Monday Molly Musings: 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.