News from HMS Principal

[drmaurerprincipal]

[drmaurerprincipal]

Great day at HMS on Friday August 4.

What a GREAT day yesterday at HMS. Most of the new staff was able to be there, along with all of their mentors. Your new school improvement team was also there to meet our new family members, as well as getting a leg up on the back to school process and having a discussion over the book I ask them to read over the summer. I provided lunch for everyone and it was simply a great day. Looking forward to seeing everyone on Friday morning at the district in-service, and then the following week as we get closer to the actual start of school. Have a GREAT day!

[drmaurerprincipal]

[drmaurerprincipal]

You will or you won't, you do or you don't. There is no try.

[drmaurerprincipal]

[drmaurerprincipal]

GREAT quote as we move forward.

[drmaurerprincipal]

The Unlearning Leader

The first assignment for your new school improvement team (SIP) is to read this book prior to our next meeting on Friday, August 4, when the new staff members to HMS will get to meet the team. The new SIP team members are: Dawn Blue, Ashleigh Chaffee, Janet Dougan, Brad Johnson, Chris Pinaire, Chevella Portley, Krista Pottier, Jason Halling, Samantha Glover, and myself. This team is a separate group from the department chair teacher leader team. While some of these individuals will function in both roles, others will not. As the previous post implied, “maybe it’s about starting over and creating something better.”

As the book states, “Nostalgia has a place - in museums and other venues, but not in schools. . . . nostalgic policies might be destroying public education.” (p. xi) As we move forward during this next school year, we will need to unlearn our nostalgic practices, and then relearn. “Yesterday may have been groovy and keen, but it’s over. Today is grand, and it’s here that we live. Tomorrow should be something new and better, and for that we unlearn and recreate.” (p. 19)

As stated, your SIP team is reading and then studying this book so that we can all unlearn and then recreate to move HMS forward. The book is pictured below in the event you would like to invest personally in this reading/learning opportunity. Have a GREAT day!

[drmaurerprincipal]

Clean Slate Daily!

[drmaurerprincipal]

Don't care if you agree or not, MJ was the best ever to play the game, and has some excellent words of advice for anyone wanting to make tomorrow better than today.

[drmaurerprincipal]

Team Philosophy to Think About

[drmaurerprincipal]

Leadership

Thanks to Chevella P, I have this quote to share.

“Will you step up and say, ‘I will lead’? Leadership is an activity not a position.”

As I state all of the time, whether you like it or not, everyone is a leader all of the time. The real question is, will you lead in a positive manner, or a negative manner? You either do or you don't. There is no try.

[drmaurerprincipal]

So simply stated, so necessary to implement.

[drmaurerprincipal]

Change is on its Way!

Thank you to Mrs. Glover for sending me this picture.

[drmaurerprincipal]

Unconditional by Design

As stated in my promotion address in May, the top three things teachers want from their students: 1) a positive attitude, 2) unconditional respect, and 3) to be self-motivated. The top three things students want from their teachers: 1) a positive attitude, 2) unconditional respect, and 3) unconditional love. Isn't it amazing how the two lists are so similar?

As stated during my promotion speech, unconditional respect and unconditional love for both groups is quite simple in nature, yet difficult to accomplish. Unconditional, in that nothing is expected in return. Unconditional, in that grudges are not held, excuses are not made, and mediocrity is not acceptable. You are all in, all of the time. Unconditional, in that every day begins with a clean slate, regardless of prior circumstances.

This concept goes hand-in-hand with our Capturing Kids Hearts initiative. The first step of CKH has always been; meet your students at the door with a handshake, eye contact, and a verbal greeting every day. This will also be our first step in "fixing" the culture at HMS. You either will or you won't. You do, or you don't. There is no try! You don't just try. You either do, or you don't. Reestablishing the culture will demand a renewed intentional focus on the daily/hourly greeting process; a handshake with eye contact and a verbal acknowledgement of their presence. Have a GREAT day!

[drmaurerprincipal]

A Look at HMS for 2017-18

Haysville Middle School will continue to embark on ways to improve learning opportunities for our students, staff, leaders, and members of our community. The upcoming school year, 2017-18, will focus on the implementation of teaming, and an intentional focus on the structure of our Guided Study period. We will begin to define specific protocols for every day of the school week. Our Guided Study focus will also include the defining characteristics of an enrichment and intervention component for the 2018-2019 school year. We will also study the ability to include additional planning time for staff so that we can re-incorporate team planning. Stay tuned throughout the year as we highlight our continued innovative approaches to learning and teaching at HMS.