Keeping Morale High Until the End of Year - Game

If you are a regular reader of my blog or twitter account you will notice that my staff likes to have fun. Any time we can reduce the stress level or do something that will make our work more fun we will try it. The end of the year can be pretty stressful with all the deadlines.

So here we are at the end of the year and trying to stay positive and keep the fun alive. We have played the "clothes pin" game earlier in the year but this time of year brings a whole new perspective. I had actually given the teachers the first draft of their class lists for next year, the day before we played:) They thought I planned it that way:)

Directions: Each teacher gets two clothes pins with their name on them. They must wear the clothes pins on their clothes so everyone can see them.

If you say something negative the person you are talking to can take your clothes pin or ask you to hand it over. The person with the most clothes pins at the end of the day wins! This is a bedazzled clothes pin. The "face" is from a bulletin board set and I just glued it to a star and then to the clothes pin.  I also downloaded lips clip art and my counselor had other awards but I was gone at the end of the day to hand out the awards.

Since it was the end of the year I added a new twist for those who just couldn't handle the stress of "one more thing" this time of year.

Teacher Appreciation 2013

How do you celebrate Teacher Appreciation at your school? Every year is different for us. Maybe you can use some of our ideas next year!

Below is the letter I sent home to parents. This pretty much took all control out of my hands which was frightening. If the parents didn't respond to this my teachers would have had nothing. I shouldn't have been surprised how well they did with this! It was amazing!

Teacher Appreciation 2013PDF

Day One: I provided a luncheon but the parents signed up for desserts. I use VolunteerSpot.com and they had filled all "spots" within 24 hours!

This sweet family had a whole cake made and dedicated to our teachers!

These are all the desserts the parents donated!

We have connections at a local Mexican restaurant!

 Day Two: The teachers have enough to drink for the rest of the summer! The kids had a blast delivering the teacher's favorite drinks!

I kind of lost tract the remainder of the week but the whole building smelled like flower shop on Day Three. Day Four the kids created all kinds of thank you notes and projects to give their teachers.

Day Five "Sweet Treat Day" was even a bigger success! The teachers had so much candy they were letting students eat it! This made the kids even happier.

Feel free to use any of our ideas for your school or for your own children to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week 2014!

Principal vs. Principal Dunk Tank Challenge

Dunk Tank fun had by all! Willard North won the "Principal vs. Principal" challenge bringing in 8,027 Box Tops. But Willard East brought in 7,777! Both principals celebrated by taking a turn in the dunk tank.

Final Plans for SWMAESP June 6th

The information below is for all SWMAESP members who can attend our June 6th meeting. The registration is also posted below for those of you who still need to sign up.

June 6th Carlos O'Kelly's S. Campbell, Springfield, MO (next to Campbell 16 Theater)
11:00-11:45: Sub District Informal meetings and conversation

• You will also order your lunch during this time. Lunch is on you and you can order from the menu. It will all be separate checks.

11:45-12:30: EAT!!!
12:30-1:00: Business Meeting/Recognitions

• Treasurer's Report
• Approve Officers
• Recognize Retirees ( Linda Meador, Tammy Condren, Kathy Claxton, Laura Boyd, & Faye Petters)
• Other stuff that people remind me I need to do:)

1:00-2:00: Presentation TBA

If you have not signed up please fill out the form below. Please invite a principal friend! They don't have to be a member yet. I am sure they will want to hang out with all of us after this meeting:)

SWMAESP Save the Date June 6th

It's hard to believe that the year is almost over! Time sure flies when you're having fun. On behalf of our SWMAESP Executive Committee I would like to invite you to save the date of June 6th for an end of the year celebration and announcements.

The plan is to have a lunch meeting on Thursday June 6th. There will be a charge for lunch but it should be minimal. Approximate time frame might be 11:00AM-2:00PM.
Here is the tentative agenda:

• Sub District Meetings
• Recognize retirements: (Please let me know of other retirements or corrections)
• Faye Peters
• Tammy Condren
• Laura Boyd
• Linda Meador (I think)
• Approve 2013-2014 Officers
• Presentation

Okay summer school supervisors let's see who can cover for your so you can attend this highly engaging meeeting???? Do you have a teacher leader who could fill in for you? Do you have a teacher working on his/her Masters/Doctorate that could fill in for you? We really want you to be there!!! You need to be with your principal friends for a few hours to celebrate the end the year and collaborate!

In order to reserve the best location I need to get a count of how many will be able to attend. Please fill out the form below and I will get back to you with specific details ASAP.

Teachers Ask. You Choose

Did you know that you can give to classrooms from the comfort of your own home or mobile device? We have two teachers who have projects waiting to be funded on DonorsChoose.org.

Mrs. Kramer's Project = iPod for Education  (Enter the code INSPIRE and your donation will be matched.)

Mrs. Well's Project = Pencils and Sharpeners and Erasers, Oh My! 

Donations as little as $5 can make a difference. More and more of our teachers will be posting projects so can you help them? Watch this short video below to learn more.......

Teachers Dancing Behind Students

We too have tried all the state testing incentives and assemblies. This year we decided to just have fun and do something that would make everyone laugh and feel good instead of stressing out so much. A while ago I came across some videos of teachers dancing behind students on YouTube and it was really funny. So here is our version.......ENJOY!