What a nice baby shower Friday after school, it’s always great to gather as a group in those less formal settings to laugh together and celebrate the important things in life. Once again the social committee did a great job, so thank you very much for that, I could tell Lindsay really appreciated it.

Looking forward to another busy week, this one will be a shorter one, but none-the-less, it will be a whirlwind for sure. Last week I had the fortune of having some really great conversations in my office with various teachers on topics ranging from student learning to frustrations outside of the school. I’m reminded of how lucky I am to work with such amazing people everyday, and how much I appreciate the trust that has been built up in the 4 years I’ve been at Hepburn School. The trust that I feel exists between our staff members has me thinking about how this extends to our classrooms. Do your students trust you? Do you trust them? Is trust needed in the pursuit of deep, lasting learning?

Learning Link 1 talks about trust, and how important it is to student learning. In the article, the topic of being fair is broached, and this quote stood out to me. The author writes, “fair means all students getting the same rules, and exceptions to those rules”. Do you think fair means all students getting the same rules? I’d like to hear your thoughts on this.

In Learning Link 2, one of my favorite speakers, Simon Sinek, talks about the critical need for human contact and trust to move an organization forward. It might be a little heavy on the business side of things, but I wonder what parallels you see to education, and more specifically to Hepburn School and your classroom? I really like the point he strikes at the 11 minute mark when he talks about leadership and the inspiration we can have on those with whom we work. If you have time, watch the video, I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.

The third Learning Link is an article that talks about developing trust with our students. Here is a line I lifted from the article, I wonder what it makes you think? As teachers, we have learned to distrust our students. Have a look at the article and see if you agree with Ben Johnson’s view of how we can use differentiated learning, project-based learning, and dare I suggest genius hour, to build trust between student and teacher. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

Here’s what lies ahead this week:

Monday (Day 6):

• K – 6 school yard clean up (after 
• Staff meeting (3:15) Agendas have been placed in your mailboxes
• Ron presenting Bethany proposal to PSSD board

Tuesday:

• Track & Field practice after school

Wednesday:

• Grade 7 Bio-blast trip (U of S)
• Danielle Olson visit (am ~ tentative)

Thursday:

• Grade 7-12 Track & Field (Griffiths)
  • Ruth, Jesse, Scott gone

Friday:

• Teacher prep day

As always, create a great week and please have a great May long weekend!