Inside the Trenches of the Principal: Week 21
Let it snow! It was quite a week, capped off by a larger-than-expected snowfall that left us scrambling to get kids home safely! I definitely learned a few things I need to change for situations like this that we’ll be putting into place moving forward!
But it was an amazing week for sure! The staff rolled out our House System. I can’t tell too much about it here right now because I have students who read this and it’s still a secret to them, but I’ll just say that the staff is already getting competitive!
I also had the honor of announcing our first Moore Amazing Shake winner: Venise! In a fun twist, however, I got the chance to invite BOTH of the finalists to the Ron Clark Academy’s Amazing Shake National competition in February. I know Venise and Eliana will both represent Moore fantastically!
I had many people over the week ask me how I set up my Amazing Shake. Here is a recap for those interested:
Friday, 12/1: Round 1 – All 93 5th graders participated in a “first impression” circuit, which included 30 second interactions with a panel of judges. Each student had 10 interactions. After each interaction, the student was evaluated on a rubric with 8 categories (handshake, eye contact, social grace, poise, engagement, confidence, je ne sais quoi, and sense of humor). The Top 8 were announced after this round.
Monday, 12/4: Round 2 – The Top 8 went to the Wake Forest University Department of Athletics and competed in a “working the room” contest, where students had 15 minutes to network with 12 student-athletes and athletic staffers. The Top 5 were announced after this round.
Monday, 12/4: Round 3 – The Top 5 had no idea that Round 3 would immediately start! These five students had to conduct a two minute interview with Wake Forest University Hall of Fame basketball player and former NBA player, Skip Brown. He selected the Top 3 from these interviews.
Wednesday, 12/6: Round 4 – The Top 3 traveled to Brenner Children’s Hospital and had to present a 3 minute speech in front of a room full of pediatric residents and physicians on the topic “What do you believe is the most pressing health issue children face today?” The Top 2 were selected after this round.
Thursday, 12/7: Round 5 – The Top 2 joined our district superintendent as special guests at a luncheon banquet honoring teachers. They had to demonstrate table etiquette and were surprised with the chance to make an impromptu speech in front of the room thanking the teachers.
Friday, 12/8: At our weekly Friday Rally, I announced the winner and surprised them with the news about competing at the National competition.
It was an amazing seven days getting to go through the Amazing Shake with the students. It took an immense amount of planning and teamwork, and I am so thankful for my “magic makers” at Moore who made this all happen. The response to the event was overwhelmingly positive and I am proud of the efforts the students put into it! My biggest desire from here is that these students take the skills that we have been working on all year and implement them moving forward!
So as snow sits on the ground this morning, it is a symbol that we are nearing that mid-way point in the year. With 9 days until the winter break, there is going to be an expected mix of excitement, anticipation, and deep breathing on behalf of all!
