This year I followed through with a decision I had in mind last year. Admin decided, that we would take soccer away as a consequence since it was causing so many problems. Once I got the green light, I went ahead and sent out the email to all the duty teachers letting them know that there will be NO soccer for 1 week for grades 3 and 4.
Tag: Private schools
New Staff Check-in
The first week of the school year has passed. My new staff completed their first week with their students and had the opportunity to meet the parents. I usually meet with the new staff at the end of the first week for 15 minutes to check in and ask a few questions. However, after reading John Wink’s article on “5 Alternatives to Asking New Teachers How They’re Doing” I was excited to try a different approach. While reading this article, I realized how much I related to it. He described what I normally ask my staff, whether they are old or new. “Hi how are you? Or “Hi how’s it going?” He stated that when we ask those types of questions, it does not give us any indication on how they are truly doing. So instead, he states to ask specific questions.
Guest Speaker
A month and a half ago Kimberly from University of Washington found me on Twitter. She reached out to me asking if I would be a guest speaker to talk about about Kuwait’s education, the everyday life in Kuwait and about my personal life. I gasped when I read her email and automatically replied back saying that I would love to. I was very nervous but knew that this would be a great opportunity.
Admin life never ENDS!
I recently tweeted a few weeks ago the following statement: “Admin life does not end on the last day of school.” A few people responded privately saying, “I am glad I am not the only one that thinks this” or “ That is so true!” I smiled as I read them and replied.There is no such thing as a vacation when taking on a role in admin. We might not be on campus but we are surely working, thinking or reading. I am glad I wasn’t the only one feeling or thinking that way.
Reflecting on my first year as an AP
For the last twelve days I have been reflecting over the past school year. I have completed my first year as an AP and I felt as if I was on a roller coaster. There were many ups and downs and I found myself going round and round.
Thinking back on the year there are some things that I would do differently. In the moment, it’s difficult to analyze all situations. I don’t think anyone even with years of experience would have an answer for everything. Being in education there isn’t a day that repeats itself. There is never a dull moment because you are always on your toes.
Goodbyes
Working in International Schools is not easy. I am finding it harder and harder year after year to say goodbye to wonderful admin/teachers. As a teacher I used to hide so that no one could come and say bye as I know that tears will start rolling down. Being in an admin role I knew that I couldn’t do it as everyone wants to come by and say bye. Those whom I built relationships with were the hardest. With some of them, I managed to say bye from far and waved and gave them a flying kiss. They understood the way I am with goodbyes. Those who don’t know how I am with goodbyes probably thought I was weird, cold hearted and heartless.
A Manager vs. A leader
My dear colleague yet again came to my rescue. He gave me an interesting article to read. It wa
s all about a manager and a leader and the differences between the two and the characteristics of each one. He handed it to me and told me to read it and then we would discuss it and that he would like to hear my feedback. I didn’t understand why he wanted me to do that but I went ahead and read it while I was doing my physiotherapy session.
Do things ever calm down?!
Our days are getting crazier by the second. My to do list is getting longer and longer. There is not enough minutes in the day to get everything done. Not when you have meetings, parent meetings, staff to check in on, students problems to solve and the list goes on and on. I am sure many of you in an admin role can relate and understand what we go through. I have schedules I need to work on for next year but I can’t seem to get around to it. We had to edit reports cards last week which was about 603 pages. We had parent conferences this week and so many issues took place in between. On top of all of that, my daughter was sick with a high fever which meant many sleepless nights but managed to pull through. How? It’s beyond me. I honestly think we are robots at times and not human. Despite all of that, we get through it and get the things that need to get done. We are there for our staff, students and parents. Is it tiring ? YES. Exhausting? YES. Worth it? YES.
Switch off & reenergize!
Thank God for the weekend. I just had one of the roughest weeks I have ever had. I am glad it’s over. There are so many things going on at once and at times it’s hard to keep up with. Friday is family day, one day out of the week should honestly be dedicated to spending time with your family. I wanted to disconnect from work and not be reached by anyone from work. Is it wrong to feel that way? So I decided to leave my work phone at home. It’s my time, my family, my sanity. I barely see my family during the week so I owe it to them to give them my undivided attention to them without any distraction.
The Day in the life of an AP without your Principal!
The day has come when my principal would not be at school for 3 days. It was the day I feared most. My goodness, 2 days of trying to be in so many places at once was insane. Day 1 started at 6:30am and ended at 5:15pm. It was non stop, one thing after the other. I could only connect with the KG AP for about 10 minutes. At one point, I had to be at 3 different places at once. Between attending to teacher’s needs, to solving students behavior problems, to answering angry parents, to going into meetings, to calling home and speaking to parents, to making decisions on the spot, to seeing unexepected parents that showed up at my office was exhausting and overwhelming.
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