New School Retreat

This school year brings changes for me as I'm transferring to a new school. It's a brand new school. It's still being built! Yesterday and today we are spending the days together for a staff retreat.

Change can be scary and hard. This change is exciting and new! We spent yesterday getting to know each other. The day began with our principal and the director of middle schools welcoming us. Next, we played "Bear Bingo", our school mascot is the bear, as we each introduced ourselves to the group.

Lunch together was relaxing. I don't know many people so it was an opportunity to get to know each other. We sat outside and enjoyed our sandwiches as we learned about each other.

After lunch, we came together to create our value statements. I love how we did this. It's a process that was completed with parents and then repeated with students. This time, it was our turn. I love the opportunity to hear what parents and students want our school to be.

Our brilliant admin team lead us in these discussions. We had conversations in our groups about what was important to us. We disagreed. We listened. We compromised. It was powerful!

The day ended watching, "Every kid needs a champion"...a TED Talk by Rita Pierson.

Our exit ticket consisted of answering this question: What inspired you today? I wrote and wrote and wrote as I was inspired by so much!

YES. This is all true. A day working with these people makes me hopeful for an amazing new school. I felt valued and important. I felt worthy and like my voice mattered. I felt like an integral part of a team. 

Leaders show what they value with actions. Leaders show their priorities with how they spend their time. I was reminded of these words by Eleanor Roosevelt, "To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart." Yesterday was planned with so much heart! I can't wait to see what today brings...

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