Encouragement Makes a Difference

As we move into our school year and at home with our children, we can at times miss opportunities to highlight the positives. Building relationships with our students and motivating them can be achieved by emphasizing the positive. Even if we have bad days or a student's behavior is not on target, don't forget to build encouragement into a stressful day. Giving the support may just mean the difference in success and failure. 

Words of encouragement get and keep students connected and motivated. Below are a dozen examples shared by Allen Mendler on Edutopia . Find an excuse to share at least a few of these every day.

• You really hung in there by _______.
• That was really cool.
• Wow, you pushed yourself today, and it really worked out.
• I was so impressed today when you _______.
• It was awesome to see you _______.
• That took some special effort.
• I hope you feel proud about _______, because you should.
• Thanks for putting a smile on my face when you _______.
• It's not easy to _______, but you are making it happen.
• Your cooperation is really appreciated. Thanks.
• That was flat-out good!
• Congratulations! (And then be specific about what you are congratulating.)

You may know many other positive affirmations to share with your students.

Be consistent.

Be supportive.

Be encouraging.

Be the difference.

#makingadifference

http://www.edutopia.org/

Digital Footprint

My Digital Footprint

Information below shared from:  http://technicallyteamann.com/

Website is a great resource for educators or administrators.

It’s important that we as “lead learners” model what our digital footprint should look like. We should show our students a conscientious, mature digital presence. Your digital footprint is seeing what you do online as potential tools for learning, finding like-minded peers, and building reputations as thoughtful contributors to meaningful digital conversations. Here is my digital footprint. 

About.me:  An about.me page is a visual aggregator of all the places you can be found online. This site could be used as a way to quickly share their philosophy of education as well anywhere you learn. Let an About.me page be your launching site for social media!

Connected Principals: A site developed for the shared thoughts of school administrators that want to share best practices in education. All of the authors have different experiences in education but all have the same goal; what is best for students. I am honored to be included here.

Twitter: No longer just used as a platform to share what you’ve had for lunch, Twitter has become a dynamic community for educators who strive to better themselves through professional and personal relationships. These connections inspire and motivate me daily and keep me current on all things education. 

Google +: Another platform to connect socially and professionally. 

Instagram: Used personally, this medium is a great way to share visually all that you love. Professionally, an incredible way to tell your story.

Pinterest: Not just a place to find recipes or outfits, Pinterest has exploded into education for teachers and learners. Interest boards can be a great way to collaborate with other teachers. You can share ideas, resources, videos, news articles, infographics, and images. You don’t have to be working in the same school, or even the same country, to be able to work on the same collection of resources.

Vine: A short snippet of a fun video that just might brighten your day or clarify an educational concept. While I don’t use this tool professionally, the potential impact of 

Symballoo: A way to access links you use regularly. It’s also a great tool to share links during a presentation.  

Facebook: Although this is more for my own personal connections, I believe that knowing and understanding Facebook is an important practice for educators who want to ensure that they understand the world that our students are growing up in. They need to know how to use their digital power for good and not evil!

SAVMP: Looking to help develop administrators to lead innovative school environments that meet the needs of students today, I have been lucky enough to help George Couros with the “School Administrator Virtual Mentor Program” (#SVAMP).

LinkedIn: An easy place to share your expertise with others.

Finding the Genius In All Our Students

I thought you might enjoy. I follow a Blog called Connected Principals. Love a lot of the ideas shared and this one today reminds me of how unique all our students are! I know we are working hard on SLO's, Unit Writing, Benchmarks, etc. The primary goal truly is to find the Genius in all our students. #makingadifference #Beech

Enjoy the video and article below:
http://connectedprincipals.com/archives/11862

September

September has proven to be an exciting month. Students are learning and thriving and MAP testing is coming to an end. I have been in classrooms through the building over the past few weeks and I am super excited about how our students are growing into researchers, scientists and authors! Students have been building roller coasters, writing personal narratives and solving equations. 

Our students are becoming extremely tech savvy. They are using email, Google everything and are not afraid to try something new.

Our students are truly developing Life and Career Characteristics, World Class Knowledge and World Class Skills. Go Beech Springs!