You know when you have a day that is just so jam-packed with activities that you know that it’s going to make it to the memory box?  Well today (and the events leading up today) has been one of those days.

The lessons learned, the laughs, the tears and the appreciation are far too many for one post.  So, in keeping with the Star Wars theme which will come into focus in future posts, this will be a four-part series.

The Choir-yotes

Who can take a group of educators, some of whom have never sang in public before and transform them into an amazing three-part harmonized, beautifully sounding choir?  The one and only Michelle Rees certainly can!    As we were preparing for our Pop of Spring Music concert, Michelle posted a message on our conference site wondering if any staff would be interested in joining a choir.  I love any idea that brings staff together!  So, I completed the Google Form, completely guessing at my range.  I knew that I wasn’t a soprano, nor a bass. So, like I do when I’m unsure, I selected the middle range (alto).  As soon as the idea of joining a choir became a reality, I had an immediate flashback to Grade 8 at Byron Southwood.  In order to join the choir, we needed to line up and sing a note, while our principal, Mr. Dickson walked past us.  In no uncertain terms he made it clear that I was not choir-worthy.  With my crushed ego, I embraced the notion that if I couldn’t sing, at least I could learn to play an instrument and fortunately, Mary Jane McIntyre welcomed me with open arms and my love of band, which lasted 7 years, began.

Fast forward 45 years and there I was sitting in the music portable with my white folder, surrounded by colleagues whom I adore, a music teacher that I didn’t want to disappoint and an ego that wasn’t ready to be shattered.  A plan needed to be hatched ~  I decided that I would  simply mouth the words (with expression, of course) and smile.

However, it quickly became crystal clear that if ever there was a time to “bless and release all fear” it was going to be in this space.  Michelle masterfully created such comfort in all of us, through her song selection, through the posting of the practice tracks and her weekly encouragement.   Week by week our voices started to harmonize and we learned when to emphasize words and when to show crescendo.

There was a time early in the process, as we were so focused on learning the lyrics and following the music (remember not all of us knew how to read music), when someone remarked, “This is how our kids feel”!    It was so true ~ the lines, the bars, the CODA, the crescendo, the repeat signs, etc.  were a different language for anyone who didn’t read music.

I live for those golden moments.  As a principal, we know the power of creating the conditions for our educators to be in the learning lane and what an amazing learning lane this was ~ but the lane was about to become a freeway the closer we got to performance day as Michelle challenged us to stand and try it without our books.  The scaffolding was being removed and it was time for us to fly.

The feeling of accomplishment was undeniable. I think we truly amazed ourselves in how well we sounded ~ and we laughed 😊

Fast forward to today.   We had done our best to keep our performance as a secret.  The only students who knew about it were our MCs.   We were all sitting in the audience, with our Choir-yotes T-shirts covered, until we were announced and made our way to the front.  The audience erupted and it was incredible!

Once the jitters faded and we were able to focus on Michelle and her conducting, we came together beautifully.

As educators, on those days when we doubt our ability to have students learn something new, we need to remember that anything is possible. And the best way to do that is to put ourselves in a position to learn something new.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V4bZqYvfTe_7Mvwg5FIs2o8fszvUZYNb/view

Creating the conditions for authentic sharing and celebration is an art, especially in a room filled with dedicated, knowledgeable, and invested administrators. And yet each month, whether in-person or online, our Superintendent of Student Achievement, Purveen Skinner, has masterfully done just that. Our Banting/Westminster/Laurier Community of Schools includes the largest and most complex schools within our entire School Board. Our schools are located in parts of the city where neighbourhoods are expanding at an exponential rate, so overcrowding is a hot topic. Within many of our schools English as a first language spoken at home is in the minority. As a result of the sizes of our schools, we have 3-member administrator teams in some of our schools. Our community includes Government assisted housing as well as million-dollar homes and everything in between. So, to say the least, when we come together each month, we have a multitude of topics that are common to each of us and the discussion about how best to support our schools can be animated.

We have been so blessed to have Purveen as our Superintendent for the last 5 years. During our years together she has demonstrated time and time again integrity, care, compassion, and empathy for our work.  She supports and highlights each of us and the work that we are doing in our schools in such a way that we are consistently learning from each other, not competing against each other. Purveen constructs activities where collaborative conversations occur naturally. She is intentional in reminding us that there is no judgement on what/how we share which alleviates any pressure that we may be feeling. Our family of administrators range from new to the role to those of us who are in the final months of our career and yet there is no hierarchy when it comes to idea sharing, recognition or seeking clarification.

Over the last few years, we have learned so much about how to maintain educational integrity and a focus on student learning through a pandemic, job action and the simple passage of time. I genuinely believe that our Community of School has been able to thrive through these challenges as a result of Purveen’s leadership.

Over the years Purveen has ensured that each of us are sprinkled with support, love and acceptance and provided with a sense of confidence in our work as we enjoy our ice cream cones!

Exactly one week ago, I was anxiously awaiting the post in-camera Board meeting email from our Superintendent, wherein she was going to share the name of the incoming Principal.  During the weeks leading up to the announcement of administrative assignments for the upcoming school year (not unlike every year at this time) there was lots of speculation and conversation about which of our colleagues would be embracing new assignments and which of our colleagues would be embracing retirement.  I’ve often remarked how interesting it would be to be a “fly on the wall” as those conversations occur.  I can’t help but hear the soundtrack from Hamilton ~ “The Room Where It Happened ~ No one really knows how the game is played. The art of the trade”

I have no doubt that the decisions are difficult, and the conversations are endless as our Senior Team does their very best to create the conditions for positive succession planning in each of our schools.  In my mind it’s a huge chess board where one move may impact many other moves.

With all chess moves solidified and shared with the Board of Trustees, shortly after 6pm, the email arrived and suddenly weeks of anticipation dissolved.  We learned that Caroline Woodburn would be the incoming Principal and suddenly reality sank in ~ I had to wrap my head around passing the torch.

In my career, I’ve had this opportunity two other times, but this time feels very different.  This torch is one that I did not inherit from another administrator. This torch is one that our school community created, ignited, and continues to use to light our way as we learn together, laugh together, and love each other.  We have been very intentional in many of our decisions about how to cultivate a unique school culture.  We have had a guiding light that has allowed us to stay the course ~ regardless of any obstacles.

Torches not only light the way, but they also have the ability to set something on fire and for those of you who are Survivor fans, you’ll be familiar with the phrase, “Light your torches because in this game, fire represents life”.

On many a day at Sir Arthur Currie, at any given time, both our staff and students are figuratively “on fire” with their passion for learning.  You sense the excitement throughout the building and like the explosive nature of fire, it becomes a chain reaction.

As I ponder the next several weeks, it will be the image, symbolism and importance of our Sir Arthur Currie torch that will light the conversations that I have with Caroline.

Would love to hear your stories about either passing the torch or being on the receiving end of a special torch.

Come write with me….

One of my favourite tasks as an administrator is crafting Teacher Performance Appraisals for staff members.  It creates the conditions for intentional conversations about their practice, their students, and their future plans.  I love those conversations where staff are not only open to feedback, but actively seek it which in turn leads to more informal visits as staff explore and experiment with new strategies. They are always so excited when a new strategy works!

These feedback or more appropriately, feed forward discussions have focused on a variety of topics ~ differentiation, formative assessment, how to effectively include evidence informed guided instruction, mental wellbeing, and leadership opportunities, to list but a few.

Thinking about my time as an administrator and how the format of the Ministry Appraisal has evolved and changed to reflect new initiatives and more advanced methods of supporting educators, led me down memory lane….

Last week, as I was on a bit of a scavenger hunt to find my marriage certificate (which I needed to upload for my impending pension) after looking in what I had anticipated would be a logical location, I landed upon a file which I had started in 1985 ~ the year that I graduated Teachers’ College and started teaching.  The file held both my probationary and permanent contracts.  The faded green paper was officially embossed with the School Board seal and the dotted line blanks for name, date and location had been populated with a typewriter.   As I flipped through the file, I landed on my very first performance appraisals from my first practicums as a Teacher Candidate.  Most of them were handwritten (in beautiful penmanship or eloquent primary printing).  The domains included: Academic Background, Objectives, Presentation, Questioning Ability and Personal Qualities. The reports also included Basic Strengths and Constructive suggestions for Improvement. As I read through the comments, the core/heart pieces of what it means to be a good educator and meet the needs of all students were just as important and included in appraisals 35 years ago as they are today.  The phrases may have evolved ~ differentiation which now rolls off our tongue easily is the same as “objectives were tailored to the individual abilities of the students”.

I had to giggle when I reviewed the Constructive Suggestions for Improvement where I was encouraged to, “work on the size of letter formations in printing and writing (neatness is fine)” and couldn’t help but wonder how in some ways times have indeed changed. In my 19 years as an administrator, I’ve never once commented on someone’s penmanship.  On that same note of comments that made me smile, “a variety of presentation aids were used ~ overhead, filmstrip, tape and VCR” revealed my love of technology from the start of my career.

I wonder if in 30 years from now, any of my current staff will stumble upon the performance appraisals that I wrote for them and find components to giggle about!

And…. by the way ~ it was in that very folder that I finally found my marriage certificate.  Which makes sense considering I was married two weeks prior to starting Teachers’ College.

What do you have from the start of your teaching career that has significantly evolved over the years?

Come write with me….