Reflections from an Elementary Principal

Inspired once again from Melinda Miller & Amber Teamann’s Facebook group, we decided to run with the PEEP WAR idea this Spring (rather than an Easter egg hunt this year). At the start of the week, each team received a sheet of colored cardstock with 6 peeps on it (different colors for each team). We asked that prior to Wednesday morning, each team was to work together to cleverly disguise their peeps so other teams wouldn’t capture them. Teams were asked to “hide” their peeps by 8am on Wednesday so the “hunting” could begin. The team with the most captured peeps at the end of the day on Thursday would be the winner!

Teams were charged to work together to disguise the peeps before hiding them (camouflage, costumes, etc). The peeps must be hidden somewhere in a common space around the building (not in classrooms). At the end of the challenge, teams were to check their original hiding places — if their peep was still there, teams could reclaim their peep! At the end of the challenge, teams were asked to take a photo with all of their captured peeps!

              

#teambuilding
#culturebuilder
#fun

How do you celebrate student successes? Last year, we implemented the “Good News Call of the Day” (an idea shared widely in the Principals in Action group, via Mark French), where teachers could send students to the office to receive a good news call from the principal. The idea was well-embraced by teachers, but we wanted to connect these positive ‘referrals’ to our social emotional character traits to make them more powerful and meaningful to students. We wanted our Kubbies to know that their behaviors and choices aligned with the character traits we focus on and work to instill in our students each month. Here’s our re-vamped ‘referral’ form (which lets the admin know details about the students’ deserving behaviors to provide as much detail as possible during the phone call).

We ask students who they want to share their good news with, and we call home….together. Parents love hearing positive news about their child, and it’s heartwarming to hear parents talk with their little ones and share how proud they are of their accomplishment. Students receive a bracelet, and we take their picture with the mini-Fujimax camera — one for them to take home, and one for our school’s “Wall of Fame”.

How do you celebrate everyday student successes at your school and strengthen home/school communication?

Looking for an easy way to kick off a new “year” (aka January — returning from Winter Break).

This couldn’t be more simple….
-Plastic champagne flutes

-M&Ms (I clearly purchased the holiday colors, on sale)

-Mini-cupcakes to top them off

CHEERS to 2019! 

 

Having done the “12 Days Before Winter Break” with staff for the last few years, we wanted to switch things up a bit and try something new…..enter A December to Remember!

Using ideas from Amber & Melinda’s facebook group, we created a daily lineup of Holiday TUNES that would reveal a surprise for the day. Each daily note was sent via email, as it included the holiday song!

IMG_0411 <—-here’s an example of what the staff would receive via email

  

Here were some pictures of our surprises in the lounge:

        

This year, our district also mailed all of our students’ families a holiday card, with photos of all district employees, wishing our families a joyful holiday season. Again, this idea originated from Melinda Miller, who sends a holiday card to her school families. Instead of each of our 3 district schools sending their own individual cards, we decided to team up and create one district holiday card!

        

As a school, we were committed to ensuring each our little Kubbies received snail mail over the 2 week winter-break from someone that misses them and can’t wait to see them again soon! (It was also a way to remind parents of the day school resumes after a long 2-week break). We took advantage of a VistaPrint 50% off sale, and ordered 1,000 postcards, with our mascot Kubbie donning a santa hat! Each staff member was charged to ensure that all of our students received some love over Winter Break!

   

 

Knowing that our parents & students were all going to be receiving snail mail LOVE over winter break, I knew we had to find a way to surprise the most hard-working staff, too! In August, when staff completed their “Getting to Know You” survey (email me, if you’d like to see a copy), one of the questions they answer is for the name and address of someone special in their life (idea borrowed from Todd Nesloney). We took this chance to not only write a card, expressing to their “loved one” how grateful we are to have them on our teaching staff, but we also enclosed a photo of that staff member, working with kids, doing what they love! Did this take some time to complete for 100 staff members? Sure…..the result — priceless.

     

Each card had the same enclosure on the inside and a small token of appreciation for that staff members’ impact on our school community.

Just a few responses from staff:

“Thank you for the card you sent my family! It meant the world to them and myself! I’m so grateful to be at Kennedy with you!”

“My mom called me crying about a card and picture she got today. Thank you.”

“From the bottom of my heart, I wanted to thank you for the Christmas card that you sent to my mom. It was a sweet surprise to see it today.”

“Just wanted to tell you my mom loved the Xmas card you sent out to them! She thought it was very thoughtful and special that you did that. Thank you.”

 

Another new idea we tried out this year was Kids’ Night Out/Parents Night Off! This event provided our parents/families with a night out (3 hours) without their kids; whether they needed to do some last-minute-holiday-shopping, stay home to wrap gifts, or even if they wanted a date night! Parents were able to drop off their children at school and our staff members planned a fun evening with activities, games, and dinner! It was an awesome fundraiser for our school, and I think our parents truly appreciated this opportunity!

What do you think about these new DECEMBER TO REMEMBER ideas?

….better late than never! It’s my hope you can use some of these ideas next year as you celebrate and appreciate your staff for all their hard work and dedication to making student-centered decisions 😉

Here are some easy ideas ideas to implement!

*Parent/Teacher Conference Survival Kits for staff (Thanks Jessica Gomez for the idea)

*ORANGE you glad it’s Friday “spread”

*Popcorn for Parents on Parent/Teacher Conference Days…..what a great way to station yourself in the lobby and greet families as they enter the building!

*Conference Week can Seem FLAIRly Long….(Thanks to Amber Teamann for the idea!)

*Tricky Turkey Hunt
Hide turkey cutouts around the building and staff come to claim their prize! Here’s the prize card template.
Just add a scratch off sticker on top of the “O” in “YOU”
Prizes can be simple…..coffee or lunch, courtesy of your administrator, yoga-pants pass, GOOSE (get out of school early) pass, a prize from our treasure chest (aka school supplies/Target Dollar Spot finds).

    

Looking for a cute way to show appreciation to ___________ (office staff, nurse, custodians, cafeteria team, teachers, paraprofessionals, parent helpers, etc), here’s an amazingly easy and quick idea!

      

Check out your local Target dollar spot for mason jars — the ones I purchased came in a 3-pack for $3, or any cute tins/buckets. I filled them up with candy & added this adorable tag, shared by Gabrielle from Teaching Special Thinkers.

Follow her on Instagram at @teachingspecialthinkers.

Here’s her free download for the tag.

****For those who are @CRICUT makers, you can use the “Print then Cut” feature and quickly let your Cricut machine cut out these adorable tags!

This year, after our opening keynote message to staff, we embedded a selfie-scavenger hunt, as there were several spaces that were renovated over the summer. Not only was this a great team-building/get to know you activity where staff worked in small groups with other members outside of their grade level team, but they explored parts of the building together & had fun taking selfies in these various locations! We asked staff to post a collage of all of the photos on Instagram, using our school hashtag and #selfiescavengerhunt.

Each staff member then received a ‘swag bag’ and a staff t-shirt for the year! What’s in the bag you ask?

(Each staff member also received a keychain from Target’s dollar spot with their name personalized on it, using a Cricut)

 

*A copy of Be the One for Kids by Ryan Sheehy and a decal sticker for their laptops/rooms. This book is such a quick read and really hits home the message of doing what’s best for kids. Making connections & ensuring all decisions come back to the question, “Is this good for kids?” makes this an easy pick for a staff PD book.

*A copy of Hacking Leadership by Joe Sanfelippo & Tony Sinanis (courtesy of our superintendent, Dr. B). Joe was our district’s opening keynote speaker this year & kicked off our school year with an inspiring message to connect and tell our school’s story! Joe left us wanting to do always do whatever it takes to create those moments of awe for our families and students.

*Vistaprint Positive Postcards — our school’s goal is “5 by Friday” ….that’s 5 positive connections by Friday….every week….all year…..all staff members participating! Those positive connections help strengthen relationships with our families and students!

*Lanyard (ordered from Namify), Planner (ordered from Amsterdam), Badge Reel (ordered from IDville) — all customized with our school logo!

*A plush “googley eye” dry erase board eraser, which they can also use to wipe down their device screens (iPads or laptop).

*Custom Popsockets

Finally, all staff received a t-shirt. We wear our school shirt on the 1st day of school, to easily signify which adults are staff members, available to help families and new students looking for direction on that first morning of school!

              

On the first day of school, we surprise the staff with an easel in the lounge!

Just like  our students take photos of their first day of school, we set up a photo-op for our staff to capture their first day!
The fujifilm Instax cameras provide an instant “polaroid” photo keepsake!

    

How do you kick off the new school year?

Our journey begins in February, when we has a “Kindergarten Round Up” evening, or an information night for parents of incoming Kindergarten students. The night is made up of an informative presentation by the administration and a Kindergarten teacher for the parents, while the children experience Kindergarten classrooms with our amazing Kinder teaching staff! Once re-united after the presentation, families and children partake in a tour around the building (bringing their Kennedy passport), meeting Kenny the school mascot & taking a sweet treat & picture on the way out!

 

At the meet & greet this year (the day before school begins), we placed a copy of the book “Kindergarten Here I Come!” with a special note on each Kindergarten students’ desk! (Thanks Susan Melbye and Liz Garden for the inspiration)

           

After seeing this yard sign idea in the town I live in, I knew I wanted to bring the idea to our school community to help welcome our new class of Kindergarten students…..while the “8th grade graduation class year” is what I’ve seen frequently used on these welcome signs, I wanted to connect our district’s motto of “College Begins with Kindergarten” to these yard signs, by displaying their future college graduation year! We instill college and career goals from a young age and want our Kubbies to strive for big things!

Our school photo company, Lifetouch, has a printshop and this year, we ordered yard signs that would welcome our incoming Kindergarten class of students to Kennedy School! The night before school started, our entire administrative team split up the addresses of our Kindergarten students and delivered the signs! No appointment, no door knock, we just left the signs in the front yards of our new students! Some saw us and came out, where we snapped pictures next to their sign. It was also awesome for our parents to tag our school in their social media posts, capturing their Kindergarten children next to their signs! Again, amazingly thankful to my administrative team for helping make this idea happen!!!! Couldn’t have done it without their help! #thankful

            

                                              

 

How do you welcome your Kindergarten families? 

An important aspect of being a connected leader is telling your school’s story through social media. It’s imperative that meaningful, real connections take place first in order for your parents and/or community to want to follow your school’s story or believe in it. As Joe Sanfelippo says, “Never miss the opportunity to say something great about your school”.

Our district has a strong Facebook and Instagram presence, yet I realize that many of parents are also on Snapchat. While we have not branched out into creating a district or school snapchat account, we do capitalize on the fact that Snapchat is one of the social media spaces that are parents ‘live-in’ and use frequently. That being said, I wanted to be sure that we could add our ‘brand’ to the stories that our parents may be telling in that space, and I wanted their photos to forever remember some of the most memorable days. Solution = Custom Filters.

When are parents (and teachers) taking pictures? 1st Day of School in any grade level is a milestone. We all know parents want to take a picture on the first and last day of each grade level for their elementary-aged children….and the school courtyard is packed with families on that first day…..why not capitalize on that by creating a custom geo-filter with your school’s logo and the date?

Creating custom geo-filters is simple! You can use free web-based programs like CANVA to create the filter. Snapchat now even allows you to create one within their app (see directions here). Once you’ve created your design, you submit the filter to Snapchat to be approved. You’ll schedule your filter by choosing a start time and end time (your filter can last anywhere from an hour to weeks). You map out the area you want your filter to cover by dragging the points of your ‘geofence’ to change its shape. Based on how big your geofence is, your custom filter price will adjust.

Think about what your most memorable events are at your school? For us, the most highly attended days with parents include:

Halloween
           

Kindergarten Graduation
                 

Last Day of School
          

Have you explored geo-filters yet? What events can you capitalize on by creating a custom geo-filter to help brand the amazingness happening at your school?

In the weeks before staff return, I love spending time writing notes so that each faculty member receives ‘snail mail’! Whether it’s a notecard or a postcard, I want them to know that I hope they’ve been enjoying their time away from school and can’t wait to hear about their summer when they return in a few weeks!

This year (sshhhhh), postcards are headed to their mailboxes (Vistaprint, of course):

A welcome letter, including information/agendas for the teacher institute days hits their inbox next, but what’s most important in the week prior to school beginning it the time I spend around the building. While my list of things to do can seem never-ending, stopping into classrooms as teachers prepare for students is so important! Oftentimes, teachers will have company (whether it be their moms, spouses, friends, or even their children) and I always spend time talking with teachers and working on those relationships. I ask if there’s anything I can do to help (cutting out laminating or hanging up a bulletin board) but more importantly,  I want them to know how much I value their time and attention in creating the most welcoming, vibrant learning environment for our Kubbies.

The week before staff officially report, I ask staff to record a FlipGrid video introducing themselves, sharing their position and something that they’re excited about in the coming year. This is a great way for returning staff to meet our newest family members, and for our new staff to put faces to the names of their future colleagues!

I strive to make our opening kick-off as a school staff inspiring and energizing! It’s important that we have a common goal as a school-team and that we work collectively towards our goal for the year! I try to ensure the teachers feel excited to be back and valuable as members of our team. Who doesn’t love ‘swag‘ ? Below you’ll find some back to school gifts that we’ve provided our staff, including an “It’s Worth It Box” (poem from Ms. DeCarbo), Kids Deserve It swag, Brad Montague’s “Don’t Hide Your Magic” pins, and of course staff T-Shirts (ordered from The Graphic Edge).

Admin shouldn’t forget what it’s like on those first Institute Days….teachers’ minds are racing with what they still need to do before the 1st day of school, yet admin tend to pack those agendas with little time to work in their classrooms.

While there are certainly some ‘non-negotiables’ that need to be covered during those institute day meetings, I know how much teachers value time with their teams and time to work in their rooms. Not only do we build in a good chunk of time, we try to make that “work time” extra sweet, but delivering either SONIC drinks or McDONALDS smoothies, wishing them a “SMOOTH” start to the school year!

It’s not just students who get those First Day Jitters. I still can’t sleep the night before the first day of school! I’m filled with such excitement and anticipation for the big day! As a principal, I want to be sure that all staff members feel supported and know that the administrative team will always be there for them! My APs and I split the staff list and write out cards (take advantage of Vista Print’s 50% off sale through July 24th) to each staff member, wishing them a successful school year & assuring them we are here to support them! We all know how hectic that first day is, with teachers oftentimes skipping their lunch; so we always leave a sweet treat in their mailboxes with that hand-written note, like a cake pop or a cookie!

How do you welcome staff for the start of a new school year?