Friday, July 31, 2015

A Thank You to All Teachers

I am lucky enough to be able to have most of July off.  I do come by school every now and then to check and see how things are going and to make sure everything is looking like it will be ready for the start of the school year.  One thing sticks out to me every summer I am here and that is how quiet everything is.  The place this is most evident is when you walk into a classroom.  Our custodians move everything to the side so they can do a deep clean and wax the floors.



When I look at the rooms like this it is amazing to me that in a few weeks these places that are bare right now will be full of magic.  It also is a great reminder of how much work is ahead for our teachers.  As a principal I do my best to appreciate my staff and thank them for their work but as the year goes on I get busy as well.  I know I am not the only principal that feels that way.  That is why I decided it would be as good a time as any to say thank you to them.

I'm not sure how anyone who has not been a teacher can fully understand how much energy it takes to start a school year.  Teachers have to get their rooms ready, meet with their PLC to plan, have PD before school starts, order new things for the year, get ready for Back to School Night (we do ours before school starts), and all the other things teachers have to do to get ready to start the year.  It is so much energy and I want to thank not just our teachers but all teachers for all they have to do to get ready for a successful school year.


If all teachers did was just teach during the school day it still would be the most important job.  But teachers have to do so much more.  I am lucky to have such an amazing staff.  They constantly want to get better.  These thank you's are definitely for them but also for teachers everywhere who are doing their best to be great for students.  Here are a few things I want to make sure I thank all teachers for before the school year starts.

-Thank you for being prepared each day.

-Thank you for constantly learning.

-Thank you for constantly pushing our students and making sure they grow.

-Thank you for working with your PLC and colleagues to come up with what is best for our students.

-Thank you for all the time you put in before and after school.

-Thank you for being positive role models for all of our students, but especially those that do not have a positive role model in their life.

-Thank you for taking the time to help and be a part of the before and after school events when you can.  You do it just because you care.

-Thank you for making our community a better place.

-Thank you for making our schools a place where students want to come and learn.

-Thank you for pushing your principal and other administrators to make sure decisions are made with students in mind.

-Thank you for caring.  You care so much for our students and you will do anything to make sure they succeed.

-Thank you for bringing new ideas to our staff.

-Thank you for coming and doing your job day in and day out with a smile on your face even when sometimes that is not always the easiest thing to do.

-Thank you for helping our parents be part of our school community while also helping them understand that our schools are about children, not adults.

-Thank you for doing a job that is constantly being shown in a negative light.  If only people knew how hard you work to make your classroom as special place for children.

Really, I could go on forever.  As a former teacher, principal, and parent of 3 young children, I cannot thank our teachers everywhere enough for all that they do.  This is still one of my favorite quotes about education:



Every moment does matter.  And the best news is you get to be the biggest reason if our students have a great day or not.  So thank you again, enjoy the rest of your much deserved summer, there is a lot of work ahead.  There also is a lot of magic ahead as well, and I know that I and all of our students can't wait.





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