New Challenges

It is day 2 in my new role as K-4 principal at Oak Ridge Elementary (ORE) in the Sartell-St. Stephen School District in central Minnesota.I am very excited to be part of this very successful district. I felt very welcomed yesterday when our new superintendent took time out of his first day to swing over to say hello. It was a very positive way to start at ORE and I look forward to the students, families and staff returning to the building after summer.

 Starting this blog is part of a Summer Learning Series designed by Todd Nesloney from Navasota Middle School in Texas. He originally started this challenge for the teachers at Navasota Middle School and it has grown through Twitter. I know I am not much of a writer. In fact, I would say writing is one of my weaknesses as a leader, as talking to you in person is my preference. If becoming a better writer is a goal however, I need to write. So, thank you Todd for opening your challenge up to the greater population and for asking us to take time to reflect. We will see if I can follow through by taking time to reflect on the happenings at Oak Ridge going forward.

I chose the title for this blog based on the PBIS slogan for ORE which is, "BE ON TARGET". Sadly I may have used up the first hour of my day trying to come up with something clever to name the blog. I thought of using The Lynk Letter or The Missing Lynk, but ultimately decided I did not want the blog to be about me. It should be about the students and staff at ORE and the amazing work that is being done here. It is my hope to use this blog to showcase the learning that students and staff are doing at ORE and throughout our district, as well as look for insight from others to meet the challenges that are presented to us.

Being new at a school, one has to learn the expectations and the culture to be successful. That is tough to do in the summer when the building is fairly empty for the month of July. Therefore I am thankful that the staff at ORE has established school wide expectations by using PBIS, and creating a common language for all students. I am able to find pamphlets, posters, and flyers throughout the building that share with students how to BE ON TARGET by being ready, respectful, and responsible in the different common areas around the building. The staff start the school year by demonstrating to students the expectations that are in place for them. Each area has a poster that defines what being ready, respectful, and responsible looks like and sounds like. These posters and flyers give a newbie a good sense of the expectations and culture of ORE.

Thanks for reading. I will try to be more insightful as I become better at being a blogger!