Principal Connections

I've not posted anything in more than two years.  I just realized that only recently when time slowed right down into our current distance learning situation. I supposed not being fully immersed in the harried and hurried pace of a typical school day has allowed me the benefit of time to more intentionally collect my thoughts. I have been working as a Principal for the past two years and I've not formally reflected on or consolidated the tremendous amount of learning I've undergone. I have missed this very necessary exercise and so I will endeavour to be more regular. It's always been my experience that when I consolidate any learning more formally, I remember better and I apply more consistently. I have spent the last two years in the very last place I ever expected to begin my journey as Principal and that is leading a very special community of educators, support staff and students in our system's alternative education program. At the same time, it's the mos...

This August will mark five years since my appointment as Vice Principal. I think it's fitting that I'm starting at a new school (even though I've worked with the principal at my previous school). As much as I will miss my previous school community, especially the kids, I'm glad this next stop on my journey has taken me to a new geographic locale within the school board. No doubt, I will need to learn, un-learn and possibly re-learn because no two schools are alike and most certainly, the admin team I'm working with is not what I am accustomed to. That all said, here is what I have learned (in by no means an exhaustive listing) in this role so far, and in no particular order of significance or importance: 1. One of my main roles is that of an advocate.     ... of the student who is struggling in a mainstream setting and needs access to any number of         resources to achieve some sense of stability ...     ... of the teacher who wants to ta...

So the Principal comes rushing into my office yesterday to look out my window. My office faces our lovely peace garden and I have always loved the view. This day was no exception. "Chris! There are two kids kissing on the benches of the peace garden and it's getting kinda racy. A lot of people have been watching from the windows." Great, I thought... Myself and the other Vice Principal thought it might be a good idea to take a stroll into the peace garden, looking as if we were investigating... something. We said 'hello' to the students as we passed by and at that point, there was a safe amount of distance between them. My colleague started pulling out weeds and I kept looking around. I can't imagine how completely and utterly ridiculous we looked, although my suspicions were confirmed by the staff who were watching the whole episode unfold from their office windows. At one point, we even walked up to the students and asked them if they saw anything out of the...

I just learned about Whisper. Do you know about this app? It allows users to combine images with text and post anonymously. Naturally there's a whole lot of different kinds of posts rated G-X. It is what it is but as an appreciator of clever memes there's a lot of potential as users can use stock images or upload images of their choice. Here's one of my first cracks at it:

Perhaps I am still naive to think that I could carve out some time in my day for reflection, introspection, looking back on the learning that took place...   If nothing else, I have learned in the past four years as a vice principal that time is precious, I rarely spend it in ways that I plan. In my former life as a classroom  teacher, I blogged with my kids all the time. I even taught teachers to blog and it was amazing to engage in the process of communicating and publishing thoughts and ideas. So I thought with the upcoming school year and the new challenges that lie ahead - working with a new principal, potential job action and all it entails, helping staff through a major technological changeover, to name a few... - there would be much to reflect on and a whole lot of learning going on. I am fortunate to have a great partner in the other vice principal I work with but sometimes there just isn't the time or energy digest all that is going on. I figured this was just as goo...