Catholic School Matters
April 9, 2017
The Impact of Stress & Anxiety
As the school year races to a conclusion, it seems our work crescendos. Often, it seems the attitude is to “hang on till June.” The challenge for school leaders is to manage the stress so that we have the ability to make sound decisions. So let’s try to carve out some time to examine stress and its impact on our professional practice.
· This blog was inspired by Harvard Business Review’s Pressure Doesn’t Have to Turn into Stress. Another HBR offering is Stress Isn't a Threat, It's a Signal to Change
· Joe Baker offers great advice to leaders on How Good Leaders Mange Anxiety
· Justin Baeder of the Principal Center writes The Price of Leadership: Managing the Stress of Leadership
· Entrepreneur offers advice on Your Anxiety Contributes to Your Bad Decisions
· Edutopia offers a great article on Positive Strategies to Avoid Stress, Burnout, and Anxiety
· Edutopia also offers 4 Powerful Mindsets for Turning Stress into a Powerful Force
· Vox offers advice on time management in How to be Less Busy
· Jennifer Gonzalez (“Cult of Pedagogy” blog) offers 5 Things to Do When Feeling Overwhelmed
· INC offers 14 Ways to Become Stress-free in 5 minutes
· Boys Town Training offers 7 Stress Prevention Tips for Teachers
· Great video from TED-ed on How Stress Affects Your Brain
· Kelly McGonigal’s TED talk How to Make Stress Your Friend
I know it seems ironical to ask busy, stressed people to take time out of their busy lives to read about stress and anxiety. But if you don’t try to shape your reality, your reality will shape you. Take care of yourself during these stressful times.
Dr. Tim Uhl, Superintendent
"Catholic School Matters" Podcast
This week, I have two great Chicago podcasts for your listening pleasure! Tomorrow, Episode #41 is an interview with Superintendent Dr. Jim Rigg of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Rigg is focused on school vitality and has a unique perspective on using data to understanding school trends such as school strength and market potential.
On Thursday, Episode #42 is an interview with Fr. Steve Katsouros, SJ, the first president of Arrupe College, an innovative junior college model designed to serve an underserved population. A Catholic junior college? Listen to find out.
Last week, there were two great episodes. Episode #39 is an interview with Superintendent Kathy Mears of the Archdiocese of Boston. Mears is a dynamic leader who shares the bright spots in her schools, demonstrating leadership and vision.
On Thursday, Episode #40 aired. It is a special episode on inclusion in Catholic schools. Three guests shared their unique perspective. This hourlong episode features the president of a Catholic school designed for special needs students, the principal of an elementary school which has embraced an inclusion model, and a parent/advocate for inclusion in all Catholic schools
Here is the link to the podcast on iTunes. Please subscribe to the podcast so new episodes will automatically download. The show is also available on Stitcher and Google Play. If you don't have accounts with any of those content providers, here is the link to my basic page with the podcasts.
- TUESDAY: Kathy Mears podcast
- WEDNESDAY: Book Blog: Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
- FRIDAY: Inclusion in Catholic Schools
This week, Dr. Uhl will blog about:
- TUESDAY: Dr. Jim Rigg's podcast
- WEDNESDAY: Book Blog: Weathering the Storm: Moving Catholic Schools Forward by DeFiore, Convey, & Schuttloffel
- FRIDAY: Fr. Katsouros's podcast
You can find and subscribe to the blog at drtimuhl.com
The Week Ahead
Monday: Great Falls regional administrator meetings
Tuesday: Missoula regional administrator meetings
Wed: Billings regional administrator meetings
Thurs: office (Helena)
Fri: office (Helena)
Next week: 865 driving miles
Last week: 175 driving miles; 5,944 air miles
2016-17: 28,145 driving miles; 29,340 air miles
What I'm Reading 2016-17
- Traction by Gino Wickman (underway)
- How Google Works by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg
- How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking by Jordan Ellenberg
- No One Way to School: Pluralism and American Public Education by Ashley Rogers Berner
- Back Blast by Mark Greaney
- Architects of Catholic Culture by Timothy Cook
- Glass House: The 1% Economy and the Shattering of an American Town by Brian Alexander
- Beyond Reform: Systemic Shifts Toward Personalized Learning by Lindsay Unified School District
- Spillover by David Quammen
- Thank You For Being Late: An Optimist's Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations by Thomas L. Friedman
- The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling
- Weathering the Storm: Moving Catholic Schools Forward by DeFiore, Convey, & Schuttloffel
- Missoula by Jon Krakauer
- Redeeming Administration by Ann Garrido
- Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be by Frank Bruni
- Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
- Stall Points by Matthew S. Olson & Derek van Bever
- Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
- Why Don't Kids Like School? by Daniel Willingham
- Tom Clancy: Commander in Chief by Mark Greaney
- Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis by Robert Putnam
- The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu
- Reading with the daughter: The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (7 books)
- The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
- The Gift of Failure by Jessica Lahey
- Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen
- The Purple Goldfish by Stan Phelps
- The Song of the Dodo by David Quammen
- Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman
- Reinvention: Accelerating Results in the Age of Disruption Cragun & Sweetman
- Cultures Built to Last: Systemic PLCs at Work by Fullan and DuFour
- Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
- Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time by Margaret J. Wheatley
- The Orange Frog by Shawn Achor
Montana Catholic Schools
Email: superintendent@montanacc.org
Website: www.montanacatholicschools.org
Location: PO Box 1708 Helena MT 59601
Phone: (406) 442-5761
Facebook: facebook.com/montanacatholicschools
Twitter: @mtcathschools
For Principals & Teachers
- We know how three principal openings: St. Joseph's (Missoula), Great Falls Central Catholic HS, and St. Paul Mission Grade School (Hays).
- NCEA has a great list of upcoming webinars. It also has compiled a list of great summer 2017 professional development opportunities.
- The Archdiocese of Seattle has a great MAP testing resource for planning how to interpret scores, which reports to look at, etc.
- The Justice for Immigration project of the USCCB offers resources for undocumented immigrants.
- Montana's DEQ has provided a great resource on lead in drinking water in schools.
- Are you ready for ESSA? Here is a link to a massive amount of new documents. ESSA has not been repealed and it's time to get ready! Here's more guidance from the USCCB.
- We have secured funding for all of our teachers to spend the night in Butte so that we can hold the Fall Professional Conference in one place! The Sophia Institute will be offering catechetical professional development on Thursday, Oct 19th and then we'll kick off the conference that night with Jonathan Doyle. We'll have Mass together on Friday morning and then will hear from Jonathan again and then we'll have breakout sessions.
- On the Horizon:
- Regional administrator meetings: April 10 (GFCCHS), 11 (Missoula Loyola Sacred Heart), 12 (Billings Central Admin offices). All meetings 10-2. Please RSVP for hospitality purposes to the host principal. Here is the slide show that I will build
- June 14: administrator meeting (Helena) 10-3
STRESS & ANXIETY LINKS
Selfie of the Week
Diocesan AdvancED Team
Terry Flanagan
Past Issues of Catholic School Matters
April 2, 2017 "Accreditation is not a Dirty Word"
March 26, 2017 "Undocumented Immigration Special Issue"
March 19, 2017 "Growth Mindset Special Issue"
March 12, 2017 "Stall Points"
March 5, 2017 "Swimming Upstream"
February 26, 2017 "Parent Communication"
February 19, 2017 "What Makes a School Catholic?"
February 12, 2017 "Are We Ready for Vouchers?"
February 5, 2017 "Disruptive Leadership"
January 29, 2017 "Catholic Schools Week"
January 22, 2017: "Combatting Fake News"
January 16, 2017 "What's Your Purple Goldfish?
January 8, 2017: "How I Use Twitter"
December 18, 2016 "The 'Best Of' Issue"
December 11, 2016 "Brain-Based Learning Special Issue"
December 4, 2016 "Cultures Built to Last"
November 20, 2016 "Good News Issue"
November 13, 2016 "School Culture Special Issue"
November 6, 2016 "Diocesan Demographics"
October 30, 2016 "Catholic Leadership Summit"
October 23, 2016 "Classroom Management Issue"
October 16, 2016 "Professional Development Conferences"
October 9, 2016 "Daring Greatly"
October 2, 2016 "The New Podcast"
September 25, 2016 "The Productivity Issue"
September 18, 2016 "Measuring our Success"
September 11, 2016 "Courage and Grief"
August 28, 2016 "A Senior Moment"August 21, 2016 "Schools as Field Hospitals"