There is nothing quite like being with family for Thanksgiving. Jeanne and I took Charlie to Carlsbad where my folks live. We got to spend some time with my 93 year grandmother and the food was amazing. What else would you expect from parents who own a bakery/restaurant. We would like to hear your Thanksgiving stories if you want to share. By the way, this picture was taken 2 days ago with an iPhone app called Hipstamatic that makes your photos look vintage.

Technology Tools

You've heard the expression, "A tool is only as good as the person using it." I think that is a good thing to remember as we gear up to spend more than $20,000 on technology for Walker Creek. We want to make sure the things we buy fit in with our bottom line of learning and that scholars are able to actually use the tools. I have received some very good ideas from individuals and site-based team members who have conferred with their colleagues. We will have Jeff Samuelson joining us on Monday, November 21 at our faculty meeting to talk about viable technology tools. I encourage you to do some research on your own before then and be prepared to ask Jeff questions. Some of the tools that have been discussed include smart boards, laptops, digital cameras and video cameras, itouches, and ipads. Feel free to email Teresa, Jeff or any of the ITS if you have questions.

Traditions

What a great day! My first Coyote Fun Run will be remembered for long time. The thing that stood out the most for me was seeing all of the scholars on the sidelines cheering on their fellow scholars. Thank you to our rotation teachers for their direction. Thank you to the teachers who brought their scholars out multiple times to cheer. Thank you to volunteers for their time. Thank you to Lisa for a tremendous job as MC. It was a great event that was truly encouraging and engaging. What are your thoughts about our Coyote Fun Run?

Colleagues

It is my sincere hope that you see the value in developing professional relationships with educators at other campuses. The principals in the Birdville cluster are committed to making our PLC successful, and we are already talking about having less information and more time for collaboration at our January PLC. Make sure your voice is heard by responding to the survey. What plans do you have to connect with your colleagues at the other Birdville cluster campuses? What outcomes do you hope to see with our cluster PLC?

Alignment

Alignment is a word that is used in education to describe accuracy and consistency in a relationship. There is vertical alignment, horizontal alignment, goal alignment, etc. For this blog discussion, I want to focus on Curriculum Alignment. What does curriculum alignment mean to you?

First Days of School

Meet the Teacher Night and the First Day of School exceeded my expectations. The energy, planning, and execution were remarkable. Thank you to everyone for being prepared, and for doing the little extra things that make the difference between chaos and order. What are your thoughts about Meet the Teacher Night and the First Day of School? What successes and fun stories do you have to share?

Classroom Management

One of the best books ever written for teachers is Harry Wong's The First Days of School. He opens Chapter 1 by boldly stating, "Your success during the school year will be determined by what you do on the first days of school." I agree. There is no substitute for establishing clear expectations, modeling routines and procedures, and following through with positive and negative consequences. Excellent classroom management begins and ends with effective relationship building with every scholar. Effective relationships develop each scholar's ability to be responsible and self-disciplined while staying within the established boundaries of the class and campus. One of the biggest challenges we face as educators is finding that fine line between freedom and authority (as the cartoon suggests). One of my goals as principal is to allow individual teachers the freedom and flexibility to work with scholars as needed while developing some level of consistency from room to room and from grade level to grade level. What successes and lessons have you learned about the importance of effective classroom management? This will be an important topic of conversation when we meet as grade levels in August.

The WCE Retreat at The Texas Star

The Walker Creek Design Team is working overtime to make the 2011 retreat awesome! The team building activities are going to be great, and Marsha and I are in the process of putting together what we hope to be a memorable and productive staff development. Since I have never been on a Walker Creek Retreat, I thought it would be helpful to get some feedback from those of you who have been before. Here are a few guiding questions as you think about past retreats you've been on.

• How does the Walker Creek Retreat benefit you as an educator?
  


• What are the traditions that you want to see continue at the Retreat?



• What do you hope to gain from this year's Retreat?

Summer

Education is the most important and difficult professions there is. Each one of us has an opportunity every day to make a positive difference in the life of a child. That is a heavy responsibility and there are times that we really feel its weight. That is why it is critically important that we take time and get away from school to clear our minds, refresh our bodies, and renew our spirt. As the school year winds down, I hope you are looking forward to doing things this summer that you don't normally get to do during the school year. What things will you do this summer to relax and get ready for next year?