Black Friday

Next week will be Thanksgiving then Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and so on.  We, as a society, have created a season of holidays beginning with Halloween and not ending until January.  Add to that, with the Winter breaks being extended and the Super Bowl not arriving until February, it gives us over 4 months of Holiday cheer.  Let’s hope that is the case, however, the weather reports say El Nino is going to be big.  We need the rain..alot of rain.  We just don’t need monster hail, hurricane winds, and neighborhood floods.  Maybe my holiday wish this year will be that everyone’s roof holds up to the weather.  It’s not a flashy wish, but if your roof fails, I don’t want to be the guy that didn’t send the well wish.  Take pause in the things that matter this weekend.  Have a unbelievable weekend…Go Pups! (cue: Bad Moon Rising – CCR)

Take a Pause

 We have arrived at the middle of November and soon we will be closing out the semester.  Before it arrives, take note of how far your students have come.  In this high paced world of education, we all keep looking up the mountain at what we have yet to climb.  Every now and then, it is refreshing to stop and reflect on the distance covered.  Celebrate that with your class.  I’m sure all students could use an ‘attaboy’ about this time of the semester.  As we experience the short days and short tempers this season brings, a pause may be the perfect remedy.  If not, there is still hot chocolate or cider, blankets to sit under, and plenty of good books, games, or movies to enjoy.  Have a incredible weekend…Go Pups! (cue: Rock this Town – Stray Cats)

Veteran's Day wish

Veteran’s Day is here next Wednesday and I wouldn’t feel right not mentioning it. We have so much with which to be thankful.  Though we may have our differences of opinion, squabbles over political ideals, or other daily challenges that present themselves, we are fortunate.  All it takes is a conversation with a visitor from another country to remind us that we live in a really cool place.  If you haven’t had the opportunity to speak to a foreign visitor, do yourself a favor, speak to an individual in the military that has been deployed.  Their words will be politically correct, but their face will tell the story.  I know this first hand as my son is currently deployed in Afghanistan.  I have been lucky enough to speak to him on Skype and his words say one thing, but his face tells the story.  We have it really good.  With that, my wish and hope is that all our deployed military make it home safe.  As we all know, hope is not a strategy but it’s all I have.  Have a dazzling weekend…Go Pups! (cue: Rock the Casbah – The Clash)

Time Flies

The end of the second grading period has arrived. WOW Time flies! In our management meeting this week, we discussed next week and coming Senior nights in Volleyball, Waterpolo, and Football. These are emotional nights for the students and parents as well. The end of high school athletics is the end of organized sports for many. Very few have the opportunity or accept the challenge to experience collegiate athletics. It is a culminating event where students meet that realization, and then parents are met with a different reality. After years of investing time, emotion, and money in the student endeavors, the end appears. The emotion is real to both the students and parents and our challenge is to not trivialize or desensitize ourselves to the event, for everyday we have the power to make a memory. Have a magnificent weekend…Go Pups!(cue: I Wanna Go Back–Eddie Money)

Homecoming

Homecoming has arrived and the weather is much cooler.  Soon we will be handing out candy (Halloween) and changing our clocks back (Nov. 1^st).  Before the holiday hustle starts, take a moment to reflect on the days past.  The second grading period will be over next week signifying one third of the year is behind us.  Have we done enough to reach those students that need the extra attention?  Have we accepted their failure?  A hand extended is not necessarily a hand out, but it could be a hand up.  Celebrate those students that get up after they have fallen (literally and figuratively) and for those that are stuggling, offer an extended hand.  You are their best option.  Have a breathtaking weekend…Go Pups! (cue: Take My Breath Away - Berlin)

Heat is ON

Here we are in the middle of October and still experiencing the heat.  Though we are not strangers to the temperature, we are all experiencing the same emotion about it…GIVE US A BREAK ALREADY!!!  Thank goodness for the rain on Thursday and if the reports are true, we should experience crazy weather like that the next few months.  Though hope is not a strategy, we can hope that the weather energy doesn’t bring with it crazy events on campus.  We can handle the high energy students in the classroom, it’s the unpredictatable we are never sure about.  As my father once told me, “Expect the unexpected”.  That is never more true than it is sitting behind my desk.   Have a splendid weekend…Go Pups! (cue: The Heat Is On – Glenn Frey)

Connectedness

Considering topics for the week, I decided to keep the theme of connectedness.  What are the ‘little things’ we can do to make a student feel more connected at school.  There has been quite a bit of research in the area of relationship building in schools.  Consistent in all the reading I have done, three simple things stand out:  1) Greet students at the door with a friendly ‘Hello, welcome to class’, 2) Listen, 3) Know their name and use it.  We have the opportunity to change lives and create allies or adversaries.  These ‘little things’ may just be the ingredient that begins the transformation.  Of course, a daily dose of these three ‘little things’ may not bring about the change that is desired, but I’ve never read a study that kindness hurts our chances.  Have a spectacular weekend…Go Pups! (cue: You’re a Friend of Mine – Clarence Clemons and Jackson Browne)