Fear. When you think about that word I think we all have something different we think of. Some have a fear of snakes or spiders. Others may fear the thought of losing someone or dying alone. And in the education system we have fears too.
The fear of failure is one. We work in a system where someone is always judging us. They watch our classroom management, our understanding of the standards, our interactions with our students, our interactions with our peers, our curriculum planning and more. We all handle fear in different ways too.
Some of us do what is minimally expected without getting in trouble so that we can coast by and make things easier on ourselves and limit the possibility of failure. Some of our are so controlled by our fear that it can stop us in our tracks and make us perform worse than we could have imagined. Some of us are good at facing our fears and we tackle each one as they come.
The thing to realize is that all of us has fears in our professional careers. But what we can't ever do is let that fear control us and the decisions we make.
We have to not only find ways within ourselves to face our fears BUT we also have to continually lean on those around us to help us face our fears.
I think about the things I've faced, and am still facing in my career. There have been countless times where I convinced myself that I could fix it on my own. That I could face it on my own. And every time I come back to the realization that we weren't meant to do this alone.
And yes it's scary asking someone for help or even allowing them to see that I'm not strong enough to do it on my own. But time and time again, when I allow those walls of insecurity to come down, I find that there's someone on the other side who connects with my fear, or understands it, or is willing to help me through it because they care.
Fear can control us if we let it. But what we have to remember is that we're all growing. We're all facing struggles and battles and our own insecurities. Some of us are really good at sharing those, while others aren't. But when fear begins to creep into our lives. When it begins to cause us to stumble or lose our breath, or doubt our gifts and abilities, that is just the moment where we find our people and lean on them to remind us.
And if you're struggling finding your people, come talk to us in the office. We're all in this together and if you can't find someone who can help you, maybe we can. Or maybe we can help you find that person. The only true weakness is when we don't seek out the compassion and help of others.
My friend, Brad Montague (who also just happened to create Kid President) filmed this beautiful story about facing his own fear. I love it so much and share it everywhere. Could be great to share with your students too. The world is a scary place. Share anyway.
Week at a Glance
Tuesday - Delic On Campus
Spelling Bee
Writing Vertical - 3:30pm - TP Room
Workout - 4pm - Gym
Wednesday - Bible Study - 7:00am - TP Room
CHAMPS Committee Mtg - 3:45pm - TP Room
Thursday - Workout - 4pm - Gym
TP Time
This week we will be going through lessons and lesson plans again as before break, so bring a lesson to discuss you're doing.
Monday - 1st Grade
Tuesday - 2nd Grade
Wednesday - 5th Grade
Thursday - 4th Grade
Friday - 3rd Grade
Community Building
We are purchasing our books on Tuesday, so if you wanted to join the "Community Building" committee please make sure you sign up HERE. We already have 15 signed up from almost every grade level! Awesome!
One Word
Please make sure you've gotten a piece of card-stock from me or Mallory and have designed your one word page and hung it up on the wall in the office.
Wish Lists
For those that have already turned in wish lists and ordered things from Lakeshore, those orders have been placed! Thanks for getting me your lists quickly!
Reading to Classes
I would like to start reading to every class once a month. I am going to focus on two grade levels a week to help me do this. So this week is 4th and 5th. So if each 4th and 5th grade teacher can email me a 15 minute time block that I can come read to your class I will send you a calendar invite as confirmation!
Boosterthon
Boosterthon is going to be our campus fundraiser this year. It starts next week. It's going to be quite different from what we've done in the past as we won't be asking ANY students to sell anything. This fundraiser is kind of like WeWalk or other walking fundraisers. There are quite a few incentives as well as a character education program built into the whole thing. More information is coming but I wanted to give you a brief heads up now!
Monday January 16
Monday, January 16 is a school holiday for staff and students.
Ron Clark Academy
Remember, if you'd like to be considered to attend RCA on March 10th, please fill out THIS application and turn into me by Monday, January 30th.
Swivl Recordings
We sent out an email to all certified teachers this past week about our upcoming Swivl Recordings. These are in an effort to help all of us grow and learn together. Aaron has sent out all the calendar invites for when you will be recorded. If you are a certified teacher, and you did not receive a calendar invite, please email Aaron.
We will have everyone recorded before the end of January. You are expected to watch your recording, write a reflection while focusing on your two or three areas of refinement, and then plan a 10-15 meeting with your evaluator to discuss your evaluation.
As discussed above, fear is something that will always exists, but as we push through we learn and grow even more for the betterment of our students!
Istation
Our after school Istation program is starting Monday with Cewilla. There will be approximately 45 Third-Fifth graders in attendance. No younger siblings can stay. Students need to be sent down when Walkers are called.
Kids Deserve It
Here's this past week's episode with Eli Casaus. As we move more and more into this semester and summer keep thinking of the story you want to share for our new book! And please keep sharing your awesomeness on social media with #WebbElem so we can keep sharing our school's story with the world!
Blogs/Articles
Rockstar Educators
Loriann Whitman - Loriann is one of our 4th Grade Reading Teachers and is in her second year of teaching. Loriann took a leap with me and left 5th Grade to teach 4th! Though she's faced some struggles, what I am constantly amazed by with Loriann is her ability to seek out help. She isn't afraid to say when she doesn't know how to do something or knows there's a better way. I was blown away when Loriann selected her T-TESS during her most difficult class and a lesson she was nervous about because she knew it would provide her with the best opportunity to grow. WOW! For any teacher, much less a second year teacher, to have that kind of understanding of what it truly means to be a teacher is amazing.
Lisa Marsh - Lisa is one of our Kinder teachers. I love listening to Lisa. She has so many great stories to share, brings such passion and ideas, as well as never gives up. This year especially, Lisa has faced her share of trials personally and professionally. I am always amazed at the resilience of teachers in the midst of tragedy. Especially in the last few weeks we've been at school I've begun to see that passion return and that joy, all while still facing terrible grief. I love how Lisa also cares so deeply for her students that she will try 100 different things, even for one child, until she finds the one thing that works. And this week there was great celebration as she may have found one thing, for one child! I love working with teachers with this attitude!
Sharon Ganske - Sharon is our Life Skills 2 teacher. If you haven't take time to spend 5-10 minutes in Sharon's class, I challenge you to this week. This week take a few minutes to drop by and see her in action with her students, and meet her students. Sharon has been a blessing since I have come to Navasota. I am a better educator and person because of the learning I've gotten from Sharon. She cares so deeply about her students and is truly the example of never giving up on a child. I am blown away on almost a daily basis by her commitment and compassion. Sharon is truly a gift to not only this campus, but to her students.
In Closing....
This week, begin to face your fears. Ask for help. Let us grow TOGETHER.
And remember those around you are facing their fears, and it's hard and scary. But let's help our kids face their academic and emotional fears too.
And what's more, let's not make an excuses for our students. Let us never say the words "they're not ready for that", "They can't handle that", "my kids could never do that". Because as this video reminds us below, when we quit making excuses for kids, they will blow us away every time!
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