Friday Reflections - It takes a village

I recently read “Twenty Valuable "Tips for New Principals” – All staff need “someone to make sure the school runs well”. Total agreement, right?  And, as you know this is my first year of being in the driver’s seat of starting the school year as a principal. But schools don’t just open on the first day with “someone” – it takes a village. Here’s Irving’s village dwellers who often go unnoticed and yet they made sure so much was in place for a smooth start of this school year. 
Kathy and Pat
Hats off to Pat, Kathy, Alex, Carlos, Delia, and the summer helpers.  Here is just some of the things they made sure were in place on opening day!

  • Remove all the furniture from classrooms
  • Strip the floors and refinish them
  • Scrub every wall and counter space
  • Move furniture to new classrooms
  • Put together cabinets, shelves, tables, stools, and furniture
  • Deliver packages all around the building
  • Order all materials for the building
  • Order all the office supplies
  • Register all returning and incoming students
  • Create new sections of classes in Powerschool
  • Assign students to classes
  • Label mailboxes
  • Organize bussing
  • Get lunch cards ready
  • Collaborate with district admins and secretaries to figure out placement???
  • Organize kindergarten testing
  • Print class lists
  • REMIND THE PRINCIPAL OF ALL THE THINGS HE’S FORGETTING
  • And so much more…

As I thought about all the activities of Irving's unsung heroes, I know that these heroes must keep multiple checklists of procedures, contacts, supplies, etc and they undoubtedly make revisions on the checklist for improvements for next year, etc. And, so their work reminds all of us of our need for scripts as we start a new school year -

What we do on the first days of school will determine your success or failure for the rest of the year.  Successful educators have a script or plan ready for the first days of school. The effective teachers spend time explaining to students how the classroom is organized and structured so students know what to do to succeed.  And, effective teachers establish classroom management procedures that need to be practiced.   (Harry and Rosemary Wong – The First Days of School)

Thank you for all you did to get us off to a great start!  Irving needs each of you - you serve such an important part of keeping our trains running on time.



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