Wolcott's What's Up
Office of Teaching & Learning Update 11.22.2017
Gratitude is better than...
Thanksgiving is a time for giving thanks and being grateful for all we have. I saw this post recently, started feeling benefits from some of the suggestions and thought I would share.
Maybe you thought it was money, sex or food, but experts are saying that the key to happiness is something entirely different. It’s something that anyone can have at any time. It’s simple and it’s vital. It’s gratitude.
Gratitude is the practice of noticing and appreciating the positives in the world (particularly in your own personal world). Shifting the focus from what you don’t have to what you do have can have a profound influence on your moment-to-moment mood and emotional state, and it can have a huge impact on your physical health, as well. In fact, there is a burgeoning field of research — positive psychology — devoted to looking at the contributing factors of happiness and well-being.
Recent research shows that a daily gratitude practice can lead to increased concentration, enthusiasm, optimism and satisfaction — not to mention improved sleep quality and a greater sense of connection to others.
So, what if gratitude isn’t part of your current repertoire? The wonderful thing is that gratitude can be learned. And practicing gratitude doesn’t need to take a whole lot of time — perhaps one of the best parts about it. Do what is easiest for you: write a list at the end of the day, take two minutes before you eat a meal, or think about it on your daily commute. Cultivating gratitude within ourselves ultimately has a positive impact on the people around us and on our communities. People who practice gratitude are more capable of being empathic, and more likely to help others with a problem or challenge.
What prevents us from reaping the significant benefits of this simple practice? Like many other things that are good for us, perhaps it feels unfamiliar, too spiritual, or just hasn’t been cultivated into a habit. Although Thanksgiving is behind us, there’s never a bad time to commit to a practice of gratitude. Often it’s easy to lose sight of Thanksgiving’s true meaning: noticing and giving thanks for all that nourishes us, including friends and family, community, and the food on our plates. Starting a daily gratitude practice will allow you to reconnect with the deeper meaning of the season and to more fully enjoy it.
1) Slow down and be mindful.
One of the first steps in practicing gratitude is slowing down so that you can notice all the things there are to feel grateful for. It’s often the little things that end up being the most significant. Finding the extraordinary in the ordinary takes attention and mindfulness. The beauty in a flower and the smile of a stranger are places you can start.
2) Keep a gratitude journal.
Writing down the things you are grateful for takes just 10 minutes and can increase your overall well-being significantly! It can be as simple as writing five things you are grateful for in that moment, either daily or every other day.
3) Shift your focus.
Instead of viewing your world through a lens of all the things you don’t have or are missing out on, try shifting the focus to what you do have and what is going well. Try to help yourself look at things with a fresh perspective. You can hone in on a small detail that you appreciate, like someone holding the elevator door for you when you were in hurry, or the way your friend remembered to ask about the big presentation you were nervous about.
4) Take a snapshot.
If you are having a difficult time picturing something that you are grateful for, try taking a mental snapshot of a person, place or moment that you feel grateful for. Hold that visualization in your mind for a little while.
5) Make it a practice together.
Take five minutes at the end of each day with a friend or family member (meal times are good) to share with each other three things you are each grateful for, or a few positives from your day. This can set a nice tone to end the day, and having a conversation can make you feel more connected.
6) Declare your thanks and inspire others.
I know someone who committed their Facebook status update, every day in November, to express something they are grateful for. Something this simple can shift your daily experience and in the process inspire others.
7) Practice generosity.
The practice of giving to others will help you connect with just how fortunate you really are. There are many things you can offer that don’t require money: your attention, your time, a kind word, a thoughtful phone call or e-mail, a compliment, or a music playlist. Your gift will inspire gratitude in others and perpetuate a cycle of generosity, gratitude, abundance and ultimately happiness!
If you want to feel happier, start by incorporating a small dose of gratitude into your daily habit, whether it is on your commute, during a break, at a meal, or before you go to bed — it all adds up and can be very valuable to your health and well-being. You can also use it to inspire others.
How will you begin your gratitude practice? Will it take days, hours or minutes to experience the happiness that comes from appreciating the little things life has to offer?
FROM Joshua Rosenthal, the founder of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, the largest nutrition school in the world, offering online nutrition education.
Significant 72 Revisited
Please set aside time to implement Significant 72 activities on Monday, November 28th. I have included a web link at the bottom of the page with #Sig72 activity suggestions.
Teaching and Learning Updates
Technology Update and Transparency
CHROMES:
Adding Chromes is more complicated that just paying the $275 price tag. As of now, we are capped out at the number of Chromes that we can support in the district. This means, that we can not purchase more chromes without a plan to support and maintain additional units. We can not maintain more Chromes without 1) adding more staff to the IT Department (a costly proposition which would need to be agreed to by the Board and budgeted in advance), or 2) Entering a maintenance partnership agreement with a vendor. If such an agreement would occur, a vendor would pick up any damaged devices each week, say on a Wednesday, fix them, and return them to us the next Thursday. This would cost anywhere from $30-45 per unit. This obviously also adds a cost in dollars and turn-around time to staff.
We are currently working on a recommendation that I will present to the Board of Education at our Annual Teaching and Learning Meeting in early February. Stay tuned.
IPADS:
With the exception of devices in music, art, and PE, all other iPads in buildings are purchased at the building level. Building level purchases come from building based accounts. Principals can purchase up to 30 iPads at each building.
Although iPads appear to be easy to set up and utlize, Tarah Tesmer has a lot of behind the scenes work she must do on each device in order to catalog it, set up accounts and ensure permissions are assigned in order for us to qualify for bulk education discounts. We do not have the current capacity to add additional iPads at this time given the guidelines we must follow. Again, we are working on a comprehensive plan to add more devices. Once we have determienhd our next steps with Chromes, we will finalize plans for additional iPads.
SMARTBOARDS
We will not be adding additional SmartBoards at this time. Until Smart software can be run on devices other than PCs, will will not be adding more SmartBoards or other Smart devices.
4K ULTRA HD TV/VIDEO DISPLAY SCREENS
We will begin slowly replacing Smartboards in classrooms where the smart software is not being utilized and where only a projection screen is needed. We will be purchasing 4K Ultra HD TV/Video display screens as replacements. The new 65-inch tv/video display screens cost approximately $1,000. New projectors, like those we use for SmartBoards cost approximately $1,500 and frequently need replacement bulbs that cost $400 each. We believe we will see a cost savings as well as improvements in clarity. The only negative is that they will not be touch-screen.
Pass/Fail Communication Error
I apologize this message was not communicated often enough in order for all parties to learn of the change. We are working to ensure that staff hear messages such as this repeatedly when they occur or as Rachel says, "7 times 7 ways".
Teaching and Learning/Curriculum Weebly Additions
- A Grading/Reporting and Assessment page will be added with grading and assessment updates and reminders.
- Elementary Reading Assessments will be added for the newest units.
- Elementary Math Units will be finalized
- Elementary Writing pages will be finalized.
- Elementary Science and Social Studies pages with curriculum resource links will be added.
- All junior high curriculum will be linked for parent and staff ease.
My Learning Plan Event Surveys
Elementary Reading Assessment Updates
- Unit 4: Informational will be finished and sent to staff by January 10
- Unit 5: Literature will be finished and sent to staff by February 20th.
- Unit 6: Informational will be completed and sent to staff by April 10.
Cool New SEL Lesson Platform: Peekapak
TEACHING AND LEARNING RESOURCES
Reminders
- Enjoy your Thanksgiving Break!
- Plan your Significant 72 Activities for December
- Plan a Passion Period activity this month so students can learn a little more about you
Greg Wolcott
Email: wolcottg@woodridge68.org
Website: www.wwodridge68.org
Location: 7925 Janes Avenue, Woodridge, IL, United States
Phone: 630.967.2035
Twitter: @GregJWolcott