Set, don’t forget.
The start of a school year is exciting and exhausting. Learning new names, new faces, new families and new personalities can be something that takes a lot out of a person. Team this with learning a new curriculum if you have moved year levels or the ins and outs of a new school if you are new and your brain might be ready to explode by the end of Week One. Cognitive load theory is real and doesn't just apply to children. There is a lot that educators take on in those first few weeks and as such the overwhelm and exhaustion can be a lot.
By Term Two, we are in more of a routine and by the end of the year those students we were struggling to remember the names of in Week One have become your class family.
We then reset at the end of the school year just to start all over again!
Now I am the first to admit that it takes me a while to learn things. It was literal years before I realised this pattern of behaviour in myself and even more years before I realised I could do something about it.
Whilst learning people's names, personalities and all that rests in between takes time, there are ways we can use the cyclical nature of a school year to set ourselves up for success and take some of the load off our shoulders and out of our brains.
1 Go through your school calendar, parent complaints and old newsletters and make a list of things you need to address in a newsletter schedule.
I found this to be a really great way of ensuring I am in front of problems or issues before they arise. Set up a word doc to the cycle of your newsletter. Our newsletter is weekly so I have a table that shows 4 terms, 10 weeks in each. I then go through the calendar for the previous year along with the newsletter and any parent complaints and then plot points to address in the newsletter. These can be from remembering to check that jumpers and jackets have names clearly marked on them as they do fade over the course of washing through to ensuring you have shared information about the school's annual goals and updated families to how they are going. I also like adding in information in the lead up to reports, preparing for cough and flu season, reminders to make contact with your child's teacher if you have specific requests for class placements, updating contact information and promoting the good works of the school and community. This saves me from sending out reminder emails in addition to the newsletter, meaning that our newsletter holds more weight as the 'single source of truth' document. Quite often parent complaints are around a lack or limitation of communication. I like to look through parent complaints from the previous year to see if there are any ways I can streamline or improve in the area. Some things are unforeseen such as unpredictable weather events, however, you can write in your newsletter article a 'preparation in the unlikely event' at the start of each season. This might include a reminder of sun safe policies for the warmer weather including where students can play if they forget their hat. In the cooler or rainier months it might be a reminder of how pick up routines might vary in the event that a storm hits right on bell time. By having these items in the newsletter it also provides the receipts of 'it was in the newsletter' for those who say 'why weren't we told about this?!?!'
2. Set up slide decks for staff meetings, parent information evenings, orientation and start of year, end of year events while they are fresh in your mind.
There is nothing worse that preparing for a once a year event like Prep Orientation just to think 'now, how do we do this again??' Where possible add in any changes or even a slide with 'remember for next year' items to assist with planning. For our annual Parent Information Evening at the start of each school year, I provide a slide deck for each year level with all the important messages and reminders of what to add to ensure both consistency of message across year levels but also to help reduce the load for teachers who might think 'now, should we mention this or not?' Some have complained that it is a little micro-management coated but I think if you have a parent with children in 3 different classes, receiving a clear message from all 3 year level teachers about the importance of attendance, homework expectations and how to connect with the teacher if you would like to make an appointment, that has got to help.
3. Use your holidays to pre-load the basics.
From your Principal Reports to the School Board, P&F to your messages for the students, anything that you can per-load - be sure to pre-load. Something as simple as my Principal report for the School Board, and P&F can be written in skeletal using the information from the calendar and the newsletter plan. I usually have to add detail however I know what main areas I need to address then I have the basics typed up and ready. In the week prior to the meetings, I look through and then add the detail, emailing it ahead of time ready for the minutes. Whilst you still need to complete the task, it takes the heavy lifting out of it by removing the majority of the task away from the busy term and putting into a time where you have a bit more head space. Do this also with plans for classroom moves, new initiatives, things you want to address at a staff meeting or leadership team meeting. These can all be 'pre-loaded' and then just add the detail around it. The number of times I have looked at our weekly staff briefing that has been pre-loaded in the holidays and thought 'Oh yeah, I would have completely forgotten to mention to submit expense claims, pay your social club money or submit your health and safety checklists' unless I had added it in during the holiday pre-load. Again, this reduces the likelihood of having to send out another email or put an announcement over the loudspeaker during class time. Similar to the newsletter, it also gives more meaning and purpose to your reports, staff briefings or meetings. It also gives more reason for parents to attend the P&F meetings and for staff to read or attend the weekly staff briefing. The well known quip 'This meeting could have been an email' can hold meaning if you keep sending emails with additional reminders. Try to reduce the likelihood by giving clear and detailed messaging at the meetings you have.
Jenna Ortega who was the actress who played the main character in the TV show 'Wednesday' and most recently 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' said 'Routine and consistency are very important to me because I feel they kind of ease my nerves and give me a boost of confidence when I walk out'. I loved this quote because this is what I hope finding routine and consistency in the cyclical nature of the school year will do for our leaders and teachers who might be feeling overwhelmed.
Even if you don't do the above mentioned activities, just seeking the familiar and preparing for what you can will lead you away from a constant state of too much to do and not enough time. Whilst some things might come as a surprise, most things you will experience in a school year will be similar - you will always have planning, reports, an angry parent, a sick child, friendship issues, athletics carnivals etc etc etc. Now is your chance to get in front of the events and regain some control of your time and your resources.
Wishing you a great week ahead!
Anne-Marie
