Inside the Trenches of the Principal: Week 20
I have a steady history of getting a cold once a semester, and this week kept up the tradition! It hit me hard, but a steady flow of Red Bull and adrenaline for the week’s events kept me moving just fine.
Friday held the highly anticipated (for me at least) first annual Moore Amazing Shake! This has been in the making for months now, and beyond that, it’s been in my head for years as something I wanted to bring to a school as principal. It’s an overwhelming experience to produce, so I have to give many thanks to the many Moore magic makers that helped make this a success! From making name tags to designing rubrics to cleaning and setting up the gym, my team came together to make this happen!
We had an extraordinary group of judges who came from many walks of life who helped narrow the 93 students down to the Top 8, who will compete next week in an intense series of challenges to get us to the eventual winner on Friday. I encourage you to check out the Moore Twitter and Facebook pages to see the pictures, stories, and videos from the event!
After the contest was over, I received an email from one of the judges who said that today changed her view of the potential within our students. While certainly some students today had more skills than others, each and every one of them tried and showed that any student is teachable with high expectations and support. Honestly, what we did at Moore today is replicable and feasible in ANY school in America.
Some other highlights of the week included:
– Attending a Silent Dinner with one of my deaf families at the mall. It includes dozens of members of the deaf and hard of hearing community. I was definitely out of my comfort zone, but everyone there made me feel so welcome and was patient as I learned more signs. Additionally, I brought my younger son with me and he ended up being the new favorite kid in the deaf community!
– Installing Ident-a-Kid at Moore! It was long overdue!
– Beginning tours of Moore for rising kindergartners.
– Finishing the roll-out plan for implementation of the House System.
It was a busy week for sure, but I honestly wouldn’t want it any other way. I was talking to a friend at a luncheon I attended on Wednesday and said that there is nothing better than knowing that each day will bring a completely different day than the last, and that most of my day happens to me on the spot. The intensity, unpredictability, and pressure of it is truly what I enjoy most about the job.
