Principal’s Log 17

Greetings TMS families,

I hope you are enjoying the winter season and looking forward to some quality time during the upcoming February recess. My plan is to head up to Vermont for a few days of snow sports with my family. Now that my children can all stop and turn on their skis or snowboards, it may actually feel like a vacation!

Today, I would like to share an amazing activity that we did during our last faculty meeting. I call it, Making Every Student Known. To begin, I want to thank Ms. Hoffman for her logistical support and Ms. Johnson for hosting the activity in the library, and of course our wonderful faculty for their participation and thoughtfulness.

During this activity, it became clear that one of our school’s greatest strengths is the family type atmosphere. The purpose of the activity was to identify students who may be less connected to our school than we wish. It begins with questions. How can we know our students even better than we already do?  How can we make sure that all students have a trusted adult to turn to in the building for help? How can we build a community where everyone is known?

To understand the activity, imagine student names written on color-coded strips of paper. Organized by grade level, they were placed on tables in the library. Imagine what that would look like from above, from a balcony. Teachers then walked among the names three times. The first time through they selected students that they already “know deeply.” As expected, virtually all of the students were captured during this pass. After all, this is Tuckahoe. And at least one adult had made a strong connection across the vast majority of the student body.

During a second pass, teachers selected students that they are “getting to know.” Afterward, very few students remained. During a third pass, teachers selected the students that were left. These students were selected by staff who saw an “opportunity to get to know” someone new. Together we pledged to place emphasis on forging these relationships going forward.

During this activity, I was amazed by how well our teachers already knew the students. They shared memories of former students. They reminisced about concerts, projects, and achievements. They talked about how much the students have grown. I left feeling grateful to have spent this time focused on deepening relationships with our students. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

My Best,

Gregory Stiefel, TMS Principal

https://twitter.com/GregStiefel

Be sure to check out our website for PTA flyers, calendar snapshots, and other reminders. http://tms.tuckahoeschools.org/201718_weekly_enewsletter