Attitude of Gratitude

 

This month's Mindset is Atittude of Gratitude.  This is a great time to remind ourselves of the power of looking for the positive things in our lives.  Take a minute this week - this month - to think about what you're grateful for, and to acknowledge those that bring positivity to our lives.

Here are the weekly themes:

1.  Treasure Yourself – We create the wonderful lives we want by harvesting the great things within us. There are often things we don’t like about ourselves, but we must recognize that we’re made of far more wonderful things than not. We need to recognize our own worth and see our uniqueness as something to treasure and develop so we can live the extraordinary lives we’re meant to live.
   
   
2.  Be More Grateful – We all have the choice to focus on the good or the bad in life. If we focus on the positive things, they expand and guide us down the path to our dreams. If we spend our time in regret, jealously, and anger, then the negatives multiply and we likely find our dreams sidelined and our goals unattained. We must simply be more grateful, reflecting as much as possible on the good things in our lives as well as those that are coming to us.
   
   
3.  Thank it Forward – One of the best and quickest ways to feel better and become happier is to do something for someone else. The easiest as well as one of the most powerful things we can do for someone is express gratitude for who they are and what they mean to us. Thanking someone provides two wonderful gifts: it makes the other person feel good, and makes us happy at the same time.
   
   
4.  Elevate Your Perspective – People who have achieved great lives point to moments of great adversity and challenge when they learned a critical lesson or built the essential skill that allowed them to be successful. Knowing this, we understand why it is important to seek the positives from all situations, even those that seem completely negative. When we do this, we get better, learn, and grow in essential ways that help us to live richer and fuller lives.

Top 4 Do's and Don’ts for Gratitude:

1.  Do practice gratitude every day, even if it’s only to tell people how grateful you are to have them in your life. If you have a journal, write down the things that you’re thankful for every day, both the big and small. Verbalizing what you’re grateful for is a powerful way to keep from taking things for granted and remaining thankful for all that you have.
2.  Do say “thank you” regularly. Showing your gratitude to others with a kind note or word is one small way to show your appreciation for them. Teaching children to do the same is important in helping them to feel gratitude for the lives and friends that they have.
3. Don’t let the bad times be all bad. Try saying to yourself, “I can’t wait to find out what good will come from this!” This helps you look at all situations as leading toward positives in life.
4.  Do write a thank you note to the people in your life for what you appreciate about them. There are notes available in the work room to share your appreciation with staff members.

Thank you for all you do!  Have a great week!
Sue

Staff Wellness

 

Education is a selfless profession.  We find great satisfaction in our work, with most educators saying that they are driven by the desire to help and inspire students.  But too often, educators sacrifice their own well-being to support students' social, emotional, and academic needs.  Paying attention to the whole educator benefits students as well as adults.  If educators' wellness needs are met, they will have more space to be engaged in their work and students.  

Wellness, as defined by the National Wellness Institute, is a multidimensional state of being that is conscious, self-directed and focused on promoting and maximizing human potential.  Educator wellness can be defined by eight dimensions: emotional, environmental, intellectual, physical, social, spiritual, occupational, and financial.

Some of these areas are easier than others to focus on.  The Hudson School District is offering support for the physical wellness of our district staff, through access to the district fitness center, and offering an incentive through a wellness challenge.  

I hope you are able to take advantage of some of these opportunities!

Stay well!

Sue

Hudson School District Wellness Challenge: My Virtual Mission

The Hudson Wellness Challenge will now start TUESDAY, February 22nd to give staff more time to sign up and to get the app ready, etc., and will now go through Spring Break week. If you haven't already signed up, DO IT!  Do it for your own wellness =)

There are THREE parts to the challenge:  (1)  Physical Challenge (50%) (We are once again using the “My Virtual Mission” app); (2) Participation in 2 of the 3 weekly team challenges (25%); and (3) Completion of the BINGO card by your team members (25%).  Splitting it up this way will hopefully allow for more people to compete for the grand prizes at each building!

For the “My Virtual Mission” app – we have a “choose your own adventure” theme – with lesser distances than the prior challenge so more people can complete this portion of the challenge.  If you complete one challenge and want to do another, just let us know and we can add you to another one.  The three themes are (1) Hawaiian Adventure, (2) Alpian Adventure, and (3) Safari Adventure.  Your team has to choose one of the adventures upon sign up.  2022 HSD Wellness Challenge Signup

The district hopes that many teams will finish the challenge and/or complete a BINGO card (a Bingo or blackout). Teams that are first to finish in each building will be tracked, but everyone who completes their mission ALSO gets an enhanced prize.  The stacks of prizes are getting high in the HR office -- everything from tons of Raider gear to flair pen sets to local treats at area businesses!  

The BINGO cards will be sent out on Monday, the 21st to all staff - and remember that everyone who signs up for the challenge - team or individual - will get a goody bag of Wellness Wishes delivered to your building next week.  

Finally, SAVE THE DATE for our Family Fun Night on Saturday, March 5th from 5pm - 8pm at the HIGH SCHOOL.  Bring your family and enjoy a night of food and fun – there will be pizza and other snacks and drinks, rollerskating, scootering, pickleball, dodgeball and open gym.  Plenty of things for you and your family to enjoy on a Saturday night - we will send out a Google sign up in a couple weeks.

Hudson High School Fitness Center - Employee Membership

As we launch this year’s District Staff Wellness Challenge, we will be extending the hours of the Raider Fitness Center for employees. Beginning, February 18, employees with a Fitness Center membership will be able to use the Fitness Center before and after the school day (6:00 AM - 7:00 AM and 3:00 PM - 9:30 PM). Employee members are also welcome to use the Fitness Center during the community use hours Monday through Friday from 5:30 PM - 9:30 PM and on Saturdays and Sundays from 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM.

An employee membership costs $20.00/month and includes the employee’s spouse and dependents under the age of 22 living in the same household. Employees must have a Raider Fitness Center membership to use the walking track or the strength and conditioning equipment.  

Click here to sign up online for your employee family membership.

Employees and their immediate family members may choose to use elementary and middle school gyms when they are not scheduled for use. Please refer to the Facilities Calendar to see when the gym is reserved. The Facilities Calendar can be found in the Staff Resources within Class Link (or click here). Reservations do change frequently, so be sure to check the calendar rather than assume a gym will be open. You are expected to supervise your children at all times. Bringing in friends of your children is not allowed. Not all schools have custodial support on the weekends. Please make sure you clean up after yourself, we want to be respectful of our custodians and not add to their workload. 

Employees who want to hold building wellness events in a gym or other common spaces outside of the school day are reminded to schedule the space with Betsy Ganz (ext. 8064) prior to the event or activity. If you have questions about Raider Fitness Center memberships, please contact Bev Hagen in Community Education at ext. 3722.

Collective Teacher Efficacy

 

Collective Teacher Efficacy is the collective belief of teachers in their ability to positively affect students. With an effect size of d=1.57 Collective Teacher Efficacy is strongly correlated with student achievement. Here is a quick overview of John Hattie’s “new number one” influence.

I was able to attend a virtual training last week, and this term, Collective Teacher Efficacy, came up in the context of its high level of impact.  As I thought more about it, it made me think of our work with Data Roll Throughs last week, and the collaborative conversations with many voices at the table - working together for the success of our students, and celebrating our efforts and the success we are seeing (in a challenging year!).  I started thinking more about what Collective Teacher Efficacy really means - and how can I support it - and the results are below!

With an effect size of 1.57, Hattie considers Collective Teacher Efficacy more than two times more impactful than feedback (0.72) and almost three times bigger than classroom management (0.52).  The message is clear - teachers an achieve more when they believe that they can do so!  A Stanford Study (1977) showed that a group's confidence in its abilities seemed to be associated with greater success, true across several domains.  In communities where neighbors share the belief that they can work together to overcome crime, there is significantly less violence.  In companies where team members hold positive beliefs about the team's capabilities, there is greater creativity and productivity.  And in schools, when educators believe in their combined ability to influece student outcomes, there are significantly higher levels of academic achievement.

Contributing factors to building a strong sense of Collective Teacher Efficacy:

Clear Communication - there is clear and frequent communication of the building goals and expectations for student success; communication also includes a celebration of growth that is happening

School Culture - the school narrative is about high expectations, student growth, what it measn to be a "good learner", and always seeking opportunities for learning for both teacher and student; a shared language focuses on student learning as opposed to instructional compliance; a common belief that we are change agents!

Collaboration - formal, frequent, and productive collaboration that focuses on ways to reach expectations for all students; staff learn from and with one another to build common understandings in dependable, high trust, collaborative environments

High Expectations - expectations for success are high, and teachers and leaders approach their work with an intensiified persistence and strong resolve; the expectation isn't top down, but rather universally shared

High Yield Instructional Strategies - strong and viable curriculum, family communication/involvement, and schoolwide productive ways to address behavior management

Role of Evidence - link between actions and outcomes; instructional improvement efforts result in improved student outcomes validated through learning data strengthens collective efficacy, and this evidence reinforces proactive collective behaviors, feelings, thoughts and motivations;  collective efficacy is a social resource that does not get depleted by its use, but rather it gets renewed!

Success lies in the critical nature of collaboration and the strength of believeing that together, staff and students can accomplish great things.  This is the power of collective efficacy. (The Power of Collective Efficacy, ASCD, 2018)

Something to think about - let me know your thoughts!

Have a great week -

Sue

Going Home Checklist

 

We are working hard.  Keeping a positive attitude.  Doing everything we can to meet the needs of the Willow River students.  We're covering recess, arranging coverage for unfilled positions, managing behaviors, and getting kids caught up.  We're spending extra time supporting student academic and behavior needs so they can be successful.  We're keeping up on paperwork, job responsibilities, and communication.  And we're tired.  I want to acknolwedge the hard work every single person on the staff is contributing, to support a "normal" year for kids. 

I shared this last week, but want to share it again because I think it's important.  At the end of an exhausting day, take 30 seconds to reflect on the good things that happened during the day.  There will be copies available in the workroom for you to put in a place you will see and be reminded when you head home each day.

 Thank you.