This week’s tip: Make the new normal easier by staying in the Green.
Shawna and I wanted to reach out because we had a very similar experience as the SAM Principal mentioned in the weekly SAMtastic on April 6, 2020 and felt the need to share. On March 11, 2020 our district informed all staff and students that March 13, 2020 would be our last day of school for at least two weeks. That was the last day we used our SAMs calendar, which had been the driving force to ensure we were staying instructionally focused.
As we began to help our staff and parents navigate this “new normal”, it was clear a schedule was a necessity. If a schedule was a necessity for our staff and students, then it was a necessity for us as well. The purpose of the SAMs TImeTrack calendar is to track time spent with individuals and provides specifics about the work. We feel this is more important than ever because we are not having the face to face interactions that we are accustomed to having daily. We are using the SAMs TImeTrack calendar to track time spent providing information, supporting our teachers, celebrating and self-care for staff and communication with parents. The SAMs TimeTrack calendar is once again the driving force to support getting meaningful work accomplished.
In addition, the Annual SAMs Conference continues to be a blessing. Shawna and I have continued to move forward with our work around family engagement. We have even started Parent Universities, a series of virtual parents meetings, that we host every Tuesday and Thursday. Last night we were able to connect with Lavonna Roth and other administrators around the country. We had the opportunity to share what we are doing in the space of family engagement as well as receive tips from other administrators about successes they have had as education moves to a virtual platform. We hope to continue to connect with SAM administrators because everyone around the world is navigating distance learning. We are in this together!
We are making time for what is important and continuing to build school/ family relationships, which is all documented on our TimeTrack!
Thank you,
Stephanie Gobbo
SAM Assistant Principal
Allenwood Elementary School