Scaredy Squirrel- Leadership Role Model!!!
Our Gr. 10 Leadership students always complete an assignment based on the fantastic book Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt. Start by reading them the story elementary school style. (one time we tried showing the pages by powerpoint but reading straight from the book went way better) Be sure to give it a very dramatic reading. 🙂 Then have students get in partners. Have them first share one big leadership idea that jumped out to them from the book. Invite some students to share with the class or group what their partner’s big idea was. Then have the partners talk about one thing they could do in the next few days to become a better leader that they learned or were reminded of from Scaredy Squirrel.
Attached is the assignment we hand out. It is a joint effort from Michelle Lowey and myself. The quality of assignments we have gotten back have been great. Enjoy
Kindness – Dew It!!!
Centennial Leadership is launching our latest Be Kind day. We pick a day and encourage students to wear their Be Kind shirts. We bring in a different shirt design each time and bring in limited numbers so that they sell out and leaves our school wanting more. This time we are going with the Mountain Dew theme. Students who wear their Be Kind shirts on that day are given two cans of Mountain Dew. One for you and one for someone who is important to you. Each can has a note of thanks on it. Students can wear any of the Be Kind shirts from the past to qualify. Thanks to Weyburn School who gave us the original Be Kind shirt idea.
Be Kind – Share A Flower
Recently at Centennial we held a Be Kind day. Students are asked to wear a Be Kind shirt that we sell at the school store for a reduced price of $8. The original shirts said “Be Kind” on the front and “…Just Because” on the back. We got the original idea for the shirts and Be Kind days from Weyburn Comprehensive School. We just added a new shirt which looks similar to the retro Coke logo.
If a student wore their Be Kind shirt they received a yellow rose which symbolizes friendship. They were then encouraged to pass the rose on to someone they appreciate. A Leadership student approached Michelle’s Floral Boutique near Centennial and they generously donated 4 dozen yellow roses.
It was fun to watch the yellow roses get passed on throughout the day. There were lots of postings on Instagram and Snapchat featuring the roses.
Sometimes a small gesture can make a difference.
Centennial’s Got Butter!!??
Fun lunchtime activity to try. We advertised “Centennial’s Got Butter” all over the school and on Instagram. We did a take on America’s Got Talent. The Centennial’s Got Butter logo looked the same as America’s Got Talent. One of our ads put the faces of our teacher judges over the actual AG Talent judges. Using a pop culture reference like America’s Got Talent helps promote because kids already get what that is all about. Teams of two made their best butter sculptures with teacher judges picking the winner. Each kid got microwave hot buttered popcorn and the judges a chocolate disk as thanks. Happy butter sculpting.
Great Leadership Book – All Blacks Rugby
Looking for a great Leadership book? – Legacy talks about the Leadership attributes that make the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team best in the world. A great read whether or not you are a sports fan. There is a summary of the big ideas below. Enjoy!
Grattitude Class Discussion
Here is a quick lesson on grattitude that worked well with my students the other day.
- Have each student on their own write down as many things as they can that they are grateful for. Give them 2 minutes and tell them it can be big or small things, just stuff they are grateful for.
- Next they share with a partner. Have them name 3 things they are grateful for and then learn 3 things their partner is grateful for. Take turns until time is up. Encourage them to ask each other open ended questions about what they share.
- Invite class members to come to the whiteboard and write down things they are grateful for, big or small. If someone else puts up the same thing put a checkmark beside it.
- Have a group discussion about what they put down. Ask students to share with the class the stuff they think is most important. Share what you think is most important. Let the class decide where the discussion goes.
- Share the following Ted Talk by Louie Schwartzberg about Grattitude https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXDMoiEkyuQ
Hopefully you find this useful
Leadership Class of 2017
A huge shout out to our 3 year Student Leadership grads. They have made a huge difference in their 3 years at Centennial. At lunch today we had treats, watched the traditional powerpoint with three years of pictures, and handed out the “Oh The Places You’ll Go” signed books. Thanks to Ms. McGregor (Mama McGreggs) who put the powerpoint together. We will miss Ms. Marschall who after 5 years as an amazing Leadership Advisor is moving on to Bowness and an 8 minute commute. All the best to our Leadership Grads who we know will make a difference wherever they go. Go Yotes!
Coyotes From Around The World
After watching Mark Scharenbroich’s Building Connections video with my Gr. 10 class we decided it was time to find a way to recognize the many international students in our school. Permanent flags were a bit too ambitious for us so the students decided to make maps of the different continents and show how many Coyotes were born in each country. Fortunately we were able to run a list off our student information program. This is another way for us to connect the dots and hopefully make students feel a part of Centennial. Shout out to my Gr. 10s who did an awesome job.
Birthdays Matter!!
With a new administration we have had the opportunity to reevaluate some of the Leadership traditions we have at Centennail. For years we have put up student birthdays at our main entrance to the school. We would put up the month and then list all the student names with their first name and first initial of their last name to comply with our privacy rules. A new TV screen was put up where the birthdays were over the summer. The discussion included where we should display the birthdays and should we put them up at all. Here is a summary of what I wrote.
Anecdotal value of recognizing Birthdays and how it helps build connections and community at Centennial
- We have students in our school where their families don’t do anything for their birthday. I have spoken to students in this situation and have been told they appreciate having their name on the wall.
- Every time we put the Birthdays up, a 10 year tradition at Centennial, I see students coming by to find their name or their friend’s name.
- Through the years I have had students come up and tell me that we have missed their name. We quickly get their name up and report back. The most recent time I had this happen was last month. Ideally we wouldn’t miss a name but it does demonstrate that students notice and value seeing their name
There are things that I think don’t matter much and things that are a big deal. I believe that putting Birthdays up is a big deal. When we first started doing it I wouldn’t have said that. But I have seen the positive impact it has on our kids. I know it isn’t changing the world but it does make our school better. It is one thing that allows us to recognize and include every student in our building.
Good news, birthdays will continue to be displayed at Centennail. Keep on building those connections in your schools and lives.
Feedership Conference
Centennial High School hosted our annual Feeder Leadership Conference. 150 students from Samuel Shaw School and MidSun Jr. High attended. These are the two main schools whose students will eventually be Coyotes. I am very proud of my class pictured above. This was a student planned and run conference with minimal guidance from me.
Why host a Feeder conference?
- It builds stronger relationships with the Leadership programs, both teachers and students of your feeder schools
- It can increase enrollment in your programs as students see what you do and want to be a part of it. Our numbers jumped significantly after hosting our first Feeder.
- It is a great opportunity for your students to plan and run a meaningful event and allows them to connect with their old school and teachers
Attached is our imperfect, student generated program for the day. Hopefully it gives you some ideas and inspires you to host your own feeder conference in the future
