Letter To Staff

Dear Holiday Park Staff,

We have officially gotten through the first 9 days of school. The children, our purpose for being at work each day, are full of excitement and wonder. Seeing them laughing and playing, learning and practicing deep breathing are the moments that keep most of us sane these first few weeks.

I have seen such amazing things the last 9 days. Children telling me about there amygdala, parents asking me why their kids are telling them their hippocampus isn’t working right now! First graders lying on the floor practicing brain breaks, classes modeling walking in line, entering the cafeteria, entering the classroom, etc

The morning greetings are amazing to watch. The genuine welcome of students into your classrooms is heart-warming. The look on the students' faces is so telling and each of you guys look genuinely happy to see them. Good job!

While there is much to celebrate, we all know how hard and exhausting the first few weeks can be. Pretending we are not stressed and exhausted might not be the best way to handle our feelings and emotions right now.

Just like for you, the world is spinning.  I think everyone feels that, but teachers, educators, and school staff especially do.  We have so much to do and take care of between school life and home life…and sometimes the world is moving faster than we can keep up with and all we can do is hold on for dear life.

Some of us are holding on for dear life right now. Feeling overwhelmed, ineffective, exhausted, and lost is the reality for some of us right now at Holiday Park. Getting through another day without questioning our job choice or crying is probably our main goal right now! If this is you right now, please give yourself permission to evaluate all of your self-given responsibilities and decide which ones need to take a backseat and even go in the trunk for a while.  After that, reflect on what is going well for you right now. Find something, even if it is getting to work on time, getting a great parking spot, or enjoying the company of your team. Spend some time thinking about that one success. It’s important! 

Next, separate “task” responsibilities from “teaching student responsibilities.”

“Task” examples – certainly not limited to the following

Taking attendance

Setting up phone

Turning in your sub folder

Writing lesson plans

“Teaching children responsibilities” examples –

Teaching and modeling every behavior expectation

Establishing relationships with each student

Establishing classroom management

Assessing students current abilities

Delivery of content

Keeping students engaged

Giving praise once a minute

Seems very overwhelming, right? So, we have to do two things:

Give each other some grace.

Help each other as much as we can.

How can we do that? We must have a plan and procedure to ensure we can do this. I am open for all ideas as this is the job of the organization. We are each responsible. Here are a few ideas to get us started:

Practice grace with each other:

·      If someone doesn’t say hello, don’t presume negative intentions, they could just be very overwhelmed and focused

·      For us veterans, please remember that newer teachers probably don’t even know what questions to ask you about. We have to be proactive and give, give, give, information about everything!

·      If you hear some negative tone or words from others please do not ignore, let’s remind each other of our commitment to no harm, but not in a judgmental way. If someone is sounding angry or frustrated, chances are they could use our help. So, without judgment, let’s offer whatever support is needed knowing that someday it will be us that needs the support.

Help each other as much as possible:

·      We have enough expertise among us to give each of us what we need. One idea might be to start to identify the types of support we each need to help us be successful and take some of the load off. If we set up two of the bulletin boards in the lounge or office hallway we could perhaps start to identify needs. I will put lots of sticky notes and pens by the bulletin boards and we can each put up words or statements of what we need. Anonymously is fine. One board for tasks, one board for teaching. We can then use that info to provide support. If we see a lot of “I don’t really understand what my lesson plans should look like” we can offer a few after school opportunities (not run by Emily or I) but by some of our colleagues that are good at this and have an efficient format to provide support.

·      Make sure we each have enough supplies to get us through the day. If you or a colleague needs pencils, paper, markers, or chart paper, let us know right away. I know that Emily is trying to make sure you each have what you need. A lot of items are on back order from the warehouse, but Emily has committed to getting each of you what you need so we might have to make a Walmart or Staples run. Please remember that the desire to have you get the supplies you need is very different from getting you all the supplies you want! But having easy access to pencils, paper, and markers should never be a problem.

As we identify these areas, we can give support to each other. We each need something; we are in this together as a team. Once we are giving each other support with task items and teaching needs, we will feel more peace as an organization and happiness and peace will replace frustration and exhaustion.

Please remember how important you each are. The lives of our students depend on you. Their outlook on the world, their ability to obtain success, their ability to learn resilience, happiness, and self-regulation depends on each of us. There is no greater calling that impacts our society as that of a teacher.

Thank you for choosing this incredibly difficult, but rewarding profession. You are each heroes every day. You are probably not told enough, but you are valued and what you do is important.

Proud to work with each of you,

Rebecca