See you in September

I haven't been posting much - only one post this year.  So I thought I would do a little review.

After the thrill of basketball season, some of the things that stand out were:

• We got a new gym floor and it looks awesome.  
• Presented at the Ontario Summit but focused on doing Breakouts in Math, and other fun things.
• Grade 8 graduation was again bittersweet - love seeing my students grow and move on but sad to see them go too.  Parent council (especially Nicole and Brenda) created a very beautiful evening. 

I decided to push my comfort zone and applied to speak at TedXKitchener and at BIT19.  Haven't heard if they have been accepted yet but just applying was a leap.

The focus of our end of year meeting was reflection and relationships.  I have seen Rita Pierson's Ted Talk many times but it is still moving.  I have always believed in building relationships with my students.  Students learn best from someone they like, who believes in them, and when lessons connect to their real lives.  You are also what you say to yourself and what others say to you.  So I try to remove negative talk from my classroom including self talk.  Henry Ford said "If you think you can or you think you can't, you are right."

Next year at Lincoln our focus will be on kindness.  I like the simple character traits that go with it.  Being kind is not just to others but to oneself though and that is what summer does for me.  I exert a lot of energy during the school year and in the summer a little self care is important.  I read, bike, walk, garden and nap.  I also do personal PD - got a few books to look into or reexamine, and I do virtual summits - Hive Summit, Make Math Meaningful Summit and Ditch Summit.  

Next year has changes.  I will still teach Math and Science but will have a grade 7 homeroom and that is new.  We will learn together.  I do work with a great group of teachers and we help each other too. 

   See you in September...