WEEKLY LEADERSHIP LESSON: Saying please, thank you and excuse me Dear Longacre Parents, Here we are heading into our last week of school before we all prepare to file away the memories of 2014 in our own special way. In each classroom, in each grade level, and as a school, our students and our staff spend time looking at the goals we’ve set, our Wildly Important Goals – our W.I.Gs. – as we’ve named them at Longacre. We spend time looking at what we’ve done to reach those goals and if those strategies we’ve selected with great care and purpose have actually worked or not. We update our individual, classroom, grade level, and school-wide Scoreboards because we know that if we can’t see and quantify our progress, we’re not as apt to recognize our victories and adjust for our challenges. We celebrate progress toward our goals and even celebrate our mistakes along the way. We know that mistakes help our brains grow and are actually healthy! We also know that with the start of a new year almost inevitably our thoughts turn to New Year’s Resolutions – those goals we set with such conviction on New Year’s Day that often go by the wayside a week or two into the new year. At Longacre, we are using a model of achieving goals that you might want to try at home. The model comes from a book, The Four Disciplines of Execution that has truly transformed the method we use at school – 4 simple steps that have taught us that executing a goal starts with focus. Without it, the “whirlwind” of our day-to-day lives will gobble up our time and energy and we’ll lose sight of our goal. 1. Focus on the Wildly Important: Devote your best effort to a goal or two that will make the most impact on the change you hope to see. According the research cited in the book, “your chances of achieving 2 or 3 goals with excellence are high, but the more goals you try to juggle at once, the less likely you are to reach them. If you think of an air traffic controller, while there may be many planes in the air, their focus is on landing one plane at a time! Set your goal as an “x to y by when.” (x = where I am right now; y = where I want to get to; by when = by what date do I want to achieve my goal) 2. Act on the Lead measures: Lead measures are the activities we choose that if we implement them regularly and consistency, we predict we’ll have the best chance of achieving our W.I.G. Our Lead measures at school (and those you might choose for your own goals) have two important criteria: They are predictive (they measure something that leads to our goal) and they are influenceable (we have control over doing them or not doing them and we have control over how frequently we do them). 3. Keep a compelling scoreboard: This is the “discipline” of engagement. Make sure everyone knows the “score” at all times so they can tell whether or not they are “winning.” At school, we are regularly looking to see if the “lead measures” we chose are working to achieve the goal. 4. Create a cadence of accountability. This truly brings the first three steps together. Make a personal commitment to the strategies you’ve chosen and have someone hold you accountable to your plan by regularly checking in with you. Ask your child about “Accountability Partners” whose role is to see how they’re doing on their plan to reach their goal. Our students know that Accountability Partners do three things: Listen, Encourage, and Suggest. We hope you find this helpful and leads you to success in the new year in whatever you hope to achieve! According to the words of Dr. Seuss: You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy who’ll decide where to go. From our Longacre “home” to your home, we thank you for the time we have spent with your children and look forward with great excitement and gratitude as, together, we begin the year 2015. Together in learning and leading, Barb Elson, Principal LONGACRE WAS IN THE DETROIT NEWS! Here is link to the article: detroitnews/story/opinion/2014/12/11/leadership-lessons-earlyage/20215165/ UPCOMING DATES FOR YOUR CALENDAR: Thursday, December 18 Classroom Holiday parties (as arranged) 3:15 Longacre/LOC Credit Union open/In partnership with LOC Credit Union, our 4th grade leaders will be operating this student-run Credit Union for our Longacre students, staff, and families. Friday, December 19 NO POPCORN SALES TODAY! Classroom Holiday parties (as arranged) 3:00 Pride Circle-Holiday Sing-a-long! You are welcome to join us! Holiday Vacation begins at the end of the school day Monday, January 5 School resumes-Welcome back! Thursday, January 8 3:15 Longacre/LOC Credit Union open 7:00 PTA meeting/Free childcare provided Friday, January 9 POPCORN SALES! $1.00/bag All profits will benefit our Leader in Me implementation Thursday, January 15 3:15 Longacre/LOC Credit Union open Friday, January 16 POPCORN SALES! $1.00/bag All profits will benefit our Leader in Me implementation Monday, January 19 No School-Martin Luther King, Jr. DayTuesday, January 20 10:07 Delayed Start Day/School begins one hour later Wednesday, January 21 6:30-8:00 Family LEADER IN ME Activity Night! (More detail to follow!) You won’t want to miss this! Thursday, January 22 3:15 Longacre/LOC Credit Union open 6:30-8:30 Longacre Night at Bonaventure Skating Rink Friday, January 23 POPCORN SALES! $1.00/bag All profits will benefit our Leader in Me implementation Monday, January 26 6:30-8:00 Science Fair Wednesday, January 28 6:00-8:00 Multicultural Night! Come and celebrate your heritage! Friday, January 30 POPCORN SALES! $1.00/bag All profits will benefit our Leader in Me implementation 3:15 Pride Circle Our 2nd grade leaders will teach us more about Habit #3: Put first things first
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 06:49:18 +0000
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