Impress the Guests

 This past week, we had a lot of visitors come into our school for various reasons. We wanted to WOW them, and I think we may have succeeded. Here's an overview of all the events and what contributed to the positive perception we left people with at the end.

Monday, June 17, 2024 = Red Maple Marketing Campaign

Our Red Maple Marketing Campaign was smaller this year. We only had two schools participate, although there were still six teams competing. Our guest judge was Mark Sarner from Manifest Communications. We held it at Port Royal Public School, which was both convenient and helpful. Nour came with his ice cream truck to begin the festivities. A lot of credit must go to Alyson Walters, the teacher-librarian at Port Royal, who arranged coverage for herself, space for the event, and supervision for my students when I had to drive our honoured guest back to the subway station.

The pitches that the students gave were excellent. They all stayed within the allocated time frame and Alyson and I kept giving pleased glances to each other as the groups used different strategies to promote their book.

Mark gave some helpful advice at the end (although his illegible writing made deciphering the written feedback sheets nearly impossible). He talked about the CTA (call to action) and that focusing on the market (aka the target audience) was even more important than the book to be marketed. He explained why a comparison tactic sometimes backfires and how copyediting is an important skill. The winning group was the team that created the campaign for A Bucket of Stars. (This group came from my school; they were surprised and delighted that they won.)

Why were people impressed? = Mark isn't used to hanging around students. However, in our drive back to the subway, he commented on how hard-working and goal-oriented the students from both schools were. He admired their videos that they made and was particularly impressed with the quality of writing on their websites to describe the book and author. 

Tuesday, June 18, 2024 = Volunteer Appreciation Event

Our volunteers mean a lot to us at our school. They assist with field trips and pizza lunches and serve on the parent council. We wanted to demonstrate our appreciation and so we held this social in the library. As in the past, we placed a book plate inside new acquisitions for the school library, celebrating individual volunteer contributions to school life.

Why were people impressed? = Many of our staff members showed up to chat with our volunteers. This shows that the educators genuinely care and appreciate the help of the parents and community members. The volunteers also like finding their names inside the new books and seeing what titles are new to the collection. 

Thursday, June 20, 2024 = Grade 8 Graduation

I knew many of these students when they were in junior kindergarten. Ten years flies by! I had the privilege of presenting three awards.

Why were people impressed? = The ceremony went smoothly, and that's because of our Grade 8 teacher, Farah Wadia. She coordinates the Graduation Committee, so we all feel involved and included, and she attends to the smallest of details. The students rehearsed at least four times prior to the event and all the practice pays off. (Here she is in the library giving final instructions before the Grade 8 students' grand entry.)

Friday, June 21, 2024 = Kindergarten Graduation

From the oldest to nearly the youngest, our senior kindergarten students had their big event the day after the Grade 8s. I really liked some of the changes to the format that gave each student the spotlight. Kindergarten graduation is more unpredictable than the Grade 8 graduation, due to the young age of the participants and of the younger siblings in the audience. (It can be hard to resist interfering when toddlers run around the gym, but our focus has to be on the graduates.)

Why were people impressed? = I hope you notice a theme. It is the behind-the-scenes efforts of a group of people that makes these events work so well and charms the visitors. In this case, it was the joint work of the kindergarten team. The photo below contains all of the adults that were involved with teaching the kindergarten students this year. (From left to right: Mrs. Maliszewski, the music/drama/dance teacher, Ms. Chiu, the classroom teacher of K2, Mr. Malisani, the classroom teacher of K1, Mrs. Isidro, the ECE of K2, and Ms. Wadia, the eco-literacy teacher. Ms. Wadia and I were the prep providers for kindergarten this year.)

I haven't even mentioned the Primary Division Story Jam and the TDSB TL Facilitators end-of-year meeting that also occurred last week. Congratulations to everyone for all their hard work preparing these important milestone events. It's paying off!

Dropping Balls

 Juggling is a pretty neat skill to possess. Metaphorically, I've been juggling a lot lately but to my dismay, I've been dropping a lot of balls. There have been several moments where I forgot to finish certain tasks that have been assigned to me that have specific time deadlines. One example was when I was supposed to send out the timetable and PLC preference survey to the teachers on June 10 - I wrote the survey but neglected to send it out until I was reminded of it at our staff meeting on June 13. Oops! That now means our team won't get around to making next year's timetables until June 17. Last year, we had the new timetables all worked out in April! 

For the first time in forever, my to-do list ran over two pages instead of one. I'm behind in my AQ marking. The presentations I'm scheduled to give are only semi-complete. The pressure is mounting and there are non-verbal signs that the tension is affecting me; I'm running my fingers through my hair and the sound of my walks through the school hallways are heavy, loud, and fast. 

Part of the reason for this stress is that, even at our wonderful school, we do not have enough occasional teachers to cover absences. As one of the chair people, and as one of the specialist teachers, we are needed to help out. Sometimes this means cancelling our programs. Sometimes this means foregoing our own prep time. Sometimes this means having two classes at once. This is why our teachers are still wearing #RedForEd. This was a collage I helped create to illustrate one particular issue: there's a suggestion that if a teacher has been at a school for more than ten years, the board can/should move them to another. This collage shows just some of our teachers and the number of years they've taught at our current school. Six of the nine educators shown would be obligated to be uprooted from the school where they've built years of positive relationships in the community and goodwill to move elsewhere.

Back to the juggling issue. So, what do I do? If I was a real juggler with real balls, I'd pick them up and continue to juggle. I apologize for sending links and notifications and emails out late, and then I try to update that to-do list so deadlines don't sneak past me. I also remind myself that three years ago, we didn't have any of these opportunities that makes this time of year so busy - (see https://mondaymollymusings.blogspot.com/2021/06/those-last-2-weeks-were-sic.html as a reminder). This coming week we have Red Maple Marketing (Monday), Volunteer Appreciation (Tuesday), full-day TL Facilitator PD (Wednesday), Primary Story Jam + Grade 8 Graduation (Thursday), and Kindergarten Graduation (Friday). I remember what the absence of these events felt like to remind me that the energy and effort aren't in vain. Three more strategies I need to employ more frequently are a) to give myself some grace - I shouldn't beat myself up for lagging behind when there's a lot to do; b) analyze why or how I missed the due dates and consider how to avoid falling into the same trap; and c) reach out for help when I need it. I don't have to shoulder everything on my own. An example of this is when I was trying to figure out how to pick up a guest for this Monday's event and still supervise our students as we get to the location. Our Grade 8 teacher offered to walk them for me, and then my principal offered to arrange a taxi to pick up the guest to save me 2 hours of driving.

This past week, we held the Library Helper Appreciation Luncheon and we also coordinated two retirement events for a very good friend of mine at work - Renee Keberer. Although there were a lot of loose ends that needed quick tying, things got done and it was a success. Again, thanks to my son Peter and my principal Troy for helping with food and entertainment for the luncheon. Big thanks go the school social committee (Julie Tran, Connie Chan, Thess Isidro, Joan D'Souza, and Kerri Commisso) for taking care of so many little details to create a comedy club for the students and high tea for the staff, both to honour Renee's years in education. Here are a few photos.

Library Helper Appreciation Luncheon

(Pizza, Pop, and Mario Kart on the Nintendo Switch)

Renee Retirement Event for Adults - High Tea

Renee Retirement Event for Students - Comedy Club

So, if I am a bit late in replying to an email from you, or I seem a bit frazzled, I ask your forgiveness.

Lead from the Side

 I'm going to try to be brief in today's reflection of the past week. (This is partly because I have a pile of marking to complete so that I can tabulate grades and write my report cards.) This week had three big-ish events that I wanted to mention, and I'm tying them together with the thread of "leadership".

Leacock Foundation Panel Discussion on "The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Teaching and Learning"

On Wednesday, June 5, I participated as a panelist for this discussion.

I really enjoyed speaking alongside Meaghan, Nina, Leslie, and Jessica. (Apologies for my garbled first answer - it took me a bit to "find my groove"!)

I've written before about feeling like an imposter (such as in 2011 when I was on a panel with Patsy Aldana and Annie Kidder, or my first time teaching for Queen's University in 2018). I do NOT consider myself an expert on AI. I actually use it far less than some other people on my staff (some of whom use it because I suggested it to them!) So, why on earth would I agree to involve myself in conversations like these? I think it's important to offer "less than perfect leadership" or "growing examples" in forums such as this. I was there to represent the Association for Media Literacy, and in my "day-job" as a teacher-librarian, it's vital to realize when you do have the answers as well as where to turn when you don't necessarily have the answers. I am grateful to friends like Tracey and Moses who helped me find documents that were important to read and digest, even though they aren't at the sharing stage yet, to help me demonstrate that it's okay to be "in process". Be brave, or as Miss Frizzle says, "get messy and make mistakes".

It was also wonderful to connect with some friends that I haven't seen in a while. When did so many of my colleagues and acquaintances become principals?

UNESCO Media and Information Literacy Alliance - Joint Meeting Between the North American / European Chapter and the Latin American Chapter

On Friday, June 7, I was part of a meeting with two groups from UNESCO. I am Canada's representative for the North America and Europe Chapter of the UNESCO Media and Information Literacy Alliance. On Friday, our chair, Anna B-Kos, arranged for a joint meeting with the group from Latin America. Based on my observations, I was the only one with K-12 teaching, as many of the members are academics from universities, journalists, or run NGOs. Trust me, I experience a great deal of "imposter's syndrome" but my AML colleagues and contacts from the Canadian media literacy scene (Neil, Carol, Carolyn) do such a good job of lifting me up and reminding me that with my unique background in education, I actually contribute important things to the discussion that might not occur otherwise. There was representation from Mexico, Portugal, Peru, Jamaica, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, USA, Poland, Sweden, Estonia, Greece, and Canada. 

Ontario Heritage Fair Association Provincial Heritage Fair Celebration

On Saturday, June 8, I was one of two supervisors from the Toronto District School Board to escort our regional winners to this joyful event. There were students from many boards across Ontario, such as Thames Valley District School Board, Simcoe County District School Board, the District School Board of Niagara, and TDSB. (I'm the one in the library cap at the far back on the right side.) I'm allowed to share this photo because everyone signed media release forms. I did this in 2016 and was grateful to have another opportunity like this. 

Students met at Black Creek Pioneer Village and participated in a Great Canadian Bake-Off as well as a scavenger hunt in the 19th century village. I am really impressed with how Black Creek Pioneer Village is working hard to ensure multiple perspectives of the era are shared. For instance, the recipe was a partial one that the students had to, in mixed school groups, attempt to figure out, and the recipe was from the first black woman to produce a cookbook in Ontario. The "interpreters" (which is what they call the staff who are in period costume and explain things based on the building they host on-site) come from a wider range of identities and abilities.

Lunch was catered and we ended the day with two mini-workshops, by Rabia Khokhar and Natasha Henry (from the Ontario Black History Society). 

I was proud and delighted to keep an eye out for six students from my school (Agnes Macphail PS) as well as two from another TDSB school (Duke of Connaught PS). Here's a quickly snapped photo of "my Duke kids" talking to "my Macphail kids". (Thank you Kevin, William, Liyah, Tina, Ruby, and Ella, as well as Isla and Luna!)

My colleague Mabel had an even larger number from her school, Churchill Heights PS. It was very nice to meet Kirby, a retired principal from TVDSB, and to chat with many of the students who attended the celebration. They are all passionate historians, some of whom I think were slightly disappointed that they didn't get to present their projects one more time.

I described to my husband how I assumed the role of official greeter at the start of the day, welcoming students to Black Creek and striking up conversations with the parents and other supervisors. I asked him if it's because I'm too bossy. He said that I just like helping to maintain order and stepping in where I see a need. That is also a part of servant leadership. The job is not for personal glory but for serving others for the greater good. 

Leadership can look and feel like many different things. It's not a requirement to have a title. My leadership duties this coming week will involve serving pizza, making sandwiches, and setting up spaces, in addition to a couple of little speeches. Support your official and unofficial leaders and consider how you lead in your own "side-ways".

As Society Unravels, Let's Stitch Up Sectors

 Warning: this is going to be a very meandering blog post with lots of twists and turns and tangents. You have been alerted to the danger.

Have you ever seen the trend about asking men how often they think about the Roman empire?

I asked my husband, and he admitted that he thinks about the Roman empire at least once a day.

This is why I thought he would be a worthwhile candidate to ask about the fall of Rome as well as the end of the medieval era. (When I first met my husband, he was doing graduate work at the University of Toronto's Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies.)

When do historians generally agreed that the fall of Rome occurred? He listed a few key dates / events:

• 410 AD = the sacking of the city of Rome by the Visigoths
• 476 AD = the deposing of the last Western Roman emperor
• 1453 AD = the fall of Constantinople

As for the end of the medieval era, he also offered a few different opinions:

• 1453 AD = the fall of Constantinople
• 1492 AD = Columbus' first journey to the Western Hemisphere
• 1517 AD = the publication of Martin Luther's 95 Theses

I ask about this both out of academic curiosity and because I wonder about the decline of our current society. In Grade 4 social studies, the students are learning about ancient civilization (and struggling a bit with some of the content).  Both in the news and just in family conversations, we've noticed that things feel like they are falling apart. I see a lot more disdain for authority and a disregard for rules, such as when I am driving. (Dear Toronto Police Services - if you want to make a lot of money with traffic tickets, please target all the illegal U-turns done in the middle of the Morningside Avenue near the 401.) My family members report that every time they use public transit, they witness at least one person participating in blatant fare evasion. Families don't feel as if they are as tight-knit or close as they used to be. Fewer people are having children, and those children seem to have a harder time socially, academically, and emotionally, including hardship managing without constant electronic tablet entertainment. Young adults are struggling to find a job that can pay the bills, or a way to afford to buy a home of their own. Inflation is growing and everything feels so expensive.

All of this can feel rather depressing. I confess that I felt it more this week because a new child arrived in our school with a host of challenging behaviours. It's incredible how a single person can disrupt an entire building. 

Still, within the despair of compiling report card marks and worrying that students aren't picking up ideas at the pace and level one hopes, and dealing with oppositional and dangerous conduct, there are moments that remind me not to get too discouraged. One example was inspired by the Grade 7s as they hung out in the library during the previous week's School Concert. The students decided to dress up one of their peers using large swaths of fabric that I have in the makerspace. My initial reaction was one of "What ON EARTH are these students up to?" but it mellowed as I saw the cooperation and delight. It inspired me to try it as a center with the kindergarten students. 

I really liked witnessing the creativity and problem solving. The students weren't told how to attach the fabric or how to dress the mannequin. They used various techniques of their own to fit the material where they wanted and make it stay, such as tying, threading through the metal skeleton, or using clothes pins.

I also liked seeing the teamwork, as groups of four students used the cloth to design all sorts of outfits. The end result was never the same. Here are photos of each of the groups in action, far from the finale.

Another way we can "stitch up society" might be through "taking care of our environment". On Friday, my husband and son came to my school library and spent the entire morning putting away all of the returned library books that I did not have a chance to shelve. While they did this, they fixed up all the messy shelves, with books out of order, spilled on the floor, and turned with the spines hidden. Making the space tidy and orderly brought me such a profound sense of calm, and their volunteer efforts filled me with gratitude. I begged the afternoon classes using the library not to destroy what my beloved menfolk worked so hard to restore, and for the most part, the students respected the request.

So, even though there are times where it feels like the world is going "to hell in a handbasket", it's important to try to make small differences in your own tiny corners and to notice the little moments of joy and goodness.