What are YOUR Big Rocks?

This year has been a doozy to get used to. Nothing beats changing everything you know about yourself in one year.

This time a year ago, I was coming into my comfort zone with myself. I was focused, rested, buoyant and thrilled for the future. Though I am almost all of those this year, rested I am most definitely not.

You see, this year, I decided to really focus on my Big Rocks. Do you know what your big rocks are?   Once you do, it is a lot easier to decide how your energy should be placed. 

I know one of the big rocks I have to work on is my weight- I am the first to admit it and point it out. I deeply acknowledge this is a big rock and do have strategies in place.

This year, because of the move, I had a deep awareness that it takes much more energy to commute and teach full time than it does to either not commute or to work part time and commute. So I made my big rocks work and family.

And, to be honest, this year my house has been a mess. I used to believe a perfectly clean house meant everything. I am less inclined to believe the same now. I watch only one TV show - at all. Maybe one hour a week. If I am online, it is for teaching or learning purposes - for the vast majority of the time, anyway.

I have taken a leadership role in a volunteer professional organization, created a bond with amazing students who continually gratify my sense of awe, see kids living the 7 Habits and their parents even speak it!

I have done almost every unit with a project in place, added countless technologies to my repertoire, hosted PD sessions, taught kids to do plays in French, had chats on Twitter with my students and their author hero David Bouchard.

I have been there for every baseball game and practice for my blessing of a daughter. Sometimes I even help with practices. We even figured out how to get her there early! I've made time to volunteer as her room rep, sit on her parent council, help run her school dance and allow for her to have six million sleepovers. At least six million.

I have made time to give her teachable moments and have the tough talks with her. Hubby and I have worked hard to make sure our tween, who tests limits at times, doesn't grow into the teen who has zero respect for the rules.

My beloved husband and I rarely see each other due to differing schedules, but when we have been together, we have made sure to make family time really meaningful. We have achieved financial, emotional, mental and spiritual goals as a family this year in addition to blasting through our own personal goals individually.

I have taken the sage advice of the 7 Habits Signature Training and its wonderful facilitators. With my fortune of having taken the program twice and seeing the results at the Leader in Me Symposium, I truly believe it does what it says it will do.

I can proudly say it has with us. I can also humbly say that more big rocks are to come.

Thank you, Covey Family and #tlim for your life-changing inspiration.

Can you see the Leader in Me?

More importantly, can you truly see the leader in you?

À la prochaine, les amis!

Mme Poulet

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La vie selon le miroir d'arrière-view

C'était une longue année très occupée, mais j'ai appris plus que je réveillée qu'était possible.

J'ai réussi avec le Leader in Me avec de ma classe - quelquefois oui ; quelquefois non. Dès enfants oui; autres, non. Après il y a 7 années, enfin j'ai pris le courage d'essayer la programme AIM. Mes quatrièmes l'adorent! Grâce à #aimlang, #langchat et à #abtfsl,  je ne me sens pas seul au monde des profs français encore. Merci à tous : d'être mes inspirations, soutiens et camarades.

J'ai exprimé avec beaucoup de technologies à ma salle de classe. On a joué avec le Voki et beaucoup de #google. On a utilisé : Google Slides, Docs, Pictures, LucidCharts, Forms et pendant quelque journées, on fera un Google Hangout avec une autre classe!

Ces technologies me rendre très hâte au sujet du futur! L'apprentissage et l'enseignement va changer pour toujours, à mon avis. Allez - vous changer votre enseignement aussi?

Je ne dormais pas assez cette année.  Je m'ai plongeais dans l'eau froide de changement et je suis tellement heureuse comment ça m'avait changé. L'année prochaine, je voulais faire de plus avec des Chromebooks. Je vais utiliser Remind avec mes classes. Je vais continuer d'être courageuse et changer le monde, un petit cerveau à la fois. Comment allez - vous changer le monde?

Enfin, j'ai beaucoup de fierté en moi même, parce que, s' il y a des fautes ou non, j'ai écrit ma première poste de blog en français.  Ça prend beaucoup de courage,  mais sans courage et croître dans moi même,  est-ce que c'est vraiment possible de donner le même à mes étudiants?  Je ne pense pas.

Quelle sont les plus importants habilités du 21 siècle qui est le plus important à vous? Comment est-ce que vous le faire avec votre classe?

Nous avons un grand et important travail à faire.

Si vous voulez, s'il vous plaît,  ajouter les commentaires!

À la prochaine, les amis!

Mme Poulet

The Time Matrix Strikes Back!

Life can take you some pretty funny directions, can it not?

When I first went into University, I wanted to become a child psychologist. Though it is still on my bucket list, my plans veered toward a career of writing. I found, however, that if I did not have the muse, it was extraordinarily forced and mechanical.

Such was the blog this year, I suppose. Though, to be fair - I have been one busy hen!

We have been very lucky at my school to experience myriad amazing things. My students used the muse of David Bouchard's writing to create legends, which helped them carve a totem pole of their chosen Spirit Animals. While they had fun learning about this, I worked on their 7 Habits understanding and am excitedly repeating the Signature Program myself.

I have had the opportunity to participate in a Mentorship Series through my school division, which I have found very useful in setting my stage for teaching. Oddly, the longer I teach, the hungrier I am for PD.

And, as I take, so shall I give. As the elected president of Alberta Teachers of French, I am putting on an unconference at Pigeon Lake in 2 weeks, and presenting a PD session this fall at the SLIC conference in Edmonton.

After all, if I expect my students to be leaders, doesn't it begin with me?

Thank you to all who inspire me to better myself. Through their guidance, I, too, can be a guiding light.

Madame O