I am so excited for my new role as Assistant Principal at Summit Elementary in Bloomington. Wow... it has been a whirlwind two weeks since my first official day on the job. I worked a few extra days before I officially started to make sure I had everything prepared (or at least a plan in place), but nothing could have prepared me for day one. I am sure I have never worked so hard in my life...but I sure did love it!
A Red Carpet Affair
My new school has a neat tradition of hosting a red carpet affair for Meet the Teacher. When my principal told me I needed a ball gown, I thought he was playing a joke on me:) It was a very neat experience, though, for me and the students. Many students made it a point to walk directly on the red carpet - I think we definitely made them feel special and let them know we are here to teach and celebrate them.
Class Dojo
Summit is using Class Dojo school-wide this year to track student behavior, so I made a bulletin board to celebrate our students' success. Each grade level has a 1 inch color square sticker that students will write their name or initials on and hang on the appropriate point level (see our point levels here). The color coding will give me a quick visual on the usage and success of Dojo in the school.
Attendance and Lunch Stars
Two other programs we put in place to celebrate our students are based on attendance and cafeteria expectations. Our attendance bulletin board is set up to create a visual chart of perfect attendance for the week by classroom. Each teacher is listed in the rows with the dates of the nine weeks as headers. As classes reach 100% attendance, they will get a smiley face token added under the appropriate week. I am hoping this bulletin, which all students pass daily, will be a visual reminder and create some classroom competition to come to school!
The other bulletin board I created was to highlight our Summit lunch stars. Each week, the class that lines up quickly, quietly, and uses the Summit star hold and bubble receives a sticker. The first class to earn 10 stickers will be awarded a special treat by our administration team.
A Growth Mindset
A personal goal for me this year is to live and model a growth mindset. I am learning so many new things each day, it can quickly become overwhelming. However, I am taking it in stride and know that I do not have all the answers, but I am more than willing to learn and grow during the process.
I really wanted to celebrate our students' growth, whether academic or behavior, so the the last bulletin board I created is in the office where we will highlight our "growth" students. Each teacher will submit a student each month that has shown growth at school, and we are leaving the parameters up to the teacher. The students will have their picture hung on the bulletin board for the entire month.
I really wanted to celebrate our students' growth, whether academic or behavior, so the the last bulletin board I created is in the office where we will highlight our "growth" students. Each teacher will submit a student each month that has shown growth at school, and we are leaving the parameters up to the teacher. The students will have their picture hung on the bulletin board for the entire month.
I am so very excited for this chapter in my life. I love that my job doesn't feel work - ever! Here's to a great school year!