My staff just got back from a three day retreat, and it was a huge success. Everyone participated--teachers, administrators, and classified staff--and found it very productive. It was more than that, though: getting away from the school site and the local environment (literally out in the desert, away from everything) we were able to focus on our relationships with each other. Without the distractions, teachers and staff were able to interact in a "risk-free" environment. Having this retreat right before the opening of school, quite a few people have commented on the "running start" we now have on the school year. Many times the opening of school can be just as hectic for teachers, but thanks to this getaway opportunity (generously funded by our PTA and Foundation groups) we already feel like a team and will be able to start the year on a more than positive note.
As we were way out in the desert, I can tell you that the experience of seeing the stars from the soccer field at night was absolutely amazing.
Helpful hints, position essays, and useless blather from the Assistant Principal of a high school in Southern California. Posts here do not necessarily reflect the positions or views of the school or district with which he is employed.
So there.
So there.
Friday, August 26, 2005
posted by Q6 at 3:48 PM
A recent study by Harvard's School of Public Health suggests a link between the obesity rates of students and the proximity of fast-food restaurants to the campuses. I've been asked a lot in recent years about the schools' decisions to remove unhealthy food from their menus, the eating habits of the students, etc. . . . My response seems to shock people.
I care less about the food the kids eat and care more about the fact that these kids aren't getting enough exercise. I'm not talking about the PE program, either (they're doing fine); I have students that are driven to school from as little as SIX BLOCKS AWAY, and that is, in my opinion, just wrong. Every time the nutrition debate comes back up, we hear the same word over and over again: "balance." Isn't a 45 (or even 60) minute walk, twice a day--to and from school--a small thing to ask in exchange for a donut? When I was a kid, my elementary school was a little over a mile from my house, my junior high was about five miles away; there were five of us who walked that all the time.
I care less about the food the kids eat and care more about the fact that these kids aren't getting enough exercise. I'm not talking about the PE program, either (they're doing fine); I have students that are driven to school from as little as SIX BLOCKS AWAY, and that is, in my opinion, just wrong. Every time the nutrition debate comes back up, we hear the same word over and over again: "balance." Isn't a 45 (or even 60) minute walk, twice a day--to and from school--a small thing to ask in exchange for a donut? When I was a kid, my elementary school was a little over a mile from my house, my junior high was about five miles away; there were five of us who walked that all the time.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
posted by Q6 at 5:43 PM
Greetings! My name is . . . genuinely unimportant, truth be told. I have created this blog in the hopes of answering questions, offering my thoughts and feelings (much of it will, I'm sure, pertain to things concerning my profession), but I have no intention of assaulting, accusing, harassing, or holding to scrutiny ANYONE. So stop by now and then to see what this evolves into. Long live Freedom of Speech.