Personal Best Staff Bulletin
Volume VI Number 1 August 27, 2018
Welcome Back and Welcome "New Friends" !!
I’m thinking you are as excited about the new school year as I am! I hope summer was restful, healthy and energizing.
We had a great summer, got to relax, read some books, spent time with the kids, took bike rides, went to the beach… hope to carry some of that mindfulness and healthy lifestyle into the school year. Managed to keep up with my exercise routine a little better, but not enough to keep up with all the extra eating we’ve been doing.
One of my personal highlights was taking a surfing lesson at Long Beach. There is definitely a blog post in this one. All I’ll say about this for now is that certain things in life are, “as advertised”. Justine and Carolyn have been telling me about the joys of surfing for years now but I finally got out there. So many lessons about learning: learning from failure, getting back up after falling down, taking slow steps, accepting feedback, sublimating ego to growth, and ultimately, the sheer joy of learning something new. For me I will continue to reflect upon this experience and apply these lessons to my leadership and learning practices. What are the experiences of your summer that you will bring to your professional practice?
Sometimes the themes of a given school year do not emerge until we are well into the term. There is certainly one theme that I know characterizes the upcoming year. There are new staff in several of the key positions at the middle school. We have a new assistant principal, social worker, and school psychologist, not to mention all the other new team members that have been brought on board commencing in August. As we begin this year the opportunity to welcome new talent to our school is foremost in my mind.
When I think about great sports teams, they always seem to get better when new players replace hallowed veterans. The Yankees have had a string of legendary players from Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Bill Dickey, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Roger Maris, Whitey Ford, Thurman Munson, Reggie Jackson, Don Mattingly, Mariano Rivera, and Derek Jeter *. They didn’t always occupy the same positions but as the torch was passed within the organization, different people stepped up to continue the tradition of greatness. I am confident that that is what will happen for us. When I contemplate the perspectives and ideas that our new staff will bring to the school I am excited by the enormous potential that exists for us to grow and improve through their impact. At the same time, we will work together to welcome them into our unique and remarkable school family.
*Apologies to Met fans but I'm sure you have a list of your own :-)
Links and Resources
Those Who Can Do, Can’t Teach
In the article, Grant argues that sometimes experts are not the best teachers. Great reminder when we think about our struggling students.
WorkLife with Adam Grant: Faking your emotions at work
In this podcast, Grant discusses how important it is for teachers, and salespeople, to have a genuine passion for what they do. Faking passion is exhausting!
Principal's Staff Bulletin
Email: dgately@jerichoschools.org
Website: dfgately.wordpress.com
Location: 99 Old Cedar Swamp Road, Jericho, NY, United States
Phone: 516-203-3620
Twitter: @Donald_Gately