves. Our educator brains are wired to “help”  - so acknowledging the space to struggle is huge… and in doing it again I would give teams the ‘hint’ card for them to raise if they needed to ask me and then I would BACK OFF!
• Some people will jump in and use a lot of trial and error while others need to hang back to watch and warm up.  I worried that those hanging back were disconnected from the activity and their team.  I may not ever be able to know for sure, but I did observe some of those that were hanging back get more connected and engaged as the activity went on – and saw cheering when a lock was opened! It may be that the style of learner and style of collaboration may respond differently when put into this unknown situation – or when asked to problem solve with team-mates they don’t always work with.  I need to be sure as an educator I honor and respect that time folks need to process and allow that engagement to happen at varied paces.
• There are different leaders that may pop up when given the opportunity. As an educator I need to consider when to assign “roles” and when the group dynamic should organically allow people to step up.
• PREPARE!  I used the tools multiple times when the kits first arrived.  I also set and reset the locks while getting ready.  Once I set the kits all up – I did each of the tasks myself to make sure they all worked.  In doing this I found a few pieces that needed to be adjusted or clarified before sharing with my teachers.  It reminds me of when I was in the classroom and had prepared a sub plan for a day I expected to be out.  I ended up not being out and found the day went beautifully because I had “over”planned everything thinking that a substitute would be there.  Especially when engaging in something new – there are measurable benefits to “over” practicing and preparing!
• Take risks – be willing to fail publicly.  I told my staff when we started that this was new for me and that I had never done this before.  I appreciate that my staff was flexible enough to jump in with me and try this tool – whereas it could have just as easily failed!  I felt it was important to take this jump because I hope that my teachers know they can take risks too (and FAIL when trying!) – just as we ask our kids to do each day.

I am so appreciative of my staff’s willingness to try this activity with me. Thank you for giving it a go and engaging in the collaborative process while taking a risk trying something new with me! I am excited about so many of the new innovations happening in our field – and I cannot wait to see what our learners take on next!