Principal Connections

I loathed going to staff meetings. I know that most people do. If you Google "staff meeting memes" the shared sentiments are a-plenty. These are a few of my favourites: I get it it. Educators are professionals and can read informational items for themselves so this year, being new to the school I asked my principal for permission to "flip" staff meetings. The "minutes" are distributed in advance of the meeting so that staff have the time to read the pertinent information before the meeting. The agenda consists of two items: clarification of any of the information items and a topic of discussion. The topic is one that affects everyone in some capacity. At one of our meetings, as an introduction to the topic of discussion, we had a teacher demonstrate some effective differentiated assessment strategies. This was well-received, I think, because teachers sharing with other teachers shows practicality and feasibility in a real context. I...

Last week I was given the opportunity to share with the vice principals of my school board a couple of projects I took on this year, thanks to the wonderful work and ideas of Brent Coley (see earlier post).  This year I create a Staff and Student Hub - "digital drive-thrus" if you will - one-stop-shops for all information items that can be accessed anytime, from any internet accessible device. The Staff Hub essentially replaces every paper memo that was ever once issued, but no longer is. It also houses a series of online resources and links, making this an interactive document.  There has been a very positive response from staff because they can access information when they need it. Staff have also been very forthcoming with the fact that they have read MORE simply because of the digital format. Staff have also expressed appreciation of the fact that The Hub is live and always up-to-date and have liked having their input and feedback shape the look and function of this f...

I am a HUGE proponent for the integration of technology into the learning environment. I am not however a fan of how much of my day gets completely consumed by the drama that is caused when kids abuse their cellphones. The volume of cases seem to increasing and it can become overwhelming. Stories are difficult to corroborate/substantiate. It's very grey, very fuzzy... Sometimes I feel like we've been talking to brick walls over the last number of years. Kids don't seem to be getting the messages we have been sending about the consequences that certain choices yield, not to mention how inhumane it is to troll and spam each other, distribute inappropriate photos, engage in group chats aimed to malign the reputation of another - the list goes on and on. These incidents take place off school property, separate from the school day and administrators are being made to deal with the fallout. I strongly believe that this is an issue that goes beyond school. So... between the in...