We are officially closed for the summer. Honestly I never thought this day would come. This year was like no other year. I have been in the education field for fourteen years but have never encountered a year like this one. There were days that were so long, endless and seemed as though time was lingering. It was hard to keep motivating my staff, it was hard to always be positive when I myself was in the dark!
Category: Asst. Principal Experience
Self Reflection
While working on schedules for Hybrid model for the upcoming new academic school year, I get a WhatsApp message from my principal asking “Would you mind doing a reflection for the bulletin this week?” Here I was a little bit confused and thought we had to write what we usually write and asked if that’s what she meant. Clearly I was wrong and she replied back with “ Not your usual. A reflection of your year. What did you enjoy about virtual school and what did you learn about yourself as a leader?” I quickly replied back with absolutely NOT and I got a thank you back. I lost all concentration on schedules and my mind started wondering about her two questions. I let it sink and thought about it a lot. I didn’t write anything down till the next day. I remember thinking about it before I fell asleep.
Next morning I got to the office and started typing away…
Silver Linings of Covid-19!
I can thank Covid for slowing down time for us! I am thankful that it has made time for ourselves. Everything I had on hold and simply could not get to I managed to get through them while being locked down. Once school has ended, it was time to think of myself for the first time EVER! To finally put myself first and not everyone else around me like I usually do felt weird honestly speaking. I worked on myself mentally and physically. I thought to myself if I do not take this opportunity now, then I will never have this chance again and will regret it once and IF life goes back to normal. I started signing up for professional development workshops and conferences that would benefit me as a leader and in my personal life for the best version of me.
Below you will see what I have done and how I have taken every opportunity that came my way this summer.
My First Podcast!
Thanks to Twitter for increasing my circle of PLN (Personal Learning Network). One evening as I was watching TV I got a message from Dr. Ilene Alzaid, who invited me to be her guest on her podcast “Journeys To Belonging.” I read her message twice maybe three times. I was excited yet nervous! If you know me you know this is out of my comfort zone! I couldn’t believe it. I messaged back asking for more details about what I would be talking about and how it all worked. Very patiently, Dr. Illene answered all my questions and gave me more or less 3 topics to choose from. As you know, I picked my favorite topic which was speaking about my role as an AP. I would be discussing how I support my students and staff when it comes to belonging and what I do to try and bridge the gap between my International and local hires. We set the date and time and I began thinking of what I was going to speak about.
Virtual School- Week 3-8!
By week 3, I felt I had settled down into a routine with my work/meetings and my kids and their work. It was a bit easier I must admit. Week after week things got better and I was able to have some sort of an organized life. There were a few bumps here and there with new decisions from our Ministry of Education but we managed through. By then our teachers got used to the fact that things might change mid week and when we had a meeting they were expecting it.
Week 7 and 8 were the toughest. Tougher than week 1 and 2 for me. Teachers by then were exhausted, overwhelmed, tired and running on low energy and on very low patience. It was hard. They had to plan and re plan based on a new calendar change. Then they had to assess their students for grades for their report cards that they had to do two weeks later. That week of reporting was difficult, they had so many questions and needed a lot of clarification. It was their first time to assess students virtually which was hard to grasp. But they pulled through and did an amazing job!
Week 8 was dedicated to Virtual Student Led Conferences. As a mother doing both of my kids’ conferences, it felt like it was on another level. It was so emotional and surreal. We couldn’t wrap our heads around the fact that we were saying bye to each other and wishing each other a safe and healthy summer.
Virtual school has now ended. We were in a better place week 8 than week 1. Of course as we all know anything that you do for the first time is always bumpy and crazy. BUT our staff impressed us and we were so proud of all their hard work they put into their 8 weeks of teaching virtually.
Virtual School – Week 2!
Week 2… I was thankful for Kuwait implementing a curfew in which we had to be home by 4pm. In the mornings, I would go to the office till 3, I did all my work and meetings at school then came home. At 4pm, I started to help my kids with their work. It was so much better for me as it gave us a routine and the kids adapted to it quickly. It went a lot better than week 1.
As for my staff and meetings, I could not do what I did during week 1 and that was being in every single meeting every single day with ALL the teams. As my principal said, “You will kill yourself before you know it.” She was correct! During week 1, I barely slept and could not fall asleep. So instead, we agreed for the Grade Level Leaders to invite us to one meeting weekly. I did the beginning of the week check-ins with each team and my principal did the end of the week check-ins with all the teams. This way they got the best of both worlds. They asked their questions to begin their week with me and they asked our principal their end of the week questions they had that came during the week.
Week 2 was still a roller coaster ride for me. Between our ministry of education changing things and us coming up with a new plan according to the new rules and regulations for virtual school. We always had to plan how we would tell our staff yet another new decision that had been made. This means that what we had previously planned, no longer applied. It was tough BUT we managed. Yes, many staff had a lot of questions and many felt frustrated and annoyed. But we listened to their concerns, we answered as best we could and then we moved forward. Being in front of the screen through tough times was even harder because we couldn’t really read our staff’s reaction nor knew how they really felt. We did know that when it was silent and no one spoke or had any questions that it wasn’t a good sign nor felt right. When we asked, “is everyone ok?” they would reply with a “yes” and we took it as they were digesting what we just told them.
The minute I felt some staff needing extra support during meetings, I would message them privately and ask if they were ok and if they wanted to talk without anyone around. Gladly they did and I would answer all their questions and assured them that we were in this together and that they were doing an amazing job. Once, I sensed they were truly ok, we would end our chat or call.
Week 3 to 8….
Virtual School- Week 1!
February 24th was the last day we saw our students. Had anyone told us our life would change over night we would have definitely planned something totally different. In Kuwait February 25th & 26th are two public holidays celebrating National and Liberation Day. February 24th all private schools celebrated this event. We planned big events and then students and staff went home at 12. That was the day we had our very first corona case… That was when everything changed.
We said bye to our students and staff as we had 5 days off. But who knew that was the last time we would all be on campus and saw each other. Had we known that we wouldn’t have been returning I promise you we would have planned something different.
Next thing you know, we were informed that schools were going to be closed for 4 weeks. Hello Virtual School. Luckily we were semi prepared for this as we practiced Virtual learning through Seesaw in January. Were we fully prepared? Of course not! Were we mentally ready? Definitely not! BUT as a team we pulled through.
The first two weeks of Virtual School were overwhelming, exhausting and insane. That is how I described my first two weeks as an AP point of view and mother with two young children. The first week we were booked into virtual meetings from 8am till maybe 2pm-3pm. The amount of screen time increased and that caused me to get very little sleep and I was sitting down most of the day. There were a lot of new things that we had to get used to. Between my husband being home, him needing his own work space, to my kids having virtual school and then also needing my help, (especially my 1st grader son), to my meetings with admin or teachers… It was a roller coaster ride and trial and error for my family till we got the hang of things.
I would finish my meetings then sit with my kids and help them with their assignments. By that time I was mentally drained and had zero patience for my kids but I had to sit with my son and teach him.
Week 2…
Deadlines!
In high school I was all about meeting the deadlines! I am not a last minute person nor do I procrastinate. I made sure I planned it out and gave myself my own deadline and that was normally 2 days before the original date. There were probably only two times when I was in highschool/university that maybe I couldn’t meet a deadline and asked for an extension and I absolutely hated that. I remember going to my professor and asking him for an extra day, just ONE DAY! I remember I was sweating and couldn’t sleep the night before.
Being in the working world and needing to be organized and having deadlines makes a huge difference. I remember as a Grade Level Leader when I had my meetings I used to give my team 2 days before the original deadline that was given to me by my principal. You are probably wondering why? As a GLL I had to make sure that I had time to go through everything before handing it in to my principal. After all, I was representing the grade 3 team and did not want anyone speaking about us. I wanted to ensure that we got nothing but positive feedback at all times. I remember one of the Grade Level Leader’s asked me once, “How do you manage getting everything in on time or before your deadline?” I simply answered with, “I create a plan for my team, divide it between everyone and then give a deadline 2 days before the original one. This way it gives you time to go through it and turn it in the day before the deadline.” She smiled and applied it on her team and it worked.
Now as an AP this makes more sense than ever and shows your department is on top of everything. I don’t have a team of 7 but a team of 30+ educators. My principal is all about meeting the deadlines and always gives me PLENTY of time to work on my tasks. I remember recently she asked for something and did not give me a deadline to when she needed the documents and when I asked she brushed it off and never gave me an answer. I remember that I felt lost and went crazy, I felt like I was left hanging! So I emailed my staff and gave them my own deadline not knowing if it was too early or late. A simple deadline makes all the difference. It organizes everyone around you and you’re always on top of everything. I give my staff plenty of time to work on a task and never last minute tasks with a deadline. I expect they meet the deadline in a professional manner.
Some might agree with me and some might disagree with me which is fine. But trust me when I say giving your team a deadline makes a huge difference. It shows that you are organized, on top of it and no one slacks off. I assure you that things get done the minute you assign them a deadline. Try it!
Staff Wellbeing
I attended the MENA 2020 on Inclusion and Wellbeing in Dubai this past weekend. I got inspired by 3 keynote speakers on the second day. It is rare for someone to be able to grab my attention right away but these 3 powerful women were able to suck me in from the first minute they began to speak. It was a great second day and I benefited so much from it.
Mary Barret really got me thinking about my staff’s wellbeing. During her talk I felt that I wasn’t doing enough. Many ideas started going through my head. I started thinking that I should be doing more but given the size of my elementary staff and being the only AP for grades 1-4, having 600+ students and about 40+ staff members there is only so much that I can do. I try my best to build relationships with each staff member – both homeroom teachers and specialists so that I get to know them as a person and not only as a teacher. One thing I am proud of is that during both recesses (which are 20 minutes long), I go outside not only to check on all my staff but mainly to touch base with them. I call it my 30 seconds check in with them. There are some days I can’t do the full rounds as some might ask a question or tell me a story about their student. I make sure to not rush them to finish or keep walking. The next day I make it a point to go see the teachers I didn’t get a chance to connect with the previous day. There are days which I might not go out but that’s very rare. I make sure our secretaries do not book any meetings during both recesses. If I am in a meeting, I excuse myself to go do my quick 1 round and go right back to the meeting. I feel like that’s my only time in the day to see as many teachers as I can. Another way is when I have my post evaluation meetings and after we are done and before they leave I ask “How are you doing?” and we chit chat for a few minutes. It’s very rare that we get that 1 on 1 without 101 interruptions. Ever since my first year of being a teacher, I swore that the day I become AP I would never neglect nor not know my staff. During my 10 years of teaching, I have had admin who never knew me nor made the effort to get to know me. After 3 years of being AP, I can say with full honesty and pride that my staff knows that I care about them and that I support them and will always be there for them no matter what. During the summer I checked in on ALL of them with a simple message. Simple actions make all the difference.
When we hire a new staff member for the following academic year, I welcome them by email and give them my number to whatsapp me should they have any questions they would like to ask. This helps them to feel welcomed and it gives us a chance to connect and start building our relationship there. It has made a huge difference to many of them. When greeting them at the airport the first thing they say is thank you! Thank you for answering my endless questions and always clarifying things for us. It gives them a sense of security and warmth.
After listening to these powerful presenters I now have a few ideas that I can do along with my 2 counselors to check in on them and their well being. I will tell you all about it once I meet with my team and see how it rolls out.
As admin AP or Principal, how do YOU check in on your staff’s wellbeing? I would love to hear your ways.
Happy teachers = Happy students= Positive atmosphere.
Phones: An addiction or a must?
Recently I was sitting with my principal and KG AP. We were having lunch before Parent conferences in my principal’s office. I had left my phone in my office. It was the last 45 minutes of the day. What could possibly go wrong? What emergency could take place?!
We were chit chatting about the days event and catching up. I looked at both ladies and said, “I feel naked without my phone.” My principal looked at me in shock and couldn’t believe the words that just came out of my mouth and that I really didn’t have my phone on me. She finally replied “WHAT? You don’t? You’re addicted to that phone!” I replied back and said “It’s the 21st century, everyone is addicted to their phones, don’t just say it is me. I need it in school because there are so many staff members messaging me asking for me to come really quickly to their class or to tell me something that has happened with a parent.” My staff know they can count on me.
Two days ago, I went to the bathroom and got stopped 3 times and didn’t get back to my office till 30 minutes later and I had 3 missed calls and 10 messages. This time round I purposefully left it because I needed a 15-minute break. She replied back, “You are addicted. I know I can message you at any given time of day when you are awake, and you will answer within a few minutes.” I paused and knew she was right. But does that mean I am addicted? Is it only me? There are so many weekends especially on a Friday I do disconnect and do not answer my phone messages or emails. A 15-minute break turned out to be a 30-minute break. I went back to my office and I kid you not, I had 3 missed calls and 20 messages. Only 1 was an emergency and the rest could wait. Yes, I might be on my phone BUT it’s definitely not for fun or chit chatting with my friends. It is all work related and being there for my staff and helping them out. Is that wrong?
In today’s world I have yet to see someone that is not on their phones nor not answering back. We do need time to switch off and disconnect. Otherwise work will eat us up alive. After this Inclusive and Wellness conference I attended, I am definitely switching off more during the weekends and taking a 20-minute break from my phone during the school day. As they said, self-care and wellbeing is very important. I need to take care of MYSELF and wellbeing before being able to take care of my staff.