Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Giving Thanks


I've been having conversations with my son, Jaeden, about what he is thankful for, and realized today that I have not taken the time to personally reflect and express my gratitude for those who make this incredibly complicated job (and life) meaningful, fulfilling, and purposeful.  So here's my gratitude list, and I hope you will take time over the next few days to generate your own. Best wishes for a safe and restful Thanksgiving holiday!

Dr. Patterson's Gratitude List...
  1. A precocious 10-year old son, a 17-year old nephew I've raised since 6th grade who is finishing up his senior year with the best grades ever, and a super-supportive mom that is the only reason I'm able to balance it all...
Senior Night at Riverwood, Nov. 2012
 
  2. An incredibly talented staff that believes in our school, our students, and community. Problem-    solvers, cheerleaders, worker-bees, data-crunchers, 12-hour day pullers committed to teaching, inspiring, and empowering our students!
I was so honored to recognize our Teacher of the Year, Carrie Gilliland, and Professional of the Year, Amanda Groover, at the annual Legacy of Excellence Awards!


Welcome Matt Pierce, our newest G-Hall Assistant! 
  3. A career that pushes me and stretches me to learn, grow, and develop professionally, forcing me to step out of my comfort zone and engage in ways that are new, different, and previously even a bit uncomfortable. ALL of us are feeling the pressure, but when I reflect, I am thankful for the learning opportunities that are being created from the experience. 
Me and Tiki Warmouth, 5th 3rd Bank Manager and Hopewell's Principal for a Day
Can you keep a secret? I'm actually incredibly shy and one of my Leader Keys goals is to develop relationships and partnerships in the community!
 
4. Family, friends, and colleagues that encourage, support, nurture, calm, listen, sacrifice, and put up with me, flaws and all! I am continually overwhelmed by other's generosity and kindess, and I am ever-so-thankful for how it's demonstrated in our workplace.  So in the words of Jerry Springer, "Be Kind to Others..."  Have a wonderful holiday and count your blessings!
 
Congrats to Alicia Pruitt, Hopewell's Employee of the Month for October!

7th Grade Teachers say "Peace Out" to Drugs





 




Thursday, October 18, 2012

Going the EXTRA mile...

These teens stopped by to show support for
Hopewell's Sock Hop!



















These 50's princesses went the extra mile!


How do you go the extra mile on behalf of students? Maybe it's dressing up to show support for a special cause, maybe it's making yourself available every morning for students who need just a little bit more time, maybe it's the tokens of recognition you provide to celebrate students. Whatever it is, IT MATTERS!


Grabbed this from Pinterest...enjoy!

Source: visual.ly via ASCD on Pinterest

Friday, September 21, 2012

Communicating with Parents

Ms. Beem, Mrs. Whissel, and Mrs. Dye
TEACH, INSPIRE, and EMPOWER our students every day!

Communication...

If you scroll through last year's blog posts, you'll find a March post regarding effective communication. I summarized the best practices for communication with 3 P's: Positive, Proactive, and Periodic. The power of effective communication can never be emphasized enough, which is why I'm writing about communication, AGAIN.  This time, however, I've found someone else's words to drive home the point...

We all know that the teachingchannel.org website has great videos for professional development, but it's also a great place for resources on just about all things education.  This week, Sarah Brown Wessling, a high school Language Arts teachers is being featured for her blog post called "Emailing Parents: How to Avoid Unintended Consequences."  You've GOT to check out her email templates for parents! She has 3 great email examples that you can use!

Wessling has the following reminders for communicating with parents:
  1. Don't get defensive.
  2. Remember that you're ALWAYS teaching, including teaching parents how you support kids
  3. No one is perfect. You make mistakes and parents can, too.
  4. Every time you communicate with a parent is an opportunity - use it to your advantage.
  5. Don't be afraid to pick up the phone.
To view the sample email messages and read the blog in more detail, go to:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2012/09/20/emailing-parents/

Remember, our vision is to be a place where RELATIONSHIPS matter, LEARNING matters, and PERFORMANCE matters...



Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Dealing with Toxic Gossip at Work

Mrs. Novelli modeled silent reading during DEAR time with her students!

Let's stay positive and look for the BRIGHT SPOTS!
 
Access the link to this article and sign up for the Crucial Skills newsletter: http://now.eloqua.com/es.asp?s=567&e=164606&elq=7c93a5cc73354256a34be23a5afdf902

Q Dear Crucial Skills,
One of my main concerns at work is how we talk about each other—the staff lunchroom can be especially toxic. What feels most shocking to me is how our boss is often thrown under the bus.

I am having a hard time thinking of an appropriate comment to make as I feel that listening to these conversations implies my agreement. And I have to admit there have been times when I've piped up with a rude wise-crack or two, so I don't want to seem like I'm above it all. There are times I just avoid the lunchroom and I know others do, too.

What suggestions do you have for responding to wisecracks made behind coworkers' backs?

Staying In From the Lunch Room

A Dear Staying In,

You've done a great job of describing a familiar problem. I bet many of us have been in the same situation. We're joking around in the lunchroom, one-upping each other's wisecracks, when somehow the topic turns to our boss or maybe to a colleague. We keep on with the jokes and banter, but at some point, it crosses the line from play to poison. As you said, we're throwing someone under the bus—all in the name of fun.

In these situations, silence isn't golden. It's agreement. When we don't speak up, we show our support for the people doing the badmouthing. We're helping to throw the person under the bus.

It's this kind of poisonous conversation that causes bad morale to spread across a team or organization. It begins with a seemingly innocuous joke, which is really the leading edge of an attack. Instead of saying something like, "I see it differently," others in the conversation remain silent or add to the wisecrack, amplifying the attack.

The group is creating a villain story at someone's expense, without stopping to question the story's truth or giving the person a chance to respond. As the story is repeated and grows unchallenged, it becomes full of what the comedian Stephen Colbert calls, "truthiness." It may be several steps away from the facts, but it feels true. And it poisons the workplace.

Why do we do this? Sometimes it's because we don't know the person's true motives and we assume the worst. Jamaicans have a saying, "If you don't know a man, you'll invent him." The implication is that we'll invent him as an ogre. Few of us know our managers—especially senior leaders—really well. We aren't privy to their information or motives. And as the saying suggests, we judge them harshly. We don't give them the benefit of the doubt.

Sometimes these conversations are as simple as failing to give the benefit of the doubt, but often there is more going on. Sometimes your colleague is motivated by jealousy, revenge, fear, or dislike. Regardless of the cause, you need to speak up when you see this inappropriate behavior.

Use CPR to decide what to say. CPR stands for Content, Pattern, and Relationship. CPR can help you think about a problem and decide how to focus your conversation.

Suppose a person at your table says, "Sure, the boss says she's trying to improve staffing levels, but that's just to shut us up. What she really means is 'staphing' levels—you know like a staph infection!"

A statement like this may contain issues related to Content, Pattern, and Relationship. As a problem-solver, you can decide which issues are most central to you. You can use CPR to focus on the issues that are closest to the heart of your concerns.

Content: Addressing the content means you focus on the facts in the person's statement. Focusing on content is usually the simplest and safest way to respond because you aren't drawing any conclusions beyond what the person has just said. An example of addressing the content would be, "I don't think she's trying to shut us up. Why do you think that?" Addressing the content frames the problem as a question of facts. It focuses the discussion toward what your manager said and why your colleague doesn't believe it.

Pattern: Suppose this comment is just one in a pattern of passive-aggressive comments this group uses to badmouth the boss. Then, you might address this pattern by saying, "I like the way we kid around with each other, but not when we start to throw people under the bus—people who aren't here to defend themselves." Addressing the pattern focuses on your colleagues' inappropriate behavior. It's a tougher discussion, but it may be closer to the heart of your concern.

Relationship: The long-term impact of these corrosive conversations is the undermining of trust and respect. The relationship with the boss is put at risk. If you feel that people's comments reveal a rupture in basic trust and respect for your boss, then you might address the relationship itself: "It sounds as if you're questioning whether you can trust and respect her. Is that right? If that's your concern, then I think you need to find a way to talk with her and hash it out." Note that you may decide to have this conversation in private, instead of putting the person on the spot in front of everyone. Again, it's a tough discussion, but it may be closer to the heart of your concern.

The mistake many problem-solvers make is to focus on content, the simple and safe route, when their true concern involves the pattern or relationship. They address a problem, but it's not the problem they really care about.

This CPR skill can be used in a wide variety of situations, not just in confronting gossip about your boss. The next time you have a concern, use CPR to decide which part of the concern to address. CPR can help you focus on the heart of your gossip problem.

David

Friday, August 24, 2012

The Bus Is In Motion...

It's a new school year, and things are probably feeling pretty different. The bus is in motion! There are many changes to adjust to, and it will definitely take some time before we feel like we're in a routine. Change is not easy for anyone!  Ultimately, however, if we focus on the intended outcomes of the change, we can to terms with change and look forward seeing to the fruits of our labor. If you've being a "negative Nelly" lately, ask yourself, "Am I part of the solution or part of the problem? Have I allowed myself to be on board and just TRY?"  My challenge for all of us, is to corral the negative energy and focus on finding the positive.  We're all in this together, and if you need something, just ask! 

I came across these tips below for adjusting to change, and number 1 has been helpful for me especially...
1. Identify supportive people in your life.
2. Recall past coping skills.
3. Maintain some normalcy.
4. Don't stifle your emotions.

5. Embrace the change.
 
 

Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine. ~Robert C. Gallagher



Congratulations to our newest Master Teachers, Tina D'Aversa, Sherri Morales, and
Deb Lajewski (not pictured). They join Robin Berlin and Mark Poole in achieving this high honor.  Way to go Mustangs!!! We're proud of you!!!


 

Monday, March 19, 2012

3 P's of Communication

Positive, Proactive, and Periodic Communication
The Keys to Our Success


Especially at this time of year, when emotions run high and exhaustion has set in, it's important to remember that communication is key, and that how we say things is just as important as what we say. The following guidelines for communicating will help you focus on the how and ensure that you finish out the year successfully!

Remain Positive
  •  Always consider your tone, particularly when responding to a request that has put you on the defensive.  Take a moment to collect your thoughts before you prepare a response.  Talk through what you would like to say with someone else for feedback.
  • Always respond with a proper greeting. In email, be sure to start with "Dear ________," and close with "Sincerely," "Respectfully," or another positive closing.
  • Assure parents that you are available and willing to discuss their concerns.
  • Consider how exclamation points, capital letters, and emails written in red may be perceived.

Hopewell's Languapalooza Winners and Sponsors

Be Proactive
  • The time to share concerns about a student is when the problem first arises. Don't wait until a parent reaches out to you!  Imagine emailing your child's teacher about a low grade on a test only to be told that the problem is your child's behavior, and it's been a problem for 3 months!
  • Establish a relationship with your parents early on. That way, if and when there is an issue, the first contact you make isn't a negative one.
Hopewell's Technology Fair Winners

Communicate Periodically
  • Check-in with your families occasionally. Send a reminder about an upcoming project or activity, share enrichment opportunities, stay in contact!
  • Share good news about students, particularly when a struggling student experiences success. What a breath of fresh air that would be for him/her!
2012 Employee of the Year Nominees




Sunday, February 26, 2012

Professional Learning Communities - Introduction

As we continue to focus on improvement of teaching and learning at our school, we will begin the work of developing "Professional Learning Communities." PLCs at Hopewell will primarily be structured by content, so that in department and grade-level content teams we can examine our practice through collaborative planning, examining student work, analyzing data, and peer-to-peer feedback.  The following are the "big ideas" at the core of PLCs*:

#1 - Ensuring that students learn
As a professional learning community, the team considers:
  • What do we want each student to learn?

  • How will we know when each student has learned it?

  • How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning?


  • #2 - A culture of collaboration
    The powerful collaboration that characterizes professional learning communities is a systematic process in which teachers work together to analyze and improve their classroom practice. Teachers work in teams, engaging in an ongoing cycle of questions that promote deep team learning. This process, in turn, leads to higher levels of student achievement.

    #3 - A focus on results
    PLCs judge their effectiveness based on results. Every teacher team participates in an ongoing process of identifying the current level of student achievement, establishing a goal to improve the current level, working together to achieve that goal, and providing periodic evidence of progress.


    Working collaboratively provides the opportunity for us to share ideas and learn from each other.


    *Dufour, Richard,
    Educational Leadership
    May 2004 | Volume 61 | Number 8
    Schools as Learning Communities Pages 6-11
    What Is a "Professional Learning Community"?