CHRIS
TOY
Diary #23
The
Relaxed Glow Fades
and the Big Move Begins
It's amazing how fast the relaxed glow of vacation fades. I'm not complaining -- well, at least not a whole lot.
A week on a huge floating hotel with the family and extended family of nine in the Caribbean was a great break. I never even glanced at the budget documents, recertification plan, or classroom observations I loaded onto my Palm Pilot. It was only used by my children to play chess and to write me silly notes. (See two vacation pictures.)
Back to the office -- sort of
I got into work on Monday morning and was reminded that I no longer had an office to go to. The schoolwide renovation project had taken over the administration area. The office had been packed up in a couple dozen boxes. The secretaries' desks and phones had been moved across the hall to temporary quarters in the middle of what will become a main corridor. My office consists of my computer and my phone on top of an unplugged fax off to one side of the "office." Well, it's only for a couple weeks, I hope. There are some interesting observations I've made about this situation. I think it's good for the staff to see their principal having to deal with some of the inconvenience caused by the changes happening in the building. I think it's hardest on the secretarial staff. All of their paperwork and supplies are packed away. It took a couple hours just to find letterhead, envelopes, and labels to prepare a mailing requested by the central office. Not having an office made me realize how many confidential conversations I have each day. Every time I speak to a parent on the phone, to a student about a concern, the central office about an issue, a staff member about school or personal issues I have been able to simply reach out and push the door closed. Now I have to search for an an empty room, ask if I can call back when I can get to a private phone, or simply let the voice mail take the call. I am glad that many of the things I need are on my laptop computer or my Palm Pilot. Together they are a kind of mobile office. Student and staff phone numbers, disciplinary forms and notes, as well as schedules and my appointments are all available. Fortunately my laptop is connected to the school server and the Internet through a wireless network, so I can work, communicate, and do research anywhere in the school.An exciting if stressful move
And of course, I can't forget why all this is happening! Beginning next Tuesday we'll begin moving into the newly built 6th and 7th grade wings of the school. It's very exciting and a bit stressful. The moving needs to be done in stages. A couple rooms at first, to enable the construction crew to do some demolition in an old part of the building.
We've have some spirited discussions about how best to organize the moves. Issues around freeing up teachers to pack, move, and set up as well as finding the balance between involving the students in the moving process and making sure the move is done safely and in an organized fashion have been debated among the teachers and administration. Most of the packing will be done by teachers on their own time. Some teachers have involved students. Others may not. The moving of heavy furniture will be done by adults and custodial staff. Next Friday the 6th and 7th grade students will be dismissed early, freeing the staff up to finish moving and to begin unpacking. Since the 8th graders will not be moving until April, they will have a regular day of school. Of course, when the 8th grade moves into their new rooms, we'll do something similar for them. It's pretty exciting to be back.
