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!
Tag: support
Staff Appreciation
While sitting on the balcony enjoying the beautiful weather and working, I suddenly came up with an idea. I wanted to do something different. I didn’t do this last summer nor the summer before. I decided that I wanted to send a message to every staff member to check in on them and their families and to wish them a great rest of the break before starting a new year in August. I mean there is no harm to wish them well and to show them that I am thinking about them. I wish I had a camera to see their reaction as I was very curious!
I started sending my messages a few nights ago. Each night I would send the same message to at least 10 staff members of mine but of course changed their names. The message was as simple as this: “Hi (name) How are you? Just wanted to check in. Hope you are enjoying your last stretch of your vacation and your family are all well. See you soon.” It was as simple as that. There was nothing to it right? As for my Arabic and Religion staff, I sent them each a voice note in Arabic saying the exact same thing I wrote in English. I had informed my principal that this is what I was doing and showed her the message and she loved it.
The reactions and messages I got were so worth it. They thanked me. Some were shocked and surprised and thought, Uh-oh my AP is messaging, whats up? Some thought that it was such a sweet gesture. Some replied, “Wow I never got this, thank you.” Their responses surely put a smile on my face.
If you know me, you know that my staff comes first. Their well being and happiness is what I truly care about. It is important for me that they know that I am always there to support them. I am so happy this idea popped into my head and I followed through with it. I have now sent out my message out to all my staff. I made sure to have a checklist to ensure that I left NO ONE out!
It’s the small things a leader can do to show their staff how much they are appreciated!
As a leader what have you done over the summer to show you appreciate your staff?
Lost weight or NOT lost?! That is the question…
Four days after I arrived from Lebanon, I got on the scale. Ondrej was coming and I knew that he would be asking me for my weight after doing my measurements. When I got on the scale I didn’t want to look down. When I did, I was shocked and couldn’t believe the number that I saw. I checked it about 3 times and each time it showed the same number. I felt like crying. How did I manage to gain 4 kilos 4!? I was so active this summer and worked out every other day! My clothes fit well and I didn’t goof off with food. WHAT IS GOING ON?!! There’s no way that it’s all muscle! If that’s the case then no more workouts for me! As my mind was racing with 101 things I heard the door open and I knew it was Ondrej.
Continue reading “Lost weight or NOT lost?! That is the question…”
An Active Summer!
With not having PTC this summer, it meant that I actually had 2 months off without having to worry about anything. I took this summer to focus on my mental health and myself. After the rollercoaster year that I just experienced as my first year as an AP, I wanted to do nothing, see no one and just be a couch potato for the first week of my summer vacation. The school ended and we traveled to Lebanon. When I arrived, I was physically and mentally exhausted. I saw no one and spoke to no one for the first 7 days. I was in my pjs for 3 days straight and all I did was sleep, eat and play with my children. It felt so good since I didn’t have any days like that during the school year.
Teacher Life vs. Admin Life
Being a classroom teacher for 10 years gave me the control of my own class. Each year I cared and loved for 23 students and their parents. I worried whether all of my students were learning and aimed to give my undivided attention to those who were struggling. I planned for 23 students keeping in mind those who needed the extra help. I worried each time I would give a summative, for those who would not do well and worried about their parents reaction.
Guidlines to follow from my Dr.
Three minutes later I received the text from Dr. Lemia.
1) No screen time at least 1 hour before bed. It can’t get easier than that. You would think so BUT in today’s world it’s actually not as easy as I thought. Yes, I normally take my phone to bed and let it charge by my side. Usually whenever I wake up for anything during the night I tend to grab it and check my msgs. I never reply back in the middle of the night but I would definitely read them. Then it would take me forever to go back to sleep. I am now leaving both phones in the sitting rooms at night. I am now on day 4 of no phones in the bedroom and WOW! What a difference it made in my sleeping habits. I am actually sleeping well. If I wake up for my kids then I’m going back to sleep quicker than usual.
Creating Schedules for 2018-2019
I was told when I got the AP position that I had to increase Arabic as per the ministry’s request. I have been thinking about this since beginning of last June and the ways to make it happen. The time has come and it was time to work on schedules for 2018-2019. It feels like yesterday I was working on this year’s schedules. My God, time is flying!
Morning Rounds
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. 🙂
My Recruiting Experience!
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! 🙂
What a Week!
Wow! Life as a teacher was so different than life as an AP. What a week it has been. I travelled to Abu Dhabi for the NESA leadership conference. That was 5 nights and 6 days that I spent networking and attending workshops and answering emails from teachers. I arrived late at night and went to school the next morning. I had no idea what to expect after being away for the week. It was crisis after crisis. From major staff crisis, overwhelmed teachers (due to report cards), students who misbehaved, angry parents and the list goes on. It seemed everyone needed me on the spot right as I walked in. I felt I was being stretched out like no other. Trying to support the teachers, helping those students and solving those crisis we went through was NOT easy.
The most difficult part I am finding after being in this position for nearly two months is having that smile on from the minute I walk in until the minute I leave. Putting that mask on mask off depending who is walking right through my door is also exhausting. I try to be there for my staff and help them in any way possible. However, there are times I feel as though “Really? You’re asking that? You’re a teacher. You can make that decision yourself and you don’t need me for that.” Instead I take a deep breath, smile and try to come up with solutions with them and ways to help them.
Are we expected to have all the answers at all times the minute our staff asks us? Are we supposed to be right there the minute they need us? Are we supposed to have all the solutions to every problem that comes our way on the spot? Can we say “Will get back to you asap?” Can we say “I truly don’t know, let’s brainstorm solutions together?” Is that ok? Are we letting our staff down by saying that?
Despite all that, I still love this position and being there for my staff, students and parents.
Your thoughts?
Dlightfully