Montessori Minute
November 30, 2018
Positive Office Referrals/Phone Calls Home/Handwritten Notes of Appreciation
But these pay HUGE dividends for both our students and the adults in our building. Please take some time to write a note or call a family to brag about their child. Or send them to the office and have them tell me what they've done well lately!
Not only will this make the receiver (whether it's a staff member or a student) feel great, the GIVER also feels fantastic!
Golden Tickets--kids love them. Sometimes I worry that we're giving too many out? But I guess I'd rather give out too many than too few!
A kind word. A handwritten note. A phone call. Each takes less than five minutes to complete, but the dividends pay off handsomely!
Review Lockdown procedures with your students
They should: Jump into the first classroom they see and join that class OR retreat into the bathroom and remain there until found by school personnel or law enforcement.
A reminder for you...when the announcement is made ("Locks, Lights, Out of Sight!") you need to do a quick hallway check as you are closing your door. If you see a kid in the hallway, have them enter your room. But once you've closed that locked door, it should not open for anyone for any reason.
It's possible that the best way to keep our kids safe is to leave the school grounds. I'm thinking about students on the playground or students in PE. If your "self-evacuate" in a situation like this, it would be best to get to our evacuation site (First United Methodist Church). Remember to text me so I'll know where you are!
We will do an unannounced Lockdown drill in December.
Next year
The only advice I can give you is to ignore any rumors you may hear and to focus on helping our students. That should always be our number one priority.
I am meeting with Dr. Thompson and Beth Nelson on Monday morning to help develop questions for Barb Jens, who has said "yes" to providing us with some advice through this transition period.
No decisions have been made on anything yet. We are not even sure if we're expanding the Montessori program yet. No decisions have been made on building leadership; I have been told that I still may be the principal in both buildings next year.
I do not know if Heather Thompson is interested in a principal position (I'm certain we will have a principal opening at Washington). If a principal is hired at Lincoln, I am certain that Dr. Thompson will advertise the position, fully investigate the candidates, and interview a number of them. It will be my suggestion that at least one current Montessori teacher be involved in the selection process.
But remember, we don't even have an opening yet! Everything you are hearing in the community--even if it's from another teacher--is a rumor. Nothing more.
Heather has been our building quite a bit this year. But if you follow #npspanthers on Twitter, you'll see she's in EVERY PreK-6 building a lot. That's her job. As Montessorians, we want whoever is in that Teaching & Learning job to be as familiar with our building and our way of instruction as any other building in the district.
I don't know what will come from the Monday morning meeting with Barb Jens; I hope it's productive. I will also ask all of them what questions the teaching staff can address and I'll share those ideas with you. Perhaps we can then brainstorm some answers so we're more prepared to have another discussion with Dr. Thompson.
I would like to meet with you to talk about what is discussed at Monday's meeting. I have meetings every day after school next week, but could meet at 7:30am Thursday or Friday morning.
Shut out the noise! I know it's impossible to shut it all out, but the more your can ignore, the better you'll feel!
Sensory Path
Check out the links below that help explain what a sensory path is. I think it's an awesome idea. How could it work at Montessori? I'd love to hear your feedback!