Thank Goodness for Early Years Teachers

    My very first teaching job was a grade 1 and 2 classroom on a fly in First Nations Reserve in northern Manitoba.  I was so excited to have a teaching position and, of course, for my husband and I there were many changes, with our first year of living on our own as…

Loading the Teacher Bus

  I have to admit that I find this time of year both frustrating and exciting.  It does not seem to take long for the current school year to crash into the next school year.  Decisions are needed for budgets, staffing, ordering and spending and time-tabling, all while business as usual is going on around…

Being Connected No Longer an Option

Most people who know me know that I am passionate about engaging students with technology. Not technology for the sake of using it, but rather technology because we can and because we should and because and when it just makes sense.  My view on educational pedagogy totally changed a few years ago when I took my Masters…

Things Just Aren’t the Same

If someone who had not been in a school for a while walked into one of our classrooms I think they would be shocked by what they would see.  There have been so many changes on the educational landscape that nothing much remains of the typical classroom so many of us imagine and remember from…

Co- Teaching Just Makes Sense

I was inspired to write this post after listening to a discussion about team teaching at our staff meeting on Monday. I had asked our RTI (Response to Intervention) teacher to talk about her experiences with co-teaching and invited a few of the classroom teachers she works with to share their thoughts as well. I…

5 Things I hope Our Parents Know

One of the things that I have learned over my years as a teacher and school administrator is the importance of parents and home support in the success of children.  I spend a great deal of time thinking and reflecting on the things we do, in the hopes of improving home school communication and relationships. …

My Lesson in Engagement

I had a chunk of time yesterday where I had the opportunity to do my favorite thing-walk around and visit classrooms.  I like to see what the students are up to and it is so great to ask them about their learning and have them explain.  There are so many good things going on in…

Tooting Our Own Horn

I finally received my copy of Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times, by Eric Sheninger. I am over 1/2 way through already taking advantage of a 2 hour drive to my son’s hockey game yesterday and some reading to my cell phone light on the way home. The book is very motivating and thought-provoking…