As a principal, the idea of a blog has always seemed overwhelming to me.  Just one more thing to do when there are so many other things that need to be done.  I've been thinking about it for a long time--always thinking that I would do it "when I get around to it."

But, today...Today was a different kind of day.  Today was a day when I realized that I had some amazing things to share, and I needed a way to tell people about the PHENOMENAL things that happened in our school!

March is Music in Our Schools Month.  Each Friday of March features our talented musicians playing in our Commons Area to start the day.  As I listen to their performances each week, I am in awe of their talent, so grateful for their willingness to play for us, and impressed by the beautiful music that graces our hallways.

Today, we started our day with the Falcon Ensemble serenading us with their beautiful music.  Our coffee shop, The Swoop, was open, and as a school community, we were able to gather together and start our morning.  What an incredible start to the day!

I was also invited to see student agency in action today!  Our building has been talking a lot about the role of agency and motivation in the learning process.  Our 6th-grade science teachers created a project around their astronomy unit that embraces student choice, student interest, and student learning!  As I spent three periods this morning rotating from room to room, I saw students from each of our teams interacting with staff and students from each of the other teams learning together, showcasing their knowledge, demonstrating their learning through their preferred medium, and having a GREAT time doing it!

The students were engaged, motivated, and invested while being thoughtful, asking and answering EXCELLENT questions, and showing their knowledge of TinkerCad, Buncee, PowerPoint, Weebly, and Office 365!

As my heart just filled with pride watching our students showcase their knowledge, I couldn't help but think that THIS is what school SHOULD be!  The concept of student agency as a means to motivate and engage students is so POWERFUL!  I am so grateful to these three teachers for taking a risk, trying something new, and finding wonderful ways to appeal to our students' aptitudes, interests, and talents!

And honestly--that should be enough to make any ordinary day EXTRAORDINARY!  But, there is so much more that happened today that was incredible, uplifting, and powerful.  I could go on and on about the wonderful things I witnessed JUST today...

Today gave me a good perspective--a much-needed boost at the end of a long winter--to reflect on the AMAZING school culture that we have created...to be thoughtful about the FABULOUS opportunities that we are offering to our students...to remember the importance of the crucial job we have!  It's not just about creating good students...We are responsible for helping to shape good PEOPLE with strong community connections and relationships; we need to teach students to look for the good in each other, embrace and accept each other's differences, and treat each other with KINDNESS!