Letter from the Principal (May 2012)
“Could’ve, should’ve, would’ve” sometimes is a mantra for what could have been. As we look back, we find information to help us plan for the future. Maybe that’s known to us old guys as a bucket list.
Starting a new school means making a number of decisions much akin to those made when moving into a new house. With unlimited funds, my new house would be painted in the colors I want, a lawn in place, equipment for the kids, a dog run, growing garden, garage door opener, whole house humidifier…. You get the idea. Everything would be done before we move in. Without the funds, you move in and begin changing the colors in some of the rooms, one at a time. A landscape is created over several years. It takes time to fulfill your list of additions and changes, to create the house you envisioned.
Similarly, we have paced ourselves with the school. Now that we are more settled, I am ready to start layering on a few new twists. Most of these are around celebrating hard work and success. We will begin a Million Word Reader activity, where students will be recognized for reading a million words. Medals will be awarded and books celebrated. After all, the more you read the better you get! Math fluency and accuracy will be a goal for all students to reach over a period of years. Those that demonstrate skill in mastering their facts will become prominent students at the school. In the area of fitness, we will have students record their progress running or walking the track, and acknowledge them when they reach multiple mile increments. These are a few examples of how we will build a habit of working towards a goal.
I recently submitted celebration of student work and their success as a measurable goal to my boss. There is an adage that you get what you measure. While I’m sure that the students enjoy school, we want to recognize excellence and effort. There will be no goal, award, or celebration of something a student can’t attain. But there will be no hand-offs to a student who didn’t put forth the effort, time and commitment to reach the goal. Like my example of the house, students do not have unlimited funds. However, they can paint their own house and not hire someone to do it for them. We want students to set goals and work hard to achieve them. And then we want to celebrate their achievements.
Celebration is on my bucket list for SIS, as I move from should’ve been to what will be.
