Thank You

Principals for a Day!

Towards the end of March, grade levels were asked to compose an essay about what they would do if they were principal for a day.  After a couple weeks, essays came in from all grade levels.  Out of those submissions, and they were all great, two emerged as winners - Hannah and Cole.  Little did they know that they would actually have the opportunity to each shadow their principal for a day.  Last week, both of them spent time on separate days to experience the role.  The following is a picture journal of the things they did. It was a wonderful experience for me as much as an eye opener for them.  I don't know that they realized that being a principal requires a lot of flexibility and the need to try to be everywhere to support the staff and the students each day.  Although a list of things gets made, a good day and exciting day probably doesn't mean that everything on that list gets done.  Thanks to Hannah and to Cole for their insight, hard work, and essays.

Hannah writing a note to a para (Mrs. Boyer) about how appreciative she is of her helping in her classroom and specifically answering questions of students when her teacher is not immediately able to.  She was able to deliver the rock during class when she was finished composing her note.  As a principal, it is extremely important that we recognize and celebrate great work that occurs within the building on the part of students and staff.  Thanks again Mrs. Boyer for all your hard work!

Cole spending some time "supervising" the lunchroom.  He just had to stop and get a quick picture with his younger brother.  How cool is that?  Lunchrooms are a busy place aren't they Cole?  

Cole scheduled a Google "Hangout" Conference call with his boss, Dr. Funk.  Why? Principals have meetings regularly and that includes meeting with the Superintendent.  Agenda items ranged from teaching and learning to supporting staff (including principals), and being a Colonel in the Army National Guard.  How do you do both? What happens when you are not able to be "in-district" as a Super?    

"Hello, this is Cole, Sibley's Principal for a Day.  The reason for my call is to make sure that the experience that you and your child are having at Sibley school is a great one.  How are things from your perspective as a parent?  Are we meeting your needs in helping support your child academically? If so, great! If not, how can I help?  Are there things you would like me to share with your child's teacher that you might not have shared that could help us continue to work together?"  Cole realized that communication is a very important piece of being a principal.  Visiting with parents and making sure they are enjoying their experience is a small topic matter for parent/principal discussion.  The goal through those conversations is to make sure that if there are things that we don't know that may be getting in the way of a strong parent and school relationship that we figure out what that is.  In the end, if we don't, then students may be impacted and nobody wants that.  After all, students and their success is why we are here. 

We did not plan our shirts for the day.  However, we look sharp, don't we?  Great minds think alike?

Cole provided a "thank you" note to his classroom teacher, Mrs. Schulz.  In that note, he was appreciative of her work with him, particularly in the area of math and science.  He also was able to deliver his complimentary, "YOU ROCK" rock to her.  Again, recognizing and celebrating great work and effort in what we do is hugely important to a school and those that work within it.  Teaching is not an easy task and teachers don't teach to be recognized.  However, in any organization, the culture you create should allow for creativity, risk, collaboration, and trust.  When you take the time to appreciate each other in genuine ways around common goals, great things will continue to happen.  (Emphasis on genuine :).

Cole had the opportunity to sign and approve some book orders for our book room.  In all, he was probably signing away about 2500 dollars that day.  In the past few years, Sibley has invested greatly in SD surrounding Guided Reading and really a balanced literacy approach.  Having resources to teach that are updated and aligned to a building and district's focus is exciting.  Our book room continues to grow with this approval.  All teachers in the building access our leveled library to ensure that when they are working and teaching students in small guided reading groups, kids are engaged in meaningful texts at their instructional level. 

Hannah is double checking a shared document that lays out the MCA testing schedule for grades 3-5.  The reason that she was verifying times was to be able to run a fire drill at the end of the day.  Because we were testing as well, she wanted to be sure that no classes were impacted by the drill.  State law requires that schools run 5 practice fire drills a year.  Hannah did communicate with the staff in the office prior to the drill and actually helped clear the building and made the call as to when it was clear to come back in the building.  

Calling parents about their experience with our school was something that Hannah also did.  She called a parent of a Kindergarten student and they were thrilled to tell her how their child was doing so well with their reading.  It was fun.  

Colleagues

Conference call with Dr. Funk was pretty cool.  "Why would you want to be a Superintendent?"

 

Green Eggs and Ham Success

One of our ending events for I Love to Read Month, and in honor of Dr. Seuss Birthday, was our 2nd annual Green Eggs and Ham breakfast for families.  Thanks to our PTO and for everyone that helped.  We had approximately 400 people in attendance and it was great to see everyone.  Yes, we did have green eggs.  Yum.  Involving families is an important part of any school and we are grateful to have so many participate in events such as this.  We also like to have books to give away to those that come and this year we put together several book baskets that students could choose from.  Great fun!

Friday Morning Reading Club Needs Volunteers

If you haven't heard, our PTO needs some additional volunteers to serve as readers during our Friday morning reading time.  Simply put, we have parents and community members volunteer to read to students before school from 7:30am to 8:10am in the morning on Fridays.  It is a great opportunity for students to get out of the weather, hear some great stories, and even win some free books for attending.  The students love it.  So, if you are a parent or interested in helping, please connect with our PTO organizers at sibleypto@gmail.com as to the dates that you would be available.  We are looking to fill times on 2/27, 3/13, and 3/27.  Thanks. 

I LOVE TO READ MONTH Activities

I Love to Read month activities:

o   We will be having a door decorating contest of your class’ favorite read aloud from the year. More details to come with the supplies that you will need, but start thinking about your favorite read aloud from the year and how you can decorate your door with your students to show it. Doors need to be finished by February 23^rd in time for dress-up days. Throughout the week, you and your students can take a tour of the school to see the creations. We will vote on our favorite, and the results will be shared at the end of the day on Friday, the 27^th.

o   Dress up week will be the 23^rd- 27^th. 

Friday Morning Reading Club

Every winter, our PTO provides readers for us in the mornings on Friday's.  With the way the weather has been lately, it is certainly nice to cozy up in the media center with a good book.  For those that attend, they are also given a chance to win a book.

Lunch With Mr. Williams

Kaitlyn and Mackenzie

Aspiring Principals - Zoe and Piper

Over the past month, we have been drawing winners for lunch with Mr. Williams on Friday's.  Here are pictures of my most recent lunch buddies.  We had a blast and learned a ton about each other from the books we were reading to some of our interests.  Did you know that Mr. Williams grew up in Hawaii and knows how to surf? Yup, that was one of our lunch discussions.  I am looking forward to many more.  Sibley kids are awesome!!

Ethan and Caydence

Prairie Fire Comes to Sibley

This week, practices have been underway for this year's Prairie Fire production of Snow White.  If you have never witnessed Prairie Fire before, you don't have to have kids in it to enjoy it.  Each year, students in grades 3-8 work with two directors from PF, and in one week, they perform for the community.  Come and check it out Friday night at 7pm. If you miss it, don't worry, you can catch a matinee on Saturday at 10:30am.  Thanks to our PTO for sponsoring this great theater experience for our students. Show time and costs can be found here.