Principal Connections

In the last couple of weeks, the "Be Like Bill" meme app has been driving people insane on social media sites like Facebook. It seems as though every second person has posted this meme on their wall, me included. This is what I got: I like it.

I attended I really great session today on self-regulation. It was part of a series of centrally-organized vice principal leadership sessions. This has been the best session to date! The workshop was premised on the work and research of York University's Dr. Stuart Shanker, who provides one of the most practical and understandable definitions of self-regulations, at least that I have read: "Self-regulation is the ability to manage stress. It refers to the neural processes that control the energy expended to deal with a stressor and then recover. When an individual's stress levels are too high various systems for thinking and metabolic recovery are compromised. The signs of dysregulation can show up in the behaviour, mood attention and/or physical well-being of child, teen, or adult." Having self-control or responding to situations in an appropriate manner were part of what I previously understood self-regulation to be about. Clearly it goes beyond a sense of co...

I don't think I will ever come to a point where I will confidently say that I have "seen it all". Each time I encounter a new experience, I am continually amazed at where this position leads me. Recently, a parent in our school community brought to our attention a video that his son had received that was of an obviously under-aged girl who had filmed herself doing what can only be described as a risque strip tease. He also showed us screen shots of chats between his son and other students at our school about this video. The magnitude of this situation presented itself very clearly immediately. Both myself and my partner took on this investigation. Naturally, our concerns were centred on the identity of this girl and just how many people had seen and distributed this video. Admittedly, it was very difficult to keep my anger and disappointment in check. We had invested time and resources about this very issue in an earnest attempt to educate our students not only on the m...

Alan Rickman is, or sadly was, my favourite actor and today I was so profoundly saddened to hear that he passed away after a brief battle with cancer. I have never been more impressed by any single performer and each time I watched any of his films, many of which are lesser known than the commonly referenced Potter flicks or Die Hard, Sense and Sensibility and Dogma are two of my personal favourites. I was always left in awe of his talent. And that voice... In response to Alan Rickman, Daniel Radcliffe posted a lovely tribute on the how much he valued Rickman's mentorship, especially in his formative years in the acting profession. Here's the link ... I think the connections are quite self-explanatory and easy to make...

There are so many students in our schools who are in crisis. There have been countless days where I have felt that no amount of compassion could comfort and my lack of common experience made me I qualified to help these most vulnerable students. In the last 4 years, I have helped students through the deaths of parents including a suicide, I stopped a young girl from ending her own life and have worked with countless kids enduring truly difficult medical circumstances including cancer. There is no training on how to deal. There  is lots to read on what to say and what not to say but it always seems so abstract and impractical. It's a struggle to manage my own reactions and emotions and maintain composure. I have tried in vain to remain stoic but have yielded to my humanity so many times and have cried along side students and their parents. I have stood frozen and speechless in front of caskets of students who have died, feeling inadequate in offering consolation to a devastated fami...