I rarely send emails to my staff unless I really need to. However, when I do, I expect my staff to read it from beginning to end as there would be important information for them to know. It’s mostly friendly reminders and I tend to do them all in one email and send it rather than sending them emails every few days. A few days pass and I get the same question asked at least 2 or 3 times from different teachers. I look at them and bite my tongue and feel like saying, “Clearly you did not read my email, otherwise you would have known the answer to this.” Instead I put a smile on my face and answer their question(s). Sometimes there are instances where I ask my staff, “Where is this?” or “Did you not do this?” and their answer would be like “Oh oops, was I supposed to do give it in or do it?” Again I think to myself, “Really, did you not read my email?!” In a very hard but diplomatic way, I respond by saying “Yes, you were supposed to as I mentioned it in my email I sent yesterday.”
In two years and 8 months I reached my goal weight. I remember thinking it was a joke when my Dr first said she wanted me at 65 kg! I am now 64. I reached it and more. I am a lot healthier than when I first started. I do my blood tests every six months and I am aware of what to eat and when to eat.
I was never a believer of New Year Resolutions. However, after reading Jennifer Hogan’s post about her 3 words for 2018, it got me thinking. She has been following Chris Brogan’s lead to choose 3 words to guide yourself through the year. I sent her post to everyone I know and asked “What’s your 3 words for 2018?” It got my family and friends excited and made all of us think and reflect. I got answers from my family and friends hours later saying “here are my 3 words…” It got us into conversations I didn’t think I would be having with my family and friends. Instead of having a to do list as your new year’s resolutions, cutting it down to just 3 words makes all the difference and it feels doable. We all know creating a list will not make us accomplish anything throughout the year. So think and reflect and share with me….What are your 3 words for 2018?
My 3 words for 2018:1. Confidence2. Abs3. Strength
The first 2 months were the most challenging. I must admit, cutting things out, changing my eating habits and remembering to write everything down was a killer. After 32 years I was being taught how to eat by my Dr. and how to order from a menu. I was learning which foods were healthy and what to avoid. Six to seven months later I thought that it would be easier and that I would get the hang of it but clearly I was wrong. Nine to ten months into my journey I plateaued for a few months. Did I want to quit then and there? YES! Did I feel like canceling my trainer because I wasn’t in the mood? YES! But did I dare to cancel? NO! Especially with his 24 hours cancellation rule. Instead I continued, I fought and tried everything my Dr, was telling me to try to break the plateau. Some days I thought to the hell with this, why should I go through the trouble, for what? But then I started losing again. My scale started moving again. I am all about the numbers. I got shouted at by my Dr. and trainer for letting numbers get to me but I never listened. My clothes started fitting better, the numbers started going down and I felt relieved. Finally there was hope again. My blood results were lower and my measurements went down. I walked my 10 thousands steps, drank all my water and ate clean daily. I started noticing the changes and people at work started complimenting and noticing as well. I felt good and healthier. But I won’t lie, even till this day there are times when I want to skip my workouts BUT I never would unless I couldn’t cause of work events that took place at the same time. That one hour is my sanity hour where I switch off and concentrate on just me.
As I parked my car and walked inside to get my blood results my heart was pounding. Why? Because I knew that my cholesterol would be high and God knows what else. I knew I wouldn’t understand the results but I was anxious to see Dr. Lemia. I got all my results and went to my car and attempted to read them. My eyes went straight to read the Cholesterol results. From my understanding I was borderline! I wanted to cry. I know it’s hereditary, I know I got it from my dad but I knew one thing was for sure and that was that I would NOT take that pill! It was only 11am when I got my results and I knew that I was seeing Dr. Lemia at 7pm. I felt that the time couldn’t pass fast enough!
I put my kids to sleep and I rushed out. I was there 15 minutes before my appointment in hopes that she would see my a bit earlier.Unfortunately she was still with her previous client. I heard the door open and I jumped. She took me to her room and we sat down. My heart wouldn’t stop racing because I was so worried. I handed my blood results to her and she took about 3-4 minutes to read through them. Those few minutes felt like an eternity to me! She looked at me and said, “Your glucose can be a bit lower, your vitamin D is good, however your cholesterol is a bit high.” When she said that, a tear rolled down my face and I automatically said that I would not take that pill. She laughed and said, “Of course not. We will bring it down, do not worry. There are many things we need to do and adjust. We will take baby steps to get you there I promise you.” I calmed down a bit and knew that the road was even longer than I thought 2 weeks ago when I first visited her.
She went through my 2 weeks diary and commented on everything I ate. When she was done with that she looked at me and said to continue cutting out wheat for 1 more week. She said that my 3and1 Nescafe that I had daily at 9am would have to stop. She didn’t expect all of these changes to happen overnight but to happen gradually. She suggested to me to have it every other day that week then completely stop during my second week. I looked right at her and said ok. Did I dare to argue with her? Of course not. Even though my 3and1 was heaven to me, there was so much sugar in it and she wanted me to cut it out completely. I had to increase my intake of MORE water and I could no longer have bread for breakfast. This was all spinning in my head and I felt like this year would feel like death. But I understood why I had to start this and followed her changes like a good girl that I am. She wanted to see me again in 2 weeks… Only God knew what she planned to cut out and eat instead the following visit… Till then I knew I had to follow her orders.
I had gotten home after my first appointment with Dr. Lemia and called all the 3 numbers she had given me. The first one I dialed didn’t answer the phone. The second one had their mobile off and then the third one also didn’t answer. I didn’t think too much of it because it was prime time where I was sure they were training their clients. About 30 minutes later a lady called back and I couldn’t remember from which company. She had told me that there was a male trainer named Ondrej that was arriving in 2 days from Czech and was certified. I asked what his certifications were and I learned that he is a certified rehabilitation trainer. All the questions I asked had positive responses. I asked many questions because in my past I had tried home training twice with different people and ended up in bed with my disc acting up. This time around I wanted to train safely and not end up in bed.
Two days passed and he called me like she said he would. His accent was definitely out of this world and not the typical accent you get day to day. We spoke and then we made an appointment for him to come two days later. I felt like this was happening very quickly but I knew that there was a long road ahead of me. My first task was done! My Dr. wanted me to exercise and it was great because the gym was going to start coming to me!
Meanwhile, I knew I needed to get a decent water bottle to carry wherever I go. I found two online and they delivered it to my house the very next day. My second task that my Dr. recommended was done! I can now drink water with lemon wherever I go. I had NO EXCUSES!
That weekend we had Thursday off. So I went to the clinic and did my blood tests and got everything my Dr. wanted me to get. The results took 7 to 10 days. My third task was done!
Functional training(My favorite workout!)
Now that everything was falling into place I began writing what I ate from morning till night daily. Then the day had come for my first session with my trainer. He arrived at 7pm on the dot knocking on my door. I guess there is NO joke with him. I welcomed Ondrej in and he asked me some questions, gave me his cancellation rules and then asked me to perform some exercises to see where I was on the fitness scale. I told him that I was below 0, that I am unfit and weak. He laughed (which I was shocked because when he came in, he was in such a serious mood, that I was scared to crack any jokes with him. He scared me!) He still made me do certain exercises. I guess he didn’t believe me and had to see me in action for himself. We barely completed an hour as I was tired and unable to breathe. He then stretched me (which right then and there I knew he knew his stuff.) We set my schedule for the next month and started with 3 times a week. He told me to buy a mat and fitball along with a foam roller. I went that weekend and bought my equipment. I felt so excited! I woke up the next morning beyond sore and felt like punching him but I didn’t dare to tell himanything. He messaged to ask if I was ok and all I could say was “I’m ok thanks, little bit of soreness.” I was afraid to tell the truth.
For the next two weeks, I wrote in my diary. I cut out wheat, exercised and drank water as much as I could. I kept my Dr. in the loop with every step I took and she was impressed (which I felt she was very hard to impress.) Drinking so much water and running to the bathroom every 10 minutes while teaching wasn’t a fun time at all. I’m sure my students thought I ate something wrong and had an upset stomach hahahahah.
As you read my career journey and know how I reached my long term goal, I decided to now share my transformation journey. I am blessed with 2 children, a girl and a boy. After having them, I decided that it was time to concentrate on myself and my well being. April 5th, 2015 was the date that I made changes within myself and my eating habits. I had woken up that morning crying not liking how I looked and felt huge, fat and ugly. Mind you I never reached obesity. But I felt ugly and fat and I knew I had to do something about it. So I called a one of my closest friends who is a registred dietitian, Dr. Lemia Shaban. I called her crying and she told me to make an appointment and come see her. I tried to see her months before but she kept telling me “ Dana you are not ready, don’t come until you are 100% committed.” I guess I had to be in tears for her to believe me that I was finally ready. I made the appointment and went few days later. April 19th, came and that was it. Time to change! The minute I sat she asked “Why are you here?” I broke down right then and there and told her that I didn’t like how I looked and that I always felt bloated and tired. She looked at me, asked me a few questions and based on my answers she knew and automatically said “Now you are ready mentally and are 100% committed.” She started by taking my weight and OMG when I saw kg79.8 (175.9 lbs) on that scale. I felt disgusted and FAT. I had never reached that weight before and the tears came rolling again. I sat down and I remembered her talking to me but everything was a blur because I was still in shock. She said, “I want you at 65”. I laughed so hard and told her “ YOU ARE CRAZY! I’d be happy if I ever reached 70 and would throw a party if I ever reached 68kg.”
She asked for specific blood tests. While waiting for those blood tests, I had to write down every single thing I ate that went into my system, even if it was a grape or a piece of chocolate! Writing everything down was hard as is. I had to keep a diary in my bag and jot down what I ate for the first two months of this journey. She also told me that I had to increase my water intake as I barely drank any water. My goodness, that was a mission by itself! The third step was to cut out everything that had wheat in it, and I could not believe that there was wheat in almost everything I ate! I had to do that for 2 weeks and then I went back to see her with my blood results. I also had to start exercising for 30 mins at least twice a week as I was unfit and didn’t exercise in years. Due to this, I had to find a trainer that could come to my house as I do not have time to go to the gym and I needed to be able to find a rehabilitation trainer as I suffer from severe back pains and have a bulging disc. My Dr. gave me a few numbers and I got home and began my research. I left her clinic feeling 1% better but I knew this was not going to be an easy road and that I had a long way to go. Knowing her weight goal for me vs my own weight goal scares me, yet I did laugh thinking she’s crazy and that it is impossible to reach it!
We just finished our two nights of parents conferences. I must say, as a teacher it had a total different feeling than being an AP. As part of the admin team, we walk around, up and down, all through the hallways making sure everything and everyone is fine. Looking into classrooms and being able to read my staff’s facial expressions and giving them a thumbs up was a great a feeling. One advice my principal gave me was to keep a pen and post it with me to jot down parent’s complaints/requests. For the whole night we never sat in our offices as we wanted to be visible to the parents and staff. At one point, we got four staff members asking us to roam around their area at a specific time when those “difficult” parents came in. So we made sure we were there for them, checking in on them and making sure their conference went smoothly. I didn’t know we had so many difficult parents that staff needed us there just for comfort. Being a teacher you are not aware of what is happening in other classes or grades or how parents are except your own 23 parents. .
The first hour passed and there was not one complaint! YAAAY. My yellow post it was empty woohoo!! Then the second and third hour was just the same. Everyone was smiling, complementing and speaking highly about our staff. PHEW! Our night was a success. I didn’t sit down for 5 minutes! I was all over the place and when I would cross paths with my principal, we would check in with each other for 5 minutes to compare notes and continue walking, smiling and checking up on everyone.
Coming to work the next day with 4 interviews to do, meetings to attend and staff to check up on was truly exhausting, my goodness! Day 2 of PT conferences was another success, my post it was still empty. NO complaints!! Parents were smiling, less staff needing us to roam their hallways and all just went smoothly. To continue smiling and making small talk was hard and tiring. However, I managed and enjoyed it, despite it being exhausting and not being able to sit for more than 3 minutes before someone wanting you or calling your name. It was worth it for as long as our staff and parents were happy.
As admin what do you do during PT conferences? Are you in your offices from beginning to end? Would love to know.
When I am not in meetings, I love to be in the classrooms. It gives me a chance to interact with both the teachers and students. The past 2 weeks has been insane with having no time between meetings, solving problems and parents walking in. Tuesday morning, a grade 1 student ran to me and asked “Mrs. Dana why aren’t you coming to my classroom? What’s wrong?” I stopped, bent down and hugged him and told him “I am sorry but sometimes we have so many things to do that I am unable to come by.” He looked at me and tried to smile. He hugged me again and said, “I hope you will come soon.” Right then and there, as I was walking up to my office his question was running through my head. “WOW!” I thought. “Students realize when I come in and out of their classes?” They actually want me there. He noticed I hadn’t been in his class in a while. I am trying my best in the mornings to make it through 7 sections in each grade. I pick a grade and go into their classrooms for that morning. My goal is by the end of the week to have been in each classroom from grades 1 to 4. Sometimes it’s hard and other times it’s fine. I try to have my meetings starting at 10am. I try my best to be out during recess, supervising from beginning to end and checking if teachers are there on time and engaging with students. I try to be outside everyday at 2:30pm greeting parents as they pick up their children. Is it easy? No. Is it exhausting? Yes. But that one student’s’ comment made it all worth it. He noticed I hadn’t been there for a while which meant a lot to me. It proved to me that I am doing the right thing.
Teachers come to me and ask, “Have I passed?” “Is there anything wrong?” “Was there a parent complaint?” “You make me nervous when you walk in.” I laugh and say “No, no, no, none of the above. I like to do my rounds and check on both you and class. I like to come by and see if you need any help. I’m also interested in seeing what the students are learning about and to be visible around the school.” They look at me take a deep breath and smile.
Am I that scary? Are we not supposed to check in on staff and students? Are they not used to that? It makes me wonder and think at times. But if that one student noticed that I hadn’t been around in a while, then it proves that what I am doing is definitely right. Students enjoy seeing me and I love being in their classrooms learning with them as long as I am not in a meeting or solving problems.
What do you do as a principal or assistant principal? Are you in and out of the classrooms? Would love to know… feel free to share please. 🙂
Over the weekend my superintendent, owner of the school and I flew to Dubai for the GRC recruiting fair. It’s a one day fair and I must say that I was nervous about this trip. Those two nights I barely slept. Especially the night before for the fair. I was told I was going since September. And since then I always wondered what it would be like. We got in on Friday. Friday night my superintendent and I met and we reached out to our candidates by email. We set up interviews timings to those that sent us their CV’s through the GRC website and went through our interview questions.
Saturday came and we sat up our table, had breakfast and was ready for the candidates. The doors opened at 8am. From 8 am till 10am the candidates came and confirmed their interview timings. Some people checked out our openings and dropped off their CV. Working 14 hours straight with 1 hour break was exhausting. Smiling, talking, interviewing, answering their questions and making small talk was insane but loved it. I did my first interview with my superintendent and then went solo with the owner by my side giving me tips and answering their questions. The whole experience was surreal. Between interviews we would get other directors/principals asking us for reference checks for our current staff that were there attending the fair as well. When we were done interviewing, it was our turn to email and ask for reference checks for those we interviewed and were interested in offering a contract. The minute we were finished interviewing, we debriefed over dinner, got their referenced checked, then sent emails offering some candidates a contract. It went by so quickly yet so slowly and I learned a lot from both my superintendent and the owner. So many countries and schools attended this fair. It was interesting to see lines were queues for China, Vietnam and South Korea. I went around to see which schools were there. The ballroom was filled with tables and schools from around the world. It was fun, tiring, exhausting and overwhelming all at once. Can’t wait till next year’s fair! 🙂
