LESter's Little Makerspace

I am so excited to announce that Lawrenceville Elementary School has received a grant from the Lawrence Township Education Foundation for our first official Makerspace!  The idea of creating a Makerspace developed from my background as a STEM Supervisor.  I started researching ways to incorporate engineering standards into our curriculum as the new Next Generation Science Standards emphasize critical thinking, problem solving, and "tinkering."  I soon became attached to the idea of creating a Makerspace in which students could explore in a collaborative way.  When I became the Principal of LES, it was my goal to establish this space at LES as I know the students would benefit from such a hands-on approach to learning and continue to develop a growth mindset which is also one of my goals.  In collaboration with administration, PTO, staff and students, our ideas took form into a specific plan which included a library "transformation" to house the LES Makerspace.  I look forward to working with all of those interested in making LESter's Little Makerspace a unique and innovative space for students and families to give life to their ideas and interests.  Below is a link to my Makerspace Pinterest page and my Makerspace Pearltrees page.  If this is something that interests you, please reach out to me.  I am still gathering ideas and resources to make this a successful and enjoyable endeavor.
Here is our new Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/LES_lilmakers

https://www.pinterest.com/lockett1155/makerspace/
http://www.pearltrees.com/mnlockett/engineering-makerspace/id13859936

Ask Your Children a New Question

Ask Your Children a New Question...

I read two different articles online recently about creative ways to ask your child about his/her day at school and I love that these authors put their own "spin" on the age old question, "How was your day at school?" We started doing this at my house and guess what?  It works-but not just with my children, it works with the adults too!  The power of re-phrasing this question has really led to a more enjoyable and a more detailed conversation for our whole family during dinner time. I usually ask the same question to get started, "What was your favorite part of your day?"  This gets the conversation going and from there, the questions are easier.  Some are serious, some are silly, but most of them will get you a better response than, "Good."  Here are some of my favorite questions from the articles I saw on Twitter from Huff Post Parents and PopSugar-Mom Section.  

• Tell me something that made you laugh today
• How did someone help you today?/Did you help someone yesterday?
• Who/What made you smile today?
• What challenged you today? (there is that opportunity to promote a growth mindset!)
• What did you do at recess today? Who did you play with?
• If you were the teacher for the day, what would you do with the class?
• Tell me one new thing you learned today

You don't have to ask these questions, you can ask your own.  And, YOU don't always have to ask the questions.  Once you get this practice started, you can have a bowl or box full of questions so that your child can pick one and begin the conversation-giving them an even more important role in your family conversation.  The possibilities are endless, but the most important thing is that you are spending time together and finding out more about your child's day at school. Have fun with your questions and enjoy the conversation!

The Smiling Faces of LES

This post will be short and sweet...

People often ask me why I chose to be a Principal, especially those who know how happy I was as a Supervisor in our wonderful district.  My answer couldn't be simpler or more heartfelt-it is all about the kids.  It is all about the smiling faces I get to see everyday when I go to work.  It is all about getting to know the children of Lawrenceville Elementary School. I really missed being a part of a school community and interacting with students daily.  Even though we only had two days of school last week, I felt the excitement of the first day of school once again.  Welcoming our students back to LES or to LES for the first time gave me such JOY!  I am a happy Principal and I can't wait to get back to my students tomorrow morning! (I can't wait to get back to the amazing LES staff too!)

NTO Optimism

New Teacher Orientation (NTO) starts at LTPS on Monday.  For the first time in 8 years, I won't be leading the new team as a member of Instructional Services.  My Supervisor friends joke with me that in the past they just "let me go" because I am so passionate about starting these new teachers off on the right foot. And, I don't apologize for being a little over zealous.  I love New Teacher Orientation week because you can feel the excitement in the air. They are the most positive, nervous, inspired group of professionals around-and they should be.  I read a quote recently by Colleen Wilcox that said "Teaching is the greatest act of optimism."  That's what I feel when I'm with new teachers-Optimistic.  I wish I could harness that hopefulness and take it out during those, well, not so optimistic moments in our careers. I would keep it like a little bottle of air freshener to spray around the building when times are tough-LOL!

 I really enjoyed Jennifer Gonzalez's blog post with amazing advice for new teachers-a suggestion on how to remain optimistic, "Find Your Marigold."  She suggests that new teachers surround themselves with good people-protectors-marigolds.  These people will improve your growth, the way a marigold improves the growth of plants around it. I'm sure those of us in education for a while can think back to our "marigolds."  We couldn't have done it without them.  So, if you are a veteran teacher reading this-Be someone's "marigold." Encourage and support our new teachers.  You know that they will need someone to talk to and try out new ideas with, a shoulder to cry on, and someone to send them back to their students refreshed and optimistic. If you are a new teacher reading this-Good luck, hang on to that optimism, find your "marigolds" and know that you will make connections with your students this year that will live in your heart forever!

Check out the Marigold post referenced above by Jennifer Gonzalez-http://www.cultofpedagogy.com/marigolds/

Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, and Much Much More!

As I am preparing for the new school year, I've been reading A LOT.  One of my latest reads is Creating Cultures of Thinking by Ron Ritchhart. In this book, the author asks the question, "What do you want the children we are teaching in our schools to be like as adults?" I love children's literature and my mind immediately jumped some amazing books that have life lessons I want our students at LES to learn and carry into adulthood...

Oh, The Places You'll Go! Often given as a graduation gift, this children's book is jam-packed with concepts of grit, growth, and perseverance. "On and on you will hike, And I know you'll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are." Developing a growth mindset, challenging yourself, and knowing the power of the word YET, will help our students in the classroom and beyond the walls of LES.

Do Unto Otters  I always share this book with new teachers as it can really help to build your classroom community and help students identify their rules for life... "Doo-dee-doo unto otters as you would have otters doo-dee-doo unto you." The Golden Rule.

What Do You Do With An Idea  Embrace and nurture your ideas! This is the message of this beautifully illustrated book in which a boy gets an idea, is unsure of what to do with it, comes to the decision to nurture and develop it, and finally realizes what an idea can become. "And then, I realized what you do with an idea... You change the world."

Winnie-the-Pooh Everyone needs a little encouragement sometimes, that encouragement needs to come from within to sustain us in life.  Let's build that self-esteem in our school everyday. "Promise me you'll always remember: You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse Kevin Henkes, the author of this book, is one of my all-time favorite children's authors and Lilly is one of his most dynamic little characters.  Lilly has a tough day at school and her teacher packs her purse with a treat and a note that says, "Today was a difficult day. Tomorrow will be better."  I want all of our students to believe in second chances.  Making a mistake is okay.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets The wise headmaster, Dumbledore, has a lot of 'quotable quotes', but one of my favorites is, "It is our choices Harry, that show us what we truly are, far more than our abilities." I want our students to learn how to become good decision makers.  I want them to have the opportunity to learn that they have options, how to weigh those options, and make the best decision-Decisions that will help them reach and exceed high expectations.

Oh, The Thinks You'll Think!  That Dr. Seuss...we could do a whole blog post dedicated to lessons learned in his books!  But this one is specific to school and this post.  I want all our students to be thoughtful, life-long learners.  "Think and wonder. Wonder and think."  Asking questions of interest, searching for answers, imagining the possibilities, and sharing what you have learned.  These are skills I want all our students to practice here at LES so they "Think and wonder" forever.

Rosie Revere, Engineer "The only true failure can come if you quit." Rosie is a little "engineer" who learns that not every invention will work, especially on the first try, but that doesn't mean you should stop trying.  Another book fostering that growth mindset.  I'm sensing a theme...

So I pose the question to those reading this blog-What do you want our LES students to be like as adults? Please feel free to respond below.

"No Matter Where the Bus Goes..."

This week's blog post was inspired by a brief but refreshing jaunt to the beach with my family and a lovely retirement dinner last night.  My feelings are best articulated by this message from the book Good to Great by Jim Collins.  

“For no matter what we achieve, if we don’t spend the vast majority of our time with people we love and respect, we cannot possibly have a great life. But if we spend the vast majority of our time with people we love and respect – people we really enjoy being on the bus with and who will never disappoint us – then we will almost certainly have a great life, no matter where the bus goes. The people we interviewed from the good-to-great companies clearly loved what they did, largely because they loved who they did it with.”

First Principal Blog Post

LES 2000

It seems fitting that my first official blog post as the LES principal is this picture of me from the year 2000.  This was the day I was offered a teaching position at Lawrenceville Elementary School.  As you can probably tell, I was so excited to begin my teaching career at LES.  Today, I feel the same excitement.  An amazing journey lies ahead and I look forward to navigating it with the teamwork and support of the families and staff of Lawrenceville Elementary School.