Monday Memo Musings

So much has happened to our staff in the last bit that the only thing I can say is that your physical and mental health are top priority to us. Please practice self care. Breathe, look at the stars, walk or have a great cry! An aboriginal elder told me don't stop your tears from falling, if you let them fall, they go right to your heart and cleanse it.  Thinking of You So many hugs to Holly whose mom passed away peacefully last Sunday. Hugs!!! So many hugs to Eric whose nephew passed away of aggressive cancer this week. He leaves behind a wife and three girls under the age of 8. We pray this family has lots of supports.  Positive vibes to Petra whose achilles has stretched off the heel and is causing her tons of pain. I wish I has healing dust to sprinkle over that darn foot!  Positive vibes to Jenine whose back is causing her lots of pain. Soon she will get to stay home and nurse herself back to health!  Positive vibes to Nicole ...

Haven't we all been in situations where we felt unappreciated. It sucks! I wonder how appreciated and valued our students feel. You do such a lovely job of greeting them and checking in on them when they are working. My hope is that they feel appreciated and so do you.  Thank you for the compliments in the direct surveys. They made me feel appreciated and valued. Thanks so much for the helpful hints to improve my practice.  Thank yous So many thanks to La Crete for hosting many of us on Friday. You are great hosts.  Thank you to Mark for powering through being sick on Friday. There is no worse feeling than being sick with kids in the class and no sub any where to be found. Thanks for hanging on.  Thanks to Jenine for dragging her herself in on Wednesday when she could hardly walk.( yikes) Hoping you are walking straight these days!!  Thanks to Mark and Nicole for organizing a winter fie...

Just finished that book. It is a must read. It speaks to, the idea of," Sameness." Read the book and you'll understand. Luckily, our five schools celebrate our differences and realize we can be the same. Kudos to differences!!  Thank yous Thanks you to Dani and Julie who ordered some books for us including, Far North, Fatty Legs and The Giver. I am bringing a copy around to each school.  Thanks to The High level crew who welcomed parents to their parent Wing Ding. We have thirteen-sixteen people come through our doors. Thanks to Holly who brought Christmas to The Learning Store.  Thanks to all our Custodians , Martha, Sue, Landon and Tristan and the mystery lady in Fort. I have to meet this lady! They do a fantastic job in our buildings each day and are only thanked when I catch up with them every month or so. We appreciate all they do.  Staffing Anne Monday am High Level- pm Zama- Two girls will be relocating for 6 weeks...

A huge welcome to Dani Chilcott the newest member to our team. She already has a list of things we will do in Fort. Love it!!! This week Dani and I will take Julie out for lunch and present her with her going away gift. We know she will be the best at helping people at Victims Services.  Keep Calm and Put Others First What is so cool about our five schools? It's the fact we put others first before ourselves. Not one of our schools has a staff room we hide in, gossip and grumble in. Our students see us for who we are, all day long. You have great relationships with our students and that's not that easy to do. They are very fortunate that it is us manning their schools, it's obvious we care! We've got an excellent staff; that is what makes our five schools great places to learn. Thanks for Keeping Calm and putting others first.  Thank yous Thanks to Bonnie and her fabulous crew of Gaye and Connie who collected thousands of dollars worth of toys ...

Report Card Week A terrific way to catch up with our kids, a time to think deeply about that student and where they are going. A teacher always asks themselves , how well do i know that student. If the answer is not well, we seek to get to know them better next semester. Report Cards are valuable to the student and their families and the process is so valuable to us. We can always do better.  Thank Yous Thanks  so much to all of you who took in the PD last week. From chatting with you my thoughts were the sessions were valuable.  Thanks  to all who are organizing the Wing Ding in High Level this Tuesday. Many local organizations are coming in to inform our students.  Thanks to all who made student contacts this week. Talking personally to our kids seems to make a difference.  Staffing We are close to hiring for the position in Fort. Monday or Tuesday I will be able to announce it.  M...

A note that this Wednesday we are required to have a minute of silence at 11:00 in our schools. Have a chat amongst your school as to who will lead this minute of silence. There are some terrific videos on You Tube which inspire our students to give thanks to those who came before them. I recall my Grandpa being 17 and stationed off the coast of Newfoundland. The threat that The war would come across the sea was real. My dad  was a loadmaster on a Hercules. He travelled the world bringing supplies to devastated areas of the world. My brother is an RCMP who has many stories to tell, as do many canadians.  We give many thanks to those who care for us and selflessly look after us.  Huge Thanks to you! Double thanks goes out to Nicole and Janet Hackett for subbing in for Mark Pelley while he was out for a medical appointment. The ladies rallied to cover for Eve-lyn who hit the ditch on her way to Zama and was in no condition to press on. Zama is th...

Bravery is the topic that comes to mind this week stemming from a conversation with a mom  just the other day. Her daughter wants to take a course with us, but is very shy about coming in. My answer to Mom is she just has to be brave for twenty second. She just has to get herself in the door. If we look at things like that, in little steps, everything is surmountable. One course at a time, one visit at a time, one time standing in front of people. Our students face their fears daily and so do we.   Happy Halloween day everyone!  Congratulations to You/Us!! Zama kids are breaking out and going swimming on the 2nd with Meander!!! The kids in Meander are great company! I will not be heading to Zama this week with Mark out and the kids going on a filed trip.  Bonnie and Holly walked into the Independent Store and were awarded $250 of free groceries for our school. What a huge celebration that was. The store was really excited to be presen...