Here We Go! (1/31)

1 of 31 - SOLSC 2019

I am not sure how we have arrived at March already. I think Christmas break finished about a week and a half ago. I'm also not sure how this is my eighth March slicing. On the one hand it seems like I have only climbed this mountain once or twice, but on the other hand I can't remember a time before slicing each day in March. (I do know that it has become my Mom's favorite month as she gets the most posts out of me - "Hi Mom!")

For those of you for whom this is how we know one another - welcome back to sharing each day of our lives for a month.

For those of you for whom this is a new adventure - you can do it! Take one day at a time. Remember these are drafts - if you feel the need to polish each one to perfection you may not make it.

For everyone - here we go!

What I've Read

What I've Read This Month...

Kristi's bookshelf: february-2019

The Upside of Unrequited

by Becky Albertalli

Full of Beans

by Jennifer L. Holm

Falling in Love with Close Reading: Lessons for Analyzing Texts--And Life

by Christopher Lehman

The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child

by Donalyn Miller

The Wise Man's Fear

by Patrick Rothfuss

#toosoon

As I strategically choose my seat in a conference room in Dubai, voices from a table across the room reach my ears.

"Seattle is on the one yard line and..."

"Jim, is it really necessary to ruin the day before we have even begun?!" I can't help but exclaim.

Jim looks up, pauses, and then says, "Oh yeah, you are from Seattle, aren't you? We are talking about decision making."

I quickly find something else to occupy my thoughts as I know how that conversation is going to end.

#STILLtoosoon #gohawks

Intensive PD

My bags are packed and my boarding pass is downloaded on my phone; five days of intensive learning lie before me. 

The introvert in me is taking deep breaths: all day in a conference room with who knows how many people, evenings of social engagements, sharing a hotel room with a dear friend - they will all take their toll.

The friend in me is excited. I get quality time to catch up with a friend I haven't seen since June. We get to learn together and play together as well as one-on-one time for all the life we have to catch up on - and in person is better than any way technology connects us. The bonus of getting to see other friends who I have previously worked with is an advantage of international teaching and traveling.

The learner in me is cautiously optimistic. I like what I know of this presenter from what I have read and heard. I hope that day after day I am still glad I chose to spend the time and money on this intensive, (and I do expect it to be intense). 

Deep learning takes energy and breathes new life into my professional life. I have tried to be prepared for both.

Off I go!

What I've Read

What I've Read This Month...

Kristi's bookshelf: january-2019

Sustainable Children's Ministry: From Last-Minute Scrambling to Long-Term Solutions

by Mark DeVries

Lily and Dunkin

by Donna Gephart

Exit West

by Mohsin Hamid

Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II

by Vicki Constantine Croke

Report Cards

My new role as Instructional Coach has many aspects that thrill me. If I am being honest, not writing report cards is one of them. I'm not sure whose brilliant idea it was to have me oversee the process of improving and aligning report cards across the school, but it has happened. 

I loved the PD aspects; conversations, pushing thinking, collaborating, etc. This year K - 8 have taken on the challenge. The process has been a journey I am proud to be a part of. Teachers are digging in and doing the work and now the rubber hits the road as the first semester ends. With 800+ students and only a handful of native English speakers in the school I am ending up with WAY more time on report cards than I ever spent in the classroom. The irony is not lost on me.

OLW Epiphany

It wasn't the start of a new calendar year that got me pondering. These aren't even thoughts that percolated as the school year started and I'm just now getting around to posting. (Though, looking at how few blog posts I have from this fall, that would be an understandable hypothesis.) 

You can find my previous thoughts about not being a OLW person here. OLW isn't the bandwagon for me and I put it out there for all the world to see. Reading all of your OLW posts I have had an epiphany. (Appropriate this week!)

Thanks to something a consultant said September of 2017 I started using a particular filter. I have been placing a filter in front of conversations and decisions. The filter has been the starting point for meetings and training. That filter is actually one. little. word. 

Purpose.

What is the purpose of the conversation or decision or meeting or training? Pulling purpose to the forefront and explicitly stating it keeps things focused. Continually asking the purpose keeps things focused. 

 Purpose, as a filter - a mantra - is now a part of my professional life.