Just think of Principal Ideas as a virtual show-and-tell for principals. Each week in the coming school year we'll present five new principal-tested ideas. Send in your idea today! See the sidebar to learn how to be part of Principal Ideas.
Toy Rummage Sale
|
Read to the Principal
Students in our school make an appointment to read a book to me. When
they come to me to read, I give them a special bookmark and a new book
for personal use. In addition, I log the child's name on a poster on my
door, share the good news during our daily announcements, and send a postcard
to the parents to let them know about the special event. Reading to the
principal is a great way for principals to connect with students and to
get to know how well they are reading. As instructional leader, doing
this activity helps me set the bar high for all students. My students
truly love spending time with me to show off their reading skills. Sending
the post card home lets parents know that I am very involved in the instruction
in my school.
Thanks to Wauchilue Jackson-Snyder, principal at Northwestern
Elementary School in Mardela Springs, Maryland
Easing the Transition
To get eighth graders reflecting on what they can bring to high school and what they want to accomplish, some high schools in our county ask eighth graders to "apply" for the position of high school freshman. Students complete an application listing their social and academic skills, and then high-school students interview them. The upperclassmen critique the rising frosh on their readiness for high school. This stresses that school is their first job. In addition, most of the high schools in the district -- there are 12 -- offer peer mentoring and a freshmen academy, a support program.
Source: A Smooth Transition Can Mean a Smooth Year
Peacemaker Chain
Each month, students who have been good citizens and met all classroom
criteria for achievement during the month earn a colored strip of paper;
each student writes his or her name and room number on the strip. Students
in the class merge their colored strips to create a "class chain." Then
students gather in our school's quadrangle for our monthly "Peacemaker"
assembly. (At that assembly, two or three classes take a role in presenting
the "Character Trait of the Month.") At the start of the assembly, classes
are called forward one at a time. Students cheer for their class as a
representative brings forward the chain they have created. That class
chain is joined together with that month's chains from other classes.
Will the chain extend across the entire length of the quadrangle? The
chain for the month is then connected to the chains from previous months
as they "wrap" along the wall of our cafegymatorium. Students love to
watch the chain as it grows each month. They're always trying to get the
chain to go the length of one more wall Will it make it?
Thanks to Pam Hill, principal at Flory Academy of Sciences
and Technology in Moorpark, California
Walk-a-Thon
We planned and held a school-wide walkathon. Four hundred walkers got involved! Parents, friends, and neighbors pledged a dollar-amount per lap. We rewarded kids at laps 1, 4, 8, and 12. The walkathon raised $8,000! Side benefits of this fundraiser include the obvious health benefits from exercise. Plus we got fabulous father participation for this event. Thanks to Craig Ayala-Marshall, principal at McMillan Elementary School in Boise, Idaho
|
Article by Gary Hopkins
Education World® Editor-in-Chief
Copyright © 2006 Education World
 |