Always have a Plan B in case Mother Nature's plans are different than yours.

I don't know that I could've handled Innovation week at SW if everything went according to our plans. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and I think Mother Nature did her part on Monday and Thursday to slow us down so Southwest Teachers and staff had a chance to not explode from awesomeness overload.  I am proud of our staff for working together, I am proud of our kids for being engaged and excited, and I proud of the way we all adjusted on the fly to make this week a blast for our students.  Here's a short recap of what went well, and what we should probably do differently for our Innovation Week.

Monday (Also known as our "Best Day Ever")

Mother Nature started having fun with us bright and early on Monday morning.  We started Rise and Shine telling our kids that we had put together a "Best Day Ever" around Clinton for the day.  It was raining from the get go.  We had to go to a plan B in a hurry (also known as make it up as we go).  So we started to communicate bus route plans with our bus drivers and made the best out of a hairy situation.  Coach Crowdis, Jared Trickey, Connie Hileman, and Juanita Carrizales were flawless in the communication department and once we got going never broke stride.  

Fourth graders were to go to the Clinton Regional Airport for a tour (airplanes and helicopters were to fly in), get golf lessons at Riverside Golf Course, tour the Route 66 Museum, attend an art class at CHS Art Dept, do science experiments with the CHS Science Dept, and have lunch with the CHS band.  We had to scratch the Airport and Golf lessons because of rain.  Teachers took it well and led activities in the classroom or Makerspace instead.  The other activities were a blast.  CHS students lead our kids through fun and innovative activities, and the Rt. 66 museum took them on a scavenger hunt.  

Our 3rd graders got to tour the CHS Ag Farm, visit the Clinton Fire Dept, tour the Clinton Daily News, visit the Clinton Public Library, and have lunch at the First Baptist Church.  They spent the first couple of hours walking downtown in the rain and never complained.  As a matter of fact, I was so rattled that I messed their rotation up to begin with and they communicated well enough to never break stride.   Teachers are use to using plan B and are great at making "chicken salad out of chicken #@$%".  

Our 2nd graders headed to the old Armory that the City of Clinton has turned into a Rec Center for their activities.  They had a chance to play Archery Tag, climb a Rockwall, play hockey, and take a tour of the Clinton Post Office.  They were scheduled to play volleyball and do most of the activities at McClain Rogers Park.  Instead we used our gym for Hockey and had to scratch the volleyball.  It left the 2nd graders without a station to attend for the day.  Next year we need to find another great place around Clinton, along with the activities at the Armory, for our 2nd grade to experience. 

Mother Nature tried our patience on day 1 of Innovation Week, but it made us stronger.  Months of planning had started down the railroad tracks and I had the sense that our SW Family was ready for anything.  

Tuesday

2nd and 4th graders had the opportunity to attend an OKC Dodgers baseball game on Tuesday.  Our 3rd graders got to attend on May the 4th.  It was a fun experience for our kids, staff, and family members that went along.  Mrs. Paul did a great job of getting the field trip together for 500+ kids, staff, and family.  Our state has several pro sports teams, and I would like SW kids to have a chance to see several of them during their educational experience at SW.  Major League soccer, and D-League basketball trips are things I would like to look into attending the next couple of years.  

Wednesday (Little Olympics)

Just when our kids thought we couldn't throw anything else at them, we hit them with a school wide track meet.  Coach Koons and the CMS/CHS track kids and coaches helped run the events for our friendly competition.  As a coach it was fun to see the "competitive spirit" of our kids on display for the day.  We didn't get all that we had planned in for the day, but it worked out for the best.  Next year we'll need to trim a few events.  The day was a success!

Thursday (Teach Like a Pirate Day)

Mother Nature tried to through a kink in this day, but as usual our teachers found a way to make things go smoothly.  This day was my favorite day of the week!  Teachers had a chance to teach something they were passionate about and kids had the opportunity to pick what classes they wanted to attend for the day.  Art, Crafts, Baking, Exercising, Inventing, Video Gaming, Pet Care, and Collaboration were all on display.  More days at school should be spent like this!

Friday (Makerspace at the Frisco Center)  

The Clinton Public School system has shown their innovation by putting Makerspaces on every campus.  Our kids get the chance to enhance their education through inventing, experimenting, dreaming, exploring, building, and creating things in these spaces.  It was great to show off a small piece of what makes SW great to every CPS student, family, and community members.  Makerspaces have been a key to the Innovative mindset throughout our school system.

Wow what a week!!!  I won't lie...I had to sit down and relax after this week was over, but after reflecting I had a lingering question.  What's next?  This week is next!  We have 4 days to make an impact.  Use the next 4 days to give kids opportunities to engage, create, invent, learn, and be innovative.  Normal, average, "that's the way we've always done it" schools and teachers put it on cruise control.  Not SW.  At SW industriousness and enthusiasm are cornerstones to our school. Teachers will be expected to find and fill the next 4 days with innovation.  I'm excited to see how this week spurs us on to new ideas for next year.  I know my wheels are turning.  

Happy "Thank a Connie and Juanita" week

I’ve put in requests with the Clinton Mayor and the Governor of Oklahoma to see if they will officially change the name of this week to "Thank a Connie and Juanita" week.  So far they haven’t responded.  I’ve sent several requests over the past couple of months, and will continue to harass them until I get this week’s name changed.  So if you know any Connies or Juanitas, please take the time to tell them how wonderful they are!  I know two that are literally the faces of SW.  Every time someone walks through our front doors or calls us on the phone, that’s who they see and hear first.  I’m grateful for their wonderful smiles and polite, pleasant phone conversations.  They are also the SW Elementary campus mothers.  If they take care of our teachers half as much as they do myself, then they have about 550+ kids (We have around 500 students).  I watch them patiently dole out meds, give hugs, make phone calls home, schedule subs, head up fundraisers, and despite all my attempts to mess it up, keep our campus rolling like a well-oiled machine.  It’s a pleasure to work alongside both of these strong-willed, organized, and caring women.  They go above and beyond to make our campus a great place to work, teach, learn, and play.  So take some time to celebrate these awesome women this week!  Southwest couldn’t be the school it is without them.  If you see these two ladies give 'em a shout out.  Their names just happen to be Connie and Juanita and it's almost officially a week named after them.  (I'm calling the Mayor right now and the Governor next)

 

It's Pep talk time...Press On!

Allen Boyd, my HS basketball coach, is one of the reasons I got into education.  He was a great model of how to treat people, how to prepare for classroom instruction and basketball games, and how to inspire persistence and perseverance through his coaching.  He loved what he did and people could see it in the way he carried himself as a teacher, coach, husband, father, and community member.  He now inspires students at SWOSU to get into the teaching field.  Rarely do you catch the man not smiling.  One of the most inspiring messages I listened to him use with one of his basketball teams was a lesson he stole from a Calvin Coolidge quote.  "Press On"!  He knew had a special group of players.  They were 3-4 at the time he taught this lesson.  They were frustrated but had played a tough schedule to start the year.  The team went on to be a State Runner-up team.  The lesson to "Press On" was a turning point in the season.  It came from a Calvin Coolidge quote.  Coach Boyd...thanks for the life lesson!

It's been one doozy of a week at SW Elementary.  I'm pretty sure our kids have gone stir crazy over the last few weeks because of the colder weather.  When it finally warmed up this week, our students were ready to let out some pent up energy.  The way they let out that energy was not always, what I would consider, appropriate for the school setting.  Sometimes I probably do a terrible job of taking some of the stress of discipline in the classroom off of my teachers shoulders, and sometimes my teachers don't let me help enough.  Finding that balance is never easy, and it never will be.  I appreciate the patience and persistence my colleagues exercise everyday.  So here's my pep talk to my teachers this week.

"Press On"!  You have taken the time to know your kids.  You care about each and every one of them.  "Press On"!  You have a plan to give each one of them opportunities to have a successful education.  Stick with your plan!  "Press On!  We talk about modeling what we want our students to see.  We have opportunities each and every day to show them patience, persistence and perseverance pays off.  Here's your chance to show them how to "Press On"!           

Reflections of My Expectations in the Mess on the Desk!

10 weeks into the new gig and I finally have created a mess on my desk.  I've taken a lot of pride in staying on top of things, but sometimes stuff just piles up.  So today I started sifting through the mess and I found the notes I made on the first week I was here at Southwest.  It was good to read them.  I won't bore you with the details of all the notes I took.  I met with each staff member on campus and jotted down notes from each.  It was their expectations of what they expected of me, ideas to move forward, and things that we needed to get accomplished.  At the end of the notes were my ideas for the first faculty meeting with our staff, and at the very end my expectations for working at Southwest Elementary were scribbled down.  It brought a smile to my face when I had a couple of minutes to reflect on the short list of expectations.  Here they are...and yes I know I write like a doctor.

   
I'm a big John Wooden fan.  His "Pyramid of Success" stands the test of time.  The first two expectations came from his pyramid.  Industriousness and Enthusiasm.  They are his "cornerstones" of the his pyramid.  I have also taught my basketball teams these cornerstones, and I plan on teaching the staff's I lead these cornerstones.  Approach your job with hard work and have fun while doing it.

My 3rd expectation was to make our staff and students feel like they are a part of a family.  Let's plan stuff together and support each other.  Understand, respect, and  celebrate the fact that we won't always agree on everything.  We love each other unconditionally anyway.

Number four expectation could probably be called 2b.  Go out of your way to be positive.  We have a choice everyday on how we tackle the opportunities and challenges in front of us.  We can do it with a smile, patience and positive outlook, or we can choose to let those opportunities and challenges weigh us down to the point where we let our frustrations boil over.  Our students at Southwest need us to choose the smiles, patience, and positive outlook.  They need hope from us.

I sent this in an email to my teachers yesterday, and I should have sent it to every faculty member at Southwest.  "As I walked thru our school today I was proud of what you guys are doing with and saying to our kids.  Thank you for treating them like your own."  I'm proud of the people I work alongside everyday.  They work hard, have fun, treat each other, and our students, as their own, and are positive, hopeful, and expect greatness from our kids.  And I don't know of a better compliment for the faculty and staff at Southwest that I can give besides this:  I am excited that one day my children will get a chance to be a part of our Southwest Family!

I'm glad I had a mess on my desk today.

  

  

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!