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October 2008

Looking Forward to Monday Morning

There is always a moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.
~Graham Greene




Click on the above picture to enlarge. Don't forget to get this quote and artwork as well as MANY others in the newly published book, Quote This!

Staff members have a fun time dressing up for Halloween, too. This year try having a staff costume theme. For example, the administrators could dress up as doctors and all of the staff dress as patients. Or use the 101 Dalmatians theme. The administrators dress as the parents and everyone else is a Dalmatian puppy. Or the administrators dress up as Rock Stars and the staff members are groupies.

You could also have a general theme such as:

  • Wild, Wild West!
  • Restaurant Workers -- dress as cooks, servers, dishwashers, maître d', etc.
  • Circus animals
  • Pirates
  • Witches
  • Famous people from history
  • Music Madness -- dress as a popular musician, singer, instrument, etc.
  • TV shows of the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's
  • Decades -- Select a specific decade and let teams choose anything that happened in that decade, e.g. music, books, music, food, etc
  • Musicals
  • Reality Shows
  • Children's Books -- Dr. Seuss, Harry Potter, etc.
  • Countries -- teams select a country and dress in the attire associated with the country.
  • Wild World of Sports -- Divide the staff into teams and each team represents a sport and dresses in that attire. For example, the football team could have referees, cheerleaders, players, fans, people selling hotdogs in the stands, etc. Golfers could wear green jackets and auto racing could have pit crew members. Other sports could be basketball, soccer, hockey, tennis, horse racing, boxing, volleyball and beach volleyball, cycling, skiing, track and field.

Divide the staff into teams which will challenge each other for the best Halloween decorations. Let each team draw for an area of the school to decorate such as the staff lounge, office, entry to school, etc. You can select a theme for the entire school or allow each area to have its own theme. Themes could be specific to Halloween or general theme decorations. Examples are a Haunted Lau, an 80's Prom, Spooky Hollywood (red carpet style), The Wizard of Oz with many munchkins, Private Eyes, Home with the Adams Family, etc.

Cut out 30 patterns of pumpkins - 10 each of three different colors of paper such as orange, yellow, and green. Using markers draw fun faces on each one. On the reverse side:
  • Write the number 1 on the back of the orange pumpkins
  • Write the number 5 on the back of the yellow pumpkins
  • Write the number 10 on the back of the green pumpkins

Hide the pumpkins around the room before the staff members come for a meeting. When they arrive instruct them to find as many of the pumpkins as they can before you say "Stop!" When they are done, have each person add up the numbers on the backs and the person with the highest number of points is awarded a prize.

You could also use real pumpkins and gourds and allow the members to keep them as room decorations.

Get more Halloween ideas in Looking Forward to Monday Morning and Looking Forward to MORE Monday Mornings.

Each month I will be giving a free book to one person whose name will be drawn. There is a section on my website that allows you to post fun staff member ideas that are being used in YOUR school. What are you doing for fun this fall, your Halloween ideas, did you celebrate bosses day in a fun way, etc.? You can post your ideas for others to see or e-mail them directly to me at diane@dianehoges.com. The form can be reached through the link above or from a link on the right column on any page of my website.

The winner this month will be sent the book, Developing Highly Qualified Teachers ($26.95).

The winner of last month's book was Janice Darnell from Dawsonville, GA (Read Janice's motivational idea). The other contributors were each sent a Thought Pad or Humor Pad. Will this be YOUR lucky month to win?


You're too old for Halloween if...
  • You get winded from knocking on the door
  • You have a child chew the candy for you
  • You ask for high-fiber candy
  • When the door opens you yell, "Trick or..." and you can't remember the rest
  • You have trouble finding costumes in XL

Find more fun in Laugh Lines for Educators and Grin and Share It.

Receive a 10% discount on the books listed below through my web site, www.dianehodges.com.

Breakthrough
-- Synthesizing the best of current instructional models, this framework focuses on the components of the Triple P Breakthrough Model: Personalization- meaningful, student-centered classroom interactions; Precision-using formative assessments to monitor individual student progress; and Professional Learning-daily, ongoing learning for all educators. Was $25.95 - Now $23.35

Ten Traits of Highly Effective Schools -- Raising the Achievement Bar for All Students -- This resource identifies the unique characteristics of effective schools that enable all students to make outstanding performance gains and features a "10 Traits Audit" for use by schools. Each chapter offers a comprehensive description of one of the research-based traits. Was $33.95 Now $30.55

Developing Teacher Leaders -- Learn how collaborating with teacher leaders can result in significantly improved student outcomes. Includes an outline of a school development program based on teacher leadership and parallel leadership. Was $33.95 Now $30.55


School, Family, and Community Partnerships --This updated version of the bestseller identifies eight elements for success: strong multi-level leadership, teamwork, annual written plans, well-implemented activities, adequate funding, thoughtful evaluations, strong network, and continuous planning for improvement. Was $43.95 Now $39.55



Safe and Secure Schools by Judy Brunner and Dennis Lewis This timely resource offers cost-effective techniques for creating a safe environment for students, staff, and the community. Learn how to help prevent or minimize a potential crisis, facilitate a strong, more informed response when needed, and allow a school to recover and return to normalcy. Was $25.95 Now $23.35

  • October 22-24 - National Career Pathway Network - Cincinnati, OH
  • October 30-November 1 - National Middle School Association - Denver, CO
  • November 2008 - National Career Pathway Network, Cincinnati, OH
  • November 12 - Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals (Keynote Speaker)
  • December 4-6 - Association for Career and Technical Educators - Charlotte, NC
  • January 2009 - Center on Education and Work Madison, WI
  • February 2009 - National Association of Secondary School Principals, San Diego, CA
  • March 2009 -Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Orlando, FL
  • March 5 - California School Nurses Organization, Sacramento, CA (Keynote Speaker)
  • March 27 - Utah Association of School Nurses, Lehi, UT (Keynote Speaker)
  • June 4 - Alabama Association of School Nurses, Montgomery, AL (Keynote Speaker)
  • Please join me and bring a supply a smiles, chuckles, and grins!

    Do you need more Monday Morning ideas? This year I am a weekly columnist for Education World. I will have new entries each Tuesday www.educationworld.com. I will also continue to have podcasts with the IL Principals Association www.ilprincipals.org.

    Visit Our Website

    Drive your colleagues HAPPY!!


    Diane Hodges
    Threshold Group



     
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