August 30

Today, more teachers are using Teacher Ease.  What a wonderful communication tool.  I hope someday all teachers will see its benefit and others will help pay for it.  $70 is a lot of money, especially for new teachers.   Tomorrow, most of the 5th grade will be taking a lab test measuring liquid, mass, length and making qualitative judgments.  Since this is a hands-on test in the lab, I think students will enjoy the task and do well on it. 
We are practicing extra caution right now.  It seems the weather has decided to pour or send lightning right as we dismiss.  A student in Spartanburg was killed by lightning yesterday while on the soccer field, so we are doing everything we can to protect our students and teachers.  A bit inconvenient, but their safety is paramount.

August 23

We’ve survived our first week.  The temperature outside is rough, but the climate inside is great.  A great big thank you to each and every parent that has patiently waited as we deal with growing pains.  At last count I think I saw over 1200 students on the roster.    Even the car lines are going down.  The first day, teachers stood in the sun till some time after 4:00 – today we were in by 3:45!  The first morning parents were still dropping kids off at 8:30, now the last of the line is right about 8:00.  THAT is real progress!  Now if someone would just loan us some big tents for the kids to sit under so they won’t cook!

Teacher Ease

Well, it is official.  I love Teacher Ease.  Today I learned how to download all the students names in so we don’t have to enter each one of the 1246 individually!  And a bunch of emails imported as well.  YEAH!  I am so proud of all of you.  33 out of 44 teachers are using this as a tool to improve communication.  Remember, use this for: grades (post as often as possible!), classroom managment (“tattling” isn’t necessary, but solving small problems prevents large ones), and positive press (kids AND parents love to know what they did “good” today and positive breeds positive).  Go for it ladies!  I’ll try to have you up and running this week.

August 12

Wow – the time is here – we start back tomorrow.  Actually, that is rather funny because I’ve been at school several days recently and there are LOTS of you there already.  Many of the rooms are ready for kids to walk in tomorrow.   That is one of the signs of a dedicated teacher.  You have talked to me over the summer so I know teaching is part of your soul.  This is one thing “non-teachers” will never understand – how this consumes us.  But that is the difference between a job and a career.  Yes, we need to set parameters so our families do not suffer, but we all know that being prepared makes our job so muh easier.  So, I’ll see you tomorrow.  Good luck.  And, as always, if there is anything I am able to do to make your life easier, you know how to get hold of me! 

August 7

Happy Birthday to Tammy….. I think it is tomorrow.  I realize I am biased, but having worked for several other principals, I realize how lucky I am to be working for her.  She tends to be impulsive, but amazingly wise in her decisions.  She doesn’t put up with laziness but truly cares for her teachers and students.  She never asks anyone to work any harder than she works.  So, Happy Birthday, Tammy.  May you have many more, hopefully easier than this past year.

August 5

I still am not in the habit of write daily.  If I am modeling for teachers, I need to start.  It doesn’t really matter if anyone is reading, this becomes a journal of sorts.  I see the same for the classroom.  If this is done daily, it becomes a record of what has happened in the classroom each day.  Without becoming personal, it can become a record of how things are running.  Parents could know that kids are excited about learning, they are crazy from too much candy at Halloween, they seem tired after the weekend, you have been sick and that reflects in the classroom…… Often group prophylactic measures save tons of time individually.  That is what I am finding about technology.  It takes more time at the beginning – learning, entering data, etc – but as it is used more and more, it saves SO much time.   I even found that parents, as a rule, were happy to spend a few minutes checking up on a regular basis rather than half hour confrontations on the phone, or even worse, taking time off from work to come in and deal with issues that could have been avoided if dealt with immediately.  Will technology solve all problems?  Absolutely NOT.  Will it alleviate our day-to-day issues?  Yes.