My November Board Report

Just a glimpse of what went on the last month or so at SW Elementary.  Enjoy!

How to hit the curve ball.

I love baseball.  It's the greatest game.  I've learned many things throughout my 30 years of playing/coaching the game.  How to hit a curve ball is one of the skills I was taught.  The curve ball moves downward the closer it gets to the batter.  A good curve ball is hard to square up because of the spin and the speed. The hitter has to read the spin on the ball out of the pitcher's hand immediately, or the hitter has to get lucky and guess that the pitcher is throwing one in order to hit it hard.  The most disciplined hitters, the ones with the great batting averages don't guess.  They can read the spin. It takes hours and hours of batting cage work to read the spin out of the pitchers hand.  The other discipline a hitter has to learn in order to hit a curve ball hard is to keep their hands and their weight back.  If you get ahead of yourself, the speed of the curve ball will make you swing and miss because of the timing, or if will make you hit a weak ground ball for an easy out.  The best hitters stay back and try to hit the pitch right back through the middle of the field.  Lots of times in batting practice coaches will tell the hitter to try to take the pitchers head off when hitting the curve ball. 

So why am I talking about hitting a curve ball?  Because my life was thrown a "12 to 6" curve ball, and I believe that this baseball skill I learned is a great lesson for life also.   I started out the year as an Assistant HS principal at Clinton High.  I am currently (for 4 weeks now) the Principal at SW Elementary.  It is the 2nd through 4th grade campus for Clinton Public Schools.  If I try to hit this pitch (the SW Principal position) like I was timing up the last pitch (the CHS Assistant Principal position) I am going to swing and miss or hit a weak grounder to the 3rd basemen.  The most important part of this whole at bat (coming to SW) is for me to sit back and wait on the right time to hit this curve ball back at life.  I can read the spin on this pitch and it doesn't look like I'm working with 9th through 12th grade students.  The spin is definitely different.  This at bat entails me taking the time to get to know the faculty and staff and their expectations at SW.  It also is important that they start getting a feel for me and my expectations.  My  job is to give our students a learning environment that is safe, supportive, creative, and enthusiastic.  I can help create that by supporting, encouraging, and leading our "Rockstar" faculty and staff on campus. 

The best MLB hitters have lifetime averages of .300 or better.  They fail 7 out of 10 times.  It take perseverance and persistence to be a great hitter.  If you get your head down every time you miss a pitch, you might also miss the next few.  I feel like I'm prepared for the curve ball that has been thrown my way.  My plan for this at bat is to take the pitcher's (life) head off.  I want our SW Elementary faculty and staff to keep giving our students the opportunities for a great public education.  If I happen to swing  through a pitch or two, that's alright.  I'll step to the plate at my next at bat and have a plan for it.  

    

What made CHS innovative in week #5

International Observe the Moon Night makes CHS and CPS INNOVATIVE!  

I hope you had the chance to see our Science department at CPS in action on Saturday night.  It was a group of our educators 'thinking outside the box" to give our K-12 students a chance to experience learning in a fun way.  My favorite stations were the telescope observation of the moon, the "meteors on the moon" experiment using marbles, flour, and hot cocoa powder, and the "phases of the moon" project using Oreo cookies.  Thank you CPS Science department for giving our kids the experience!


The collaboration of our English department sparks INNOVATION!

The CHS English department is awesome at working together.  I always see these ladies talking about what works, what doesn't, and what can we try next.  Their collaboration bleeds over into their classrooms.  Their students are great at collaborating.  Ladies...thanks for modeling teamwork to our kids!  A great example of innovation occurred in an English IV class this last week.  Mrs. Bryson did a "Self Identity" project using music lyrics, but the finishing touch to it fell apart.  Yes I just said that.  The students were to listen to a song, analyze the lyrics, and then give a presentation over it answering a couple of questions.  The end to the project wasn't good, but that's the challenge and the risk to being innovative.  Sometimes it doesn't work out in class like it did when planning for it.  Mrs. Bryson's reflection on the project is dead on though. She felt "like the idea was good", the student discussion wasn't "too bad", and the presentations weren't very good.  After speaking with her about it, I was encouraged because she saw this as an opportunity for her students to get better at public speaking.  Great outlook!  This is a chance for our kids to get better.  I will be interested to see what it looks like further down the road this year.



Another inspiring story this week

I was proud of our 9th grade football team this week vs Anadarko.  Here's my tweet after the game.

Nathan Meget @NMeget  Sep 17

We see you Freshmen football! Pads poppin and playing with SWAG! Gr8 job tonight. Keep playing hard #cpsreds #redtornadopride #smashmouth

• RETWEETS2
• FAVORITES6
• 

7:45 PM - 17 Sep 2015 · Details

I was proud not only because of the 20-8 victory, but also because of the way these young men have improved over their short football careers.  They keep getting better.  They seem to genuinely play for each other.  They are excited and enthusiastic about what they are doing.  It was awesome watching them fly around Thursday night.  What more could we ask of our students?  Get better, have servant's hearts, and bring enthusiasm to what you do.  Keep up the good work Coach J, Coach Blackburn, and the Freshmen Reds!

I'll leave you with this Thomas Edison quote.  Have a great week!

I'm going to change my world (CHS) one good conversation at a time.

Sorry for the link, but it's my reflection and I am gonna share things that make me sit back and say...

1.  AHA! That woulda been helpful_(insert number of years ago here)__

2.  Yup.  That's me right there.  I probably should change that.

3.  What a load of __(insert your favorite cuss word here)__!

4.  That's exactly how _(so and so)  teaches/coaches.  

Read the following article.  I bet you have some of the same thoughts I do.  It's from www.edutopia.org and it is about some of the worst things we can say as teachers/leaders/parents.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/13-common-sayings-to-avoid-richard-curwin 


Now to the great stuff I've seen this week.

CHS Band Rocks!  They've put in the extra time and effort to have a great year.  Mrs. Morgan, Mr. Stegall, and Mrs. Tarkington have these students sounding great.  Their enthusiasm is contagious.  I've had a sneak peek at the playlist for tonight's football game, and it's gonna be awesome!

The Custer County Fair has been a showcase of CHS students!  From FCCLA goods to livestock, the CHS programs, products and animals have stood out.  Make sure and let these teachers and students know how proud you are to have them representing our school.

It's been great to see so many projects going on this week.  Some of the best ones have been student led.  It's awesome to see teachers help facilitate discussion in classes and not just dominate them.  I know I learn best by diving headfirst into something and messing it up.  Our kids are getting those opportunities.  They are also getting the opportunities to teach/lead in many situations.  There is no better way to learn.  Keep it up teachers/leaders!

The best part of my week was seeing a mom's eyes light up when I had the chance to explain how awesome her kid was.  I hope/wish as a staff that we are taking every opportunity to let our parents/guardians know the good things our kids are doing.  That's my challenge to our staff.  What are you sharing that is positive about our kids?!!  What ways are you proud of our town and community.  Don't keep those to yourself.  Make a phone call to a parent/guardian at minimum of once a week and see how your world (CHS) starts to change.  I bet it changes for the better.

Dress code woes!

Great week!  I've was challenged to share great news with one parent/guardian every day, and it has led to fun conversations with parents and their kids.  The other challenge laid down this week was to share pics of awesome things happening in our school with the local paper.  One a day.  We have got to spread the news of how awesome our kids and teachers are.  If we don't do it, who will?

But...my week has also been consumed with something that I need help with.  So if you have any opinions or suggestions to help my dilemma, please share.

I could spend most of my day every day dealing with students who are violating, or on the cusp of violating the dress code.  I don't expect our faculty and staff to deal with it because I think they have plenty on their plate to deal with.  On their totem pole of priorities, I hope this is at the bottom.  Let me and Mr. Stringer be the "bad guys" on this.  Most of the student violations come from females.  I have attached a youtube video. I imagine some of our students share some of the same struggles as the students in the video.  It's 30 minutes long, but offers interesting perspectives.

https://youtu.be/XDgAZO_5U_U

I struggle with enforcing the dress code not because I think it's a bad thing.  My personal belief is that our kids should follow it to a "T".  I struggle with it because I don't know that my enforcement, or teachers enforcement, is always in the best interest of our students.  I want them to be comfortable coming to school.  I want them to feel welcome.  I also want them to make the choice to dress appropriately.  I don't want them to do it "because I said so".

So here is what I have tried doing so far this year.  I casually stop kids, when I notice a dress code violation, and ask them if they have anything they can change into. (I try to make it an inconspicuous conversation)  If not I let them know there are clothes available at school that they can change into.  I also ask them not to wear the outfit again.  90% of the time the kids do as I ask.  The other 10% that don't make my blood boil, but I chose not to make it a big deal.  I chose to find time, that didn't interrupt class because most of this 10% are brilliant and bring great things to discussions in class, to have a conversation with these kids.  So far those conversations have been great. The kids get a chance to share their opinion and thoughts and I get a chance to share mine.  We will see if it has an impact.

Anyways...these are my manic thoughts for the week.  Our teachers and students were great this week.  They were creative, brilliant, and passionate about what they have been doing.  They are the wolves that are changing our environment in a positive manner.  My hope is to help with that, not create an atmosphere that disrupts that.  Therein lies my dilemma with the dress code.  Please help!

My Favorites from the first full week of 2015-16 at CHS

I decided to name my blog "Meget's Manic Minutes" because I wanted to be able to give brief reflections of my week.  I don't want a long blog, but I want to be able to rehash what I saw, and I have seen a lot this week.  I can't cover it all.  I also want to keep this blog about the good things going on at CHS.  Every once in a while I might throw in a struggle or two, but I want to share greatness from CHS.  Here goes nothing.

On Monday...

Mrs. Garrison makes her kids feel at ease.  She is great at checking individual understanding with students during the assignment/project time in class.  I appreciate her demeanor and patience with her students.  

On Tuesday...

Mrs. Wheeler had her students bring an item to class that sparked conversation about themselves. Students shared passions and details about their life.  What a great way to make kids feel like a part of the class.  

Coach King brought his coaching expertise into the classroom.  One thing I've have always thought holds true, your best coaches are great in the classroom.  They are good at breaking fundamentals down and getting students/athletes to understand.  Coach Kings breakdown of keyboarding fundamentals was actually fun to see.

Mrs. Berry has a problem on her hands, but it's a great problem to have.  Her Art program is busting at the seams.  CHS has a ton of great, budding Artists.  We have to find a way to give them space to work.  Of course she makes her space work, but one of these days we are gonna have to find a way to give our kids some elbow room to work on their master pieces. 

On Wednesday...

Coach Beck was highlighting an interview from N. Scott Momaday. It was an actual radio interview with the Pulitzer Prize winning author from Oklahoma.  I especially liked the part about having the students write a reflection on the interview.  

Mrs. Johnson's class was learning to make peach jam, peach cobbler, and pickles.  I see some added weight to my frame in the future if her kids can cook.  

Mrs. Rodriguez Biology students were using the Scientific Method to find a mystery powder.  I used the Periscope app to show the lab.  Her students explained the procedure and answered my questions in an impressive manner.  

On Thursday...

Mr. Miller had his welders putting together iron gates for CMS.  It's awesome that our students take part in making our campuses better by fine tuning their skills.  

Mrs. Hough had the chance to meet with her Teacher Cadet students.  These kids will be all throughout CPS schools helping in Classrooms.  Like I've said before, having a servant's heart is a great way to lead.  These kids are doing just that. 

Coach Pinnell has her volleyball kids rolling!  The Lady Reds are 12-2 and have won 9 straight. 

On Friday...

Well its 7AM so today I haven't had the chance to see our school in action, but I bet I get the chance to see something or someone that I can learn from today.  Have a great weekend! 

  

A few thoughts on a few great things at CHS

If you've not watched The Clinton HS Volleyball girls play, find a home game and make it a priority.  They represent what's great about CHS!  They are resilient, ferocious, athletic, poised, confident, and execute at a high level.

Speaking of executing at a high level...CHS Teachers have it going on!  If you are a new Teacher, or are a veteran just looking to add some new things to your repertoire, take your plan period to go observe the ones who you know get it done in the classroom.  We have innovative teachers that are at our finger tips that we can all learn something from.  If you don't know who to go watch and you are interested in seeing some great classroom skills, hit me up and I'll send you in the right direction.

Take time to emphasize to our students with "Servants Hearts" that they are greatly appreciated.  Most of them probably don't even realize the gift they have of leading with a servant attitude.  Many of our students give of their time to make CHS great.  One group that I admire are the trainers that help our Athletic teams.  They get very little in return for the many selfless hours they put into helping our sports programs roll smoothly.  Give them a pat on the back, a thank you, or a high five and let them know they are important.

My last thought is a piggy back to what Mr. Stringer sent out in an email at the first of the week..."Make sure when you visit with anyone you treat them like they are the most important person in the world."

Just a big Thank You!

Most of us know this feeling.  I've started my 15th school year in education, and I have felt this way for 15 straight first days of school.  I don't feel this way today because I feel like I'm in over my head (that's exactly what I felt like the first year).  I feel this way today because it was done in warp speed.  I am going to petition that the first day of school should be a 16 hour day (I know what you're thinking...I'll kill him if he really does this).  That still may not be enough time to get everything done the way it was planned in my head all Summer long.  I'm thankful for the staff at CHS.  The custodian, teachers, aides, secretaries, counselors, central office staff, and the administrators all worked together today to get the year started out right.  Some things went smoothly, and other things did not.  Our CHS wolf pack adjusted on the fly and did it with smiles on our faces.   We worked together and modeled for our students how to work as a unit and communicate and find solutions to problems.  Thanks for your patience, perserverance, and awesome enthusiasm today CHS!  Our students will learn many great lessons if we keep modeling excellence for them.  What a great day to be a Red Tornado!

It's heeeeeeeeere!

We're back!

 
I don't know about you, but this has been an awesome Summer!  It has flown by, but I wouldn't change it for the world.  People always act surprised when I tell them that I am ready to go back to work.  I enjoy my job.  I guess I might be in the minority.  In the words of our fearless leader "It's a great day to be a Red Tornado!"

George Couros did an excellent job on Wednesday.  Follow him on Twitter @gcouros.  He spoke about it and many of you already are aware, Twitter is a great place for personal professional development.  There are many great educational minds that are at our finger tips.  Connect with them to improve your professional growth. I also was introduced to the Periscope app on Wednesday during our EdCamp.  What a great tool to use to show off a class project!  @DonWettrick has a genius hour with his students that is fun to interact with on Pericope.

Mr. Stringer challenged us to take on the mentality of a wolf on Thursday.  Be controversial, serve and shepherd, improve the diversity of the forest (change a river), and most of all connect our students to the bigger picture.  Most of us are probably going to fall on our face sometime this year trying something innovative.  When that happens we will have a chance for modeling a powerful lesson for our students.  It's ok to fail.  It's how we learn to do it better after we fail that is key.

Fridays biggest take away for me was to do this weekly.  REFLECT.  Write or talk about what worked, what didn't, what was exciting, and what needs change.  I expect to see the same from our teaching staff this year.  Talk about great things in class, and also talk about falling on your face.  More importantly talk about what you are learning to model what we want for our students.