(I’ve been working on this blogpost ALL summer. Each time I log in, I change the beginning, first it was “into the first week…”, then “well over halfway through …” and now “near the end…” of summer break. Regardless of the time, the principles are the same, so here goes:)
As I near the end of summer break and gear up for the coming school year, I realize it’s taken the entire summer to decompress from my first year as elementary school Principal. What a year it has been! As if the steep learning curve of navigating the ins and outs of a new school community, district and province (as administrator) wasn’t enough of a challenge, just add on leading that learning community through a pandemic!
Looking back, it seems a million years ago, yet just like yesterday. As COVID-19 reached our province, and a state of emergency was declared, our spring break turned into isolation, zoom meetings, strategic planning and a new vernacular filled with ”during these unprecedented times…”, “be kind, be calm, be safe…” and “our new normal…” The return after the break without our students saw an abrupt end to the school year as we knew it, devoid of the customary rituals of celebration and closure. Faced with all the collective uncertainties, fears and demands of our “new reality”, including a mostly virtual initial connection with my staff and students, I quickly realized I was going to have to pull us all together in creative and flexible ways. And so with my faithful and talented Vice-Principal by my side along with our 40 plus all-female staff, and a very thorough district health and safety protocol, we set sail through the stormy COVID-19 waters of our third term learning journey.
We staggered the return of staff during the beginning of that first week back, and attempted hybrid in-person/zoom meetings first with teaching and then support staff. NOT a success!!! After that, like businesses and schools all over, we stuck with zoom and met daily for a quick meeting to set out expectations for the day, unpack reports and documents from our district, ministry and health officer, then brainstorm/plan ways to make it all work for our school. It was through this daily morning meeting that I stumbled upon the simplest but most effective tool in my pandemic leadership toolkit: The morning message.
I would begin each meeting with a message, scripted on a heart shape and held up closely to the screen. The message had to be simple, catchy and relevant, slogans of solace really, which turned into anchors throughout the days and weeks ahead. Each one addressed a need or event, cheered us up or pushed us to carry on. Often these were a nod to or adaptation from information or media that resonated, while others were original. Here are some of the messages I found to be most impactful.
Without a Map
Early on I crafted “without a map”. Really, the whole thing truly was unprecedented and unscripted, districts and schools everywhere were blazing a new trail. As such we didn’t, I didn’t have all the answers, but we’d find our way together, orienting to PHO, ministry and district guidelines, common sense and science.
Fire, Ready, Aim
This twist on “ready, aim, fire” was more realistic for how we had to navigate, we didn’t have the luxury to have every detail ready, but rather had to fire or get going on a strategy, then pause to get ready for the next development, and aim to meet the changing needs of our school community. With this in mind, we managed the disbursement of materials to students, creating and delivering at home learning programs, in-school and nutritional support to vulnerable students, and eventual optional return of about half of our students in June.
Connect Before Direct
Through it all, the social/emotional needs of not only families and students, but firstly our, staff was most important, connecting and listening before giving instructions. This was definitely the most challenging yet crucial guiding principle given the time-sensitive, continuous, in depth level of planning that was needed. When problems arose, it was invariably when I didn’t pay enough attention to the connection. (Credit to Dr. Jody Carrington "Kids These Days".)
Weekly ROAR
As a way of focusing and showcasing learning while keeping everyone connected and informed, I included daily themes for each week and put out on our social media.
Movement Monday(focus on ways to stay active at home), Terrific Tuesday (focus on project based learning), We Can Do It Wednesday (focus on resilience), Thankful Thursday(focus on gratitude) and Royal Friday(focus on school spirit). Introductions were made through the morning message and the subsequent submissions from staff and students were so creative and heart-warming.
Grace and Space
Finally, the most critical message, was one we returned to continuously throughout the third term. We just HAD to give each other, our families, ourselves GRACE, we were all trying our very best under difficult circumstances. We had to acknowledge our individual and collective grief in order to carry on. None of it would be perfect, but it would be good enough. Figuring out how to navigate through the hallways and feel comfortable with physical distancing and communication meant giving and leaving enough space. Decisions around scheduling and frequency of home communication were based on creating and respecting the best space possible for staff and students, both at home and at school.
And now, here we are again, facing the uncertainties of a new school year. Creating the best back to school plan in the midst of the recent spike in cases of COVID-19 has been one of the most widely debated topics of the summer across North America. No matter what the plan, though, the principles developed through these March to June morning messages still apply. The lessons we learned, the connections we made, the strength we built, will help our RO Royal ship sail smoothly though next school year and beyond, even through the roughest of waters.
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