AWSP News for Dec 5, 2018
Hello and welcome to another episode of AWSP’s News You Can Use.
OMG. It is so good to see you all. No seriously. You are only a few weeks away from a well deserved break and some rest. Hang in there. Your kids need your best YOU, so keep smiling and making the magic happen for kids. These next two weeks are hard on many kids, so be out there leading with high fives and unconditional love.
Now, a little birdie whispered to me that some of you skip the fabulous content of our newscast and go straight to the bloopers. How can you cheat yourself of all this rich information? You know, that makes me want to do this newscast in one take so the bloopers will just be me staring at the camera. Nothing funny...just an awkward stare.
Speaking of funny, a principal last week shared a crazy story from his school. His story was the perfect example of why we, and I mean all of us, need to do a better job of telling the stories of what it’s like to be a principal or assistant principal these days. When we meet with legislators and other officials, I love sharing the realities of your work. So, I dare you to email or call me with your story. I promise we won’t use it in any way that can be connected back to you, but your story will help us, help you. Finish this sentence, “I thought I’d seen it all until…”
It’s those stories that remind all of us about the power of an effective principal. You all do incredible work for kids and teachers every day. And, you deserve the recognition. I know you won’t nominate yourself, but why not nominate a colleague for either Principal or Assistant Principal of the Year. The nomination window is closing soon, so nominate a rock star principal today. Also, if you’ve already nominated someone, check in with them to see if they’ve applied. All nominees get an email notification that someone nominated them. Check out our website for more information.
Everything we do centers around promoting the important role principals play in our schools. From sharing your stories, to honoring those who are nominated as principals of the year, it all helps. Another way you can help promote the principal profession is by joining our PAC. We are headed into a long legislative session this year. Many issues impacting principals on the forefront. A strong PAC is crucial. Simply said, we need you. Contact Cris or Roz in our office for more information.
The intern grant application for 2019-20 is now available. Anyone enrolled in a PESB-approved program doing an administrative internship next year is eligible. Find the online application on our website. Go encourage your teacher-leaders today to get their applications submitted by the March 15 deadline and help us build the pipeline of future school leaders. Questions? Contact Macy.
Want to be the health champion in your building? Apply for a healthy school community grant available through Kaiser Permanente and get $3,500 to lead this charge in your school. What a great way to help you, help them, as we roll into 2019. Grants are limited, so find the link to Kaiser’s “Thriving Schools” website in Principal Matters.
Might as well keep this health theme going. Looking for a great way to get a blood drive going in your school, but you don’t have the time to organize it? That’s what student leaders are for. Bloodworks Northwest is a nonprofit blood bank that not only helps replenish the blood supply in our state, but teaches our students valuable lessons in organization and event planning. Students can also earn scholarships by leading these efforts in our schools. Check out their website for more info, but act fast, the next scholarship window is from Dec 15th - January 13th.
Congrats to our very own Marty Fortin. He was just recognized by the National Association of Workshop Directors as the 2018 Region 7 Earl Reum Award winner. Way to go Marty. The award is well-deserved for many years of service to the entire P-16 system in our state! Ballard High principal Keven Wynkoop said it best when he joked on Twitter, “Congrats Marty! The whole state is likely to go bankrupt and commit massive ASB errors without you to guide us.”
As you might know, Marty and his wife Susan are retiring at the end of June 2019. Luckily, we already have Greg Barker on staff. Greg will take over as the AWSL director and handle a lot of the ASB finance stuff that Marty has done for us. For now, you can get the best of both worlds. Thanks again to our great partnership with OSPI and Title II funding, we have three new videos from both Greg and Marty going over ASB, Booster Clubs, and knowing when to use which. Haven’t seen them yet? Those are just three more good reasons why you should be subscribed to our YouTube channel.
While we’re talking about going beyond the bake sale, what does Raffle Time mean to you? Music, food, games, decorations, appropriate humor YouTube videos, minute-to-win-it activities, school-wide scavenger hunts, special staffulty sharing moments, dodgeball, etc. all sound like the perfect recipe for a staffulty gathering before you head into Winter Break. My personal favorite that doesn’t cost you anything? Raffle Time. Use this final gathering of 2018 as a way to give your staffulty some love via a raffle. From junk in your attic, to donated gift cards, to my personal favorite...a give certificate for class coverage by YOU...raffle time is always fun. Need ideas...we’ve got ‘em. Call us.
Well, that’s it for all of us here at AWSP. As always, keep up the great work for kids and we’ll see you next time!