What a tremendous weekend! The weather allowed for the kids and I to get out and explore, playing in the back yard and at a couple of parks in Saskatoon. I had to laugh when I called the kids in for lunch on Saturday and Charlie (3 yrs) hollered back, “we can’t dad, we watching da wadybug exploring”. Apparently the kids had found several ladybugs in the grass and were creating little habitats for them in their playhouse. Charlie was particularly excited because he was the only one brave enough to let the ladybugs crawl on him, as Eva and Maggie are still a bit squeamish when it comes to that. After lunch Bobby was able to spend some one-on-one time with his grandma as I took the three other kids to play in a new park in Willowgrove in Saskatoon. The kids had a blast playing along side strangers, discovering new play structures they had never seen before. I’m very fortunate to have kids young enough to allow me to still be a kid too!

David and I were reflecting on the amazing things we have going on at Waldheim School as we were driving to and from Laird on Friday. We spent an hour Friday afternoon watching the grade 3 – 8  students from Laird read their poems at their poetry cafe’, an event coordinated by Michelle Fong (thanks for the invite Michelle). We marveled at the palpable feeling in the gym, it was one of pride in their school and in each other. I was reminded how important our job is as we accept Laird students every year into our family, it was something I hadn’t thought about in a while. Friday was also a great day to reflect on the amazing things you, the staff are doing with our students. Pam Wieler brought Kimberly Greyeyes (Muskeg Lake Cree Nation), one of the newest board trustees, for a tour of our school. I was so honored to be able to share the great things that are going on in our school and was reminded of the hard work you all do on a daily basis. It was such a pleasure to talk about the way we all lead with our hearts and how we live out, everyday, what is meant by the saying, it takes a village. As we walked the halls I was able to speak at length about every single person and how they have an impact on our program here, starting with Corinne and how she has created a safe environment in the office to Jamie Boschman and how she is willing to give her time to those kids who are the most vulnerable (we’ve all seen kids pushing her floor cleaner). I’m humbled by the way all of you have shown a belief in relationships first, and while I do know there are days when it is harder than others to keep that smile the right side up, you continue to do it. I’ve said this to others in the past,  but it is worth repeating. This is the 9th school in my career, and I would be hard pressed to find another staff, from the support staff, all the way down to the administration, that embody so well my core belief, that being relationships first. I want each of you to take a moment and understand how much I really appreciate what you do on a daily basis, and yes, I mean you.

There were a lot of great opportunities to get into classrooms last week, not only at Waldheim, but in two other schools as well. Last Tuesday I had the opportunity to watch Taralyn Ullyott, grade 1 in Rosthern, and David, Steve, and Jen had a chance to watch Charmain Laroque, middle years in Stobart. In both cases it was great to see and hear about the parallels  between what these master teachers are doing and what is happening at Waldheim School. The focus of both classroom visits was how their respective literacy programs are being offered, and part of the lessons involved independent reading. This caused me to think about one of my favorite bloggers, Pernille Ripp, and a recent post by her where she discusses how we model reading for our students. Take a look at the blog post at this week’s learning link, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Next week is another busy one, the days are going to continue to fly off the calendar:

Monday:

• Bruce & Jamie B at OH&S training day 1 (Saskatoon)

Tuesday:

• Bruce & Jamie B at OH&S training day 2 (Saskatoon)
• Grade 9 performance (period 2)

Wednesday:

• Grade 1 – 3 swimming trip

Thursday:

• Bruce at CVAC meeting (4:00 pm division office)
• Pizza lunch

Friday:

• Business as usual

As always, create a great week!