Hello Friends,

Thank you for signing up for my newsletter! This is my first one and I would love your feedback and suggestions to help me ensure my newsletters are of value to you and your work. So, let’s get started.

I like to compare the start of a new school year to a sugar high. Teachers come back at the start of the year fully of energy and excitement, then when the sugar high wears off they slammed into the brick wall of October.

I refer to October as a brick wall because it is simply a hard month for teachers. The reasons it is hard are vast and varied. Some are legit and some are mental, but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter. You cannot combat or eliminate their reasons, so what can you do to help your teachers get to November?

Think about planning a few simple surprises for your teachers and include your parents. Many parents want to help, but they simply don’t know how. Ask for specific things and you will be shocked at the response. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Coffee is always a favorite of teachers. A few years ago, I emailed my parents, explained that I am not able to use school funds to purchase items for the teacher's lounge, and asked them to donate gently used Keurigs we could put in the teacher's lounge. Within a few hours I had over a dozen brand new Keurigs.

2. Staying with the coffee theme, ask parents to donate coffee and tea pods for the teacher's lounge. You can stock the lounge or hang onto them and have surprise coffee/tea days.

3. October 14 is National Dessert Day. Email your parents and ask them to drop off desserts

for the teacher's lounge.

Parents want to help. They just need more specificity on how.

Thank you for loving teachers,

Kathleen Eckert

Follow me on Twitter @EckertKathleen