#PrincipalPLN

Latest Episodes:

Episode 98: Apruary Apr 28, 2018

Show notes

In this episode, Jessica and Spike talk about the weather during this month of Apruary. After Jessica got her venting out about the weather our conversation moved into state testing and she shared her idea of using Bitmoji to make stickers for the back of student test tickets for motivation.

They also chatted about Snapchat and want to learn more about how teachers are using snapchat to engage students. Are you using snapchat as a student engagement tool? Please let us know.

Our conversation also touched on communication and how many different ways information needs to be shared.

Spike shared all about being an AVID school.

Episode 97: Staff Meeting Ideas Apr 21, 2018

Show notes

All 3 of the PrincipalPLN crew were here today, so we started out catching up on Influenza recovery and post Spring break updates. We talked about our morning routines to start each day out on the right foot and the importance of having a gratitude habit.

In our random discussions, we mentioned the hot new games kids are playing: Fortnite and Prodigy. Why is Fortnight so popular? Here's an article that discusses this: TomsGuide

We talked about staff meeting ideas and building collective commitments together with our staff.

Episode 96: Planning from Next Year Part II Apr 14, 2018

Show notes

In this episode, Jessica and Spike continue the conversation from Episode 95 regarding next year. Throughout the conversation, both shared the various plans for overcoming budgeting and staffing obstacles as well as how to stay positive with the additional requirements of being a Principal.

Spike discussed his recently published article in Innovate My School - Team Activities for Budget Planning. He also talked about the conference that he coordinated with local Millville City Commissioners, Millville Youth Empowerment Summit. The Summit was attended by about 60 students and 20 parents and featured area speakers helping students become empowered. They are already beginning the planning process for next year.

Jessica shared how her school staff is inspiring their elementary students to dream big, using March Madness to promote college awareness. Here's a blog post she wrote last year to share about this (although this year they added even more to what they do at her school): Promoting College Awareness in the Elementary with March Madness.

Episode 95 Apr 08, 2018

Show notes

In this episode, Theresa and Spike discuss how each school is focusing on planning for next year. They begin by describing the specific schedules for their middle school and the high school. Theresa's school operates on a Trimester schedule and Spike's is on a block schedule.

As they plan for next year, both schools are looking at initiatives that will foster student learning and prepare students for the 21st century. How does this work in the confines of the school? How do you get buy-in? How much change is too much change? These are the questions that both ponder as they share their experiences.

In the podcast, Spike also referred to The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller. He learned about this last week when talking with Jethro Jones and it has already helped him as the school plans for next year.

Episode 94: Jethro Jones Mar 06, 2018

Show notes

Episode 93: The Principled Principal Feb 24, 2018

Show notes

In this episode we are fortunate to be joined by Jeff Zoul and Anthony McConnell, the authors of the hot new book, The Principled Principal: 10 Principles for Leading Exceptional Schools.

The Principled Principal examines ten guiding principles, using stories and real-life examples to make them relevant and applicable for every school leader.

You’ll learn . . .

What to prioritize and what to eliminate from your to-do list

How to empower your staff and students

How to hire the right people for your school

Why and how to keep calm in a crisis

How to recognize and avoid “culture crushers”

How to create a positive culture for your school community

Implement the strategies and practices in The Principled Principal, and fast-track your way to becoming the leader your school needs.

The list of what you'll learn goes on, along with stories from practicing principals in each chapter.

We know you'll enjoy listening to Jeff and Anthony chat about their book just as much as we did! Want to tweet about the book? Use the hashtag #10principles to join in the conversation with others.

Episode 92: The Balanced Teacher Path with Justin Ashley Feb 18, 2018

Show notes

We discovered Justin Ashley in this article: He was a classroom star. But CMS teacher’s success masked depression, addiction and just knew we had to have him join us on the podcast to help us learn from his journey and be able to support our teachers to prevent them from burnout. If you’re ready to inject more joy into your personal life, get more meaning from your job, strengthen your body and mind, and break free financially then you will want to listen to him on the podcast and read his book!

Episode 91: Personal Learning and Email Tips Feb 04, 2018

Show notes

In this episode, Spike talked about his big takeaways from attending the national SAMS conference, which you can read about here: 5 Takeaways from the National SAM Conference

One of the keynotes he talked about was Valerie Burton, author of Successful Women Think Differently.

We spent quite a bit of time talking about the email beast. Theresa shared email tips Boomerang and Astro, and Unroll to tame the subscription emails you receive. Theresa mentions the following studies to give reason for why you need to be efficient with your email:

UC Irvine Study

Carnegie Mellon Study - A Focus on Distraction

In our discussion about engaging in conversations and being able to listen, Jessica mentioned this must-watch TED Talk: TED Talk: 10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation

We are excited about future podcasts to come: We are scheduled to have Justin Ashley, author of The Balanced Teacher to join us. When we read about him in this article: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/education/article144336674.html , we just had to seek him out to join us. He went from Teacher of the year to Rehab. Please let us know if you have any questions you want us to ask him when he’s on the podcast.

We also have Jeff Zoul and Anthony McConnell scheduled to join us to talk about their new book, The Principled Principal. In addition, we will be having Ben Gilpin and Jethro Jones

Episode 90: Getting Organized Jan 21, 2018

Show notes

In this episode, Theresa and Spike discuss how 2018 is going while Jessica is Ice Fishing! As the discussion unfolds, Theresa talked about how she has been using the app Todoist. She uses Todoist to organize all of the tasks that she has to do throughout the week. Todoist connects with her Gmail and allows her to schedule time to get the important things accomplished. Theresa also talked about she continues to use Evernote. She takes all her notes, articles, tasks, and documents and scans them to Evernote.

Spike shared how he stays organized throughout the day by using the SAMs Time Tracker System. This system, developed by former Principal Mark Shellinger, creates a calendar for Principals to track their time and work on improving their time spent with instruction.

Please share any apps/tips/tricks you use for staying organized. We'll be tackling email next, so share those things, too via twitter, email, or commenting on the blog post.

PrincipalPLN is a part of the Education Podcast Network

Episode 89: Principal in Boots, Lindsy Stumpenhorst Jan 18, 2018

Show notes

In this episode, we chat with Lindsy Stumpenhorst, elementary principal in Illinois, also known as

“Principal in Boots.” Lindsy shares all about leading an amazing staff, living in the country, balance,

using social media, and her one word for 2018: Awe. Have you heard of Instagram? Spike and Lindsy

both work hard to convince Jessica to revitalize her Instagram account and connect where the action is.

Something interesting about Lindsy is her family was in Josh Turner’s music video for his song, Find

Me a Baby! Check it out here: Josh Turner (about 30 seconds in). Not only does Lindsy have horses, but

she also has dogs that size too (we got to see them while we're recording, so couldn't help but ask for

photo evidence to share!

Spike discussed his use of the SAMs Time Tracker System for Principals. He is going to their National Conference in a few weeks. For more information, the SAMs Time Tracker System, check out their website.

Lindsy is currently reading: Love Languages of Children and Wild Card: 7 Steps to an Educator’s Creative Breakthrough

She also recommended the app Pocket, a handy app that lets you save tweets, posts, articles to return to later.

We hope you enjoy listening to Lindsy as much as we did. You can connect with her at:

@lmstump

https://principalinboots.wordpress.com/

Principal_in_boots on instagram