Musings of a First-Year Principal

It's been a while, little blog!

I am now just over mid-way through my first year behind the principal's desk and, I must say, I love what I am doing.

The hours are long, the work is BIG, and the responsibilities are huge.  But, I love it.

I love helping kids solve their problems.

I love going into the lunchroom and spending time with each grade level.

I love eating my lunch in the lunchroom and seeing the faces of the Kinders when I eat my pureed asparagus soup which must look pretty funky to them!

I love digging in to curriculum and helping teachers reach their full potential in the classroom.

I love brainstorming ways to make my school even more amazing.

I love knowing all almost 300 students in my building and, I'm proud to say, I know almost all of their names.

I love standing outside each morning during arrival and waving to parents as they pull in and greeting kids with their first school smile of the day.

I love being outside each afternoon during dismissal and waving at parents as they pull in and saying bye to kids with their last school smile of the day.

I love how in-tune my ears are now to children's tears!  I can hear them a mile away.

I love how I've learned that a baggie with 2 ice cubes can make any scratch, scrape, or bump feel instantly better.

I love doing little things to let my staff know they are appreciated.

I love my morning pop-ins to each classroom in the building.

I love that, when I'm not at school, the kiddos realize I'm gone.

I love my Monday morning all-school assemblies.

I love reading the day's lunch choices on the announcements and, on the day when they have french toast with peas, I love making little jokes about it.

I love that, even when I have to discipline a student, they still give me hugs the next day.

I love the silly things my kiddos say.  It is a K-2 school, after all.

I love seeing parents coming in to help in the classrooms.

I love hearing kids say things like, "Yes!  We get to do math!"

I love seeing Kindergarteners doing "read to self" and working to build their stamina.

I love how I can recognize their individual voices when they say hi to me from across the room.

I love the people I work with.  Seriously.  My staff is amazing.

I love the school secretary.  We'd be lost without her!

I love that I still get to read to kiddos.

I love that, even though I'm not in the classroom, I still feel connected to what is going on in the classrooms in my building.

I love how the bucket of chocolate I keep in my office acts as an instant barometer for how everyone is feeling at school... on stressful days, the bucket gets a lot of action from the staff.

I love when I walk into classrooms and kids tell me they saw me in the parking lot saying good morning.  Yes, I just saw you too.  When I said good morning.  When you got out of your car 10 minutes ago.  I love it!

So much to love!

I hope all of my bloggy friends are having a great year too!