As many of you know, I will not be around next week as I will be attending ISTE in Philadelphia with Shawn from Brightbank and Norm from Forest Green. Although I will not be around, you will still be able to connect through me via email and I will contact you as soon as possible. Carolyn and Cheryl will also be available if you have any concerns.
Here is how my week looks:
Monday – I will be at Forest Green all day. Mike Hubick will be visiting Forest Green in the afternoon and will be visiting classrooms if time permits. I know that everyone will make him feel extremely welcome.
Tuesday – I will be at central office during the day to meet with the Galileo group from Calgary to discuss division initiatives for the 2011-2012 school year and beyond. Following that, I will be attending the retirement celebration for Parkland School Division.
Wednesday – I will be in at Forest Green all day but will attempt to be at CFL/Brightbank at some point during the day.
Thursday – I will be at Forest Green all day for Identity Day! This is a great event and I am looking forward to seeing it continue for many years to come.
Friday – I am at Forest Green all day and looking forward to the Grade 6 Farewell.
Although this is a busy week, please do not hesitate to contact me if you need anything.
Here are some articles that I would like to share:
1. When do Teachers Transform from Teacher to Teacher-Leader? This is something that I firmly believe in if we are to be a successful organization. As you have seen through our Professional Development program, the more we see ourselves for our own expertise, and the expertise of your own colleagues, the better we all do. I do not believe in the idea that “you can not be a prophet in your own land.” We have an amazing staff and we need to recognize each other’s gifts. Here is a quote from the article
Then I went to the district level and asked for answers. They were very helpful in providing possible resources and had the same concerns, but they had no definitive answers.
Then it clicked.
We were all in the same position. Because of my work with the student in my classroom, I was just as much of an “expert” as everyone in positions who were suppose to be the “leaders,” but who had no experience educating students with this specific level of needs.
2. This summer I won’t be learning how to be a better teacher – This post by Shelly Wright, who is one of my (and many others) favourite bloggers, discusses taking on her own home project for the summer using the power of the network. She really shows that we can learn about what we want, when we want, and how we want.
For me, it’s not about school being in or out. It’s about learning. And if you’re connected, you can learn anytime, about anything.
3. I really encourage you to take a look at the other classroom blogs at Forest Green and CFL. They will offer you many great ideas of how you can use blogging effectively in the classroom to improve student learning. All of the blogs are listed here and you can subscribe to them using Google Reader, which is part of your Google account.
I hope you all have a fantastic week! Enjoy the students as they have the power to continuously inspire 
George