By this point some of you may be wondering what your child is talking about when they come home talking about Paw Prints and winning tickets and getting to keep a cougar in their classroom. What you have been hearing about is PAW PRIDE. Kipling’s new Positive Behavior Support System also known as PBS.

Positive Behavior Support is a research based approach to not only improving student behavior but also teaching prosocial skills. It is a behavior program for students that focuses on reinforcing the behaviors we would like to see rather than punishment. The main component of this system is that it is proactive. A school that adopts a PBS approach believes in teaching behaviors and using positive reinforcement often to increase the frequency of those behaviors across the entire school. Kipling School believes in the Positive Behavior Support approach!

PAW PRIDE is our PBS system created by Kipling staff that seeks to reinforce positive behaviors. There are four components of PAW PRIDE. We say that Kipling learners are Kind and Respectful, Responsible, Safe, and Problem Solvers. If you are around our school you have probably seen these posters up in our hallways and in every classroom.

The four components above demonstrate what we like to see in our students. Whenever a teacher or any other staff member sees a student being an exemplary example of any of these behaviors they can award the students a PAW PRINT. The PAW PRINT is a ticket that the student can deposit into a bin in his/her classroom. At the end of the week on Friday each teacher will forward the name of one winner to me and at the end of the day I will announce the winner for each classroom. They will come to the office where they will receive a certificate and a prize. The tickets in the classroom bin that did not win will be kept and entered into a drawing for other prizes at an end of the semester assembly.

Also, as I monitor classrooms throughout the week I will award the “Kipling Cougar” to the classroom that I have seen be the best overall example of all of these behaviors.

This system has been implemented this week in several phases. First, teachers have been discussing it in their classrooms and involving students in setting classroom guidelines based on these 4 items. On Wednesday we had an all school assembly and discussed each one. I also went to each Kindergarten class to talk to them about the program. Students can get PAW PRINTS from any staff member in the building. Our first drawing and awarding of the Kipling Cougar will be next Friday.

How You Can Be Involved at Home
It is important that our students not only think of these as school behaviors but everywhere behaviors. You can discuss being kind and respectful, responsible, safe, and a problem solver at home to help support the home-school connection. Feel free to email me if you would like a poster to print out at home.

The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.
-George Bernard Shaw

Communicating is of vital importance in any school. Often times we think of school communication only in how the school is providing information. However, true communication is a two-way street that involves listening as much as it does speaking. For a school to have effective communication both must take place. That said, here are some of the ways we will be communicating with you and the opportunities for you to communicate with the school. My goal in communication with you is to provide you with multiple ways of getting information from the school and maximizing our opportunities to listen. The more ways you have to access information/communication the better. My responsibility is to provide you with options of communication that meet your needs.

Communication From School:

Blogging: Weekly update of the Principal’s Blog. You can subscribe to receive notification of the updates at https://anthonymcconnell.edublogs.org/

Facebook: Utilize school Facebook page to communicate the great things happening at Kipling and updates on news and events.

Twitter: Utilize Kipling’s official twitter handle @KipElem to communicate the great things happening at Kipling and updates on news and events. If you are on Twitter please follow us @KipElem If you are not on Twitter but still want to receive updates you can get the “tweets” as a text message by texting Follow @KipElem to 40404. Your carriers’ text message rates may apply. Kipling also has an official hashtag #kip109 where staff and parents can communicate great things that are happening.

E-mail: Weekly email to all families on Friday sharing news and information as well as recapping the week at Kipling.

Your Communication to School:

Phone: Please know that you can call whenever you would like. For good measure our school phone number is 847-948-5151 and my extension is 1102. Mrs. Sutic’s extension is 1139. If we are not available please feel free to leave us a message and we will return your call as soon as we can.

E-mail: We are also available by e-mail. You can reach us at amcconnell@dps109.org or ssutic@dps109.org. We will return your email as soon as possible.

Let’s Talk: Is a new tool that allows you to express your opinions, provide input on topics that are important to you, and ask questions about District 109 or Kipling Elementary School. Let’s Talk! is not meant to replace emails, phone calls or meetings. It is an additional (and very easy) way for parents, staff and community members to communicate with the District. Each submission to Let’s Talk! is sent to the appropriate school, department and/or staff members. If you request a response, you will receive it within two business days. If you don’t ask for a response, but simply want to let us know what’s on your mind, please be assured that we are listening! District 109 will track the submissions to Let’s Talk to determine where we need to communicate better, or areas we need to focus our work to engage, inspire, and empower our students and each other. If you have questions about student progress or about other issues pertinent to your specific child please email your teacher, Mrs. Sutic, or myself directly. You can access Let’s Talk at this link http://www.k12insight.com/Lets-Talk/embed.aspx?k=WY6R5BlT

Communication with Students:

It is very easy to overlook the importance of communicating with our students. I hope to communicate with our students daily. I am anxious to get started learning more about our students and their interests. Here are some things I will be doing to ensure that our students, your children, know their Principal.

· I plan to greet students daily as they enter the school.

· I want to visit all classrooms to introduce myself to our students.

· I plan to eat lunch with every class in the lunch room at least once before the end of the first trimester.

· I will also be visible in our school and classrooms.

· And the best part of my job: RECESS – I can’t wait for the kids to teach me about this Gaga Pit I’ve been hearing so much about.

In case you missed our 1:1 information night last night here is the presentation for you. Special thanks to our Director of Innovative Learning Marcie Faust for a wonderful presentation and Q and A session.

Learning and Expectations

“High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectations”
– Charles Kettering

Student learning and growth both academic and social-emotional is our goal. Essential to this is our school community committing to the belief that all students can learn at high levels. We must get to know our students and their interests so that we may design authentic learning opportunities based on where they are as individuals learners. To do this we will repeatedly ask four critical questions.

• What do we want our students to learn?
• How do we know if they have learned it?
• How will we respond if they do not learn?
• How will we respond if they already know it?

In addition to this we need to empower our students to take pride and ownership in their own learning. John Hattie, a professor of education and Director of the Melbourne Education Research Institute at the University of Melbourne, Australia has spent 15 years synthesizing over 800 meta-analyses, or combined results from various educational research studies, to come up with a list of 138 factors that influence student achievement. Number 1 on the list, and the greatest factor on student achievement, is students own knowledge of their performance. Growth takes place and confidence is built when students know where they are and teachers push them to exceed their own expectations of themselves.

Leadership

“Everyone is a leader, because everyone influences someone.”
– John Maxwell

We must establish a community of leaders. Our world not only needs our extrovert leaders with the larger than life personalities. We also need our quiet leaders as well. We should approach the idea of leadership from a more holistic view. Leaders in fact come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities. Even something small, such as helping a friend in need, is act leadership not only because you are offering assistance but you are setting an example for others. All of our students should leave Kipling knowing that each and every one of them can be a positive influence in the lives of others and a force for good and positive change in our world.

As the start of the school year approaches things are starting to come together at Kipling school. Here are some photos of our progress as of yesterday evening.

Please help me welcome our new Kipling Elementary School team members!

In my last blog post I explained my personal educational values and philosophy. I also briefly outlined three goal areas that are a focus of my entry plan as the year begins. The first of these is to perform a needs assessment to establish strengths and areas for growth.
There are two main objectives to this first goal area. Below I will list the objectives and what has happened or will be happening for each.

Objective #1 – Listening

Administration
• I have met and continue to meet with the district administration about a variety of topics related to our school – construction, employment, etc. I also met with the outgoing Kipling administration at the end of last school year.
Staff & Faculty
• I have sent an open invitation to faculty and staff to meet before the school year begins. At this point Mrs. Sutic and myself have had several meetings with our existing and incoming staff and faculty.

Parents & Community
• I have met with the PTO presidents as well as the chairs of several committees.
• I have also enjoyed meeting with several parents and members of the community. Please know that an open invitation stands and I look forward to meeting with many more of you as the school year gets underway.
• Coffee and Conversations is a regular event that I would like to have at least 3-4 times this year. This is an opportunity just to get together with myself and Mrs. Sutic and chat informally about our school and education in general.

Students
• I think it is very important to consider our students and their thoughts and feelings in any assessment of our school. In addition to visiting every classroom we will have lunch in the MPR (Multi-Purpose Room) with each class at the start of the school year.

Objective #2 – Data Analysis

Student Achievement Data
• I have begun to analyze our student achievement data here at Kipling. This includes our most recent preliminary ISAT results as well as historical trends. I have also started looking at our MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) results. The MAP assessment is an incredibly powerful tool that I will expand on its capabilities in a later blog.

Parent and Staff Survey
• I have sent a survey to all staff and parents. The questions are the same for each survey. When these surveys are complete we will use the results along with feedback from our students to craft a vision and mission for our school.

-Anthony McConnell

THE IMPORTANCE OF AN ENTRY PLAN
“Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools.”
-Jim Collins, Good to Great

I believe Kipling Elementary is a school that is primed for greatness. A supportive community, dedicated staff, and committed students are all parts of the recipe for greatness. Today I am providing you with a first part of my entry plan as principal. This entry plan will provide administration, staff, parents, and community members insight into my core values and thought processes as a school leader. In addition, it will outline my goals to put Kipling Elementary School on the path to sustainable greatness.

The process of developing this plan has been a challenging and rewarding experience for me. The goals and objectives are based on my core values as a teacher, administrator, and life-long learner. My vision is for us to make Kipling Elementary School not only the best school in Illinois, but also one of the best schools in the nation. I envision a school where educators from around the country come to learn from us the secret to greatness.

MY PERSONAL EDUCATIONAL VISION
Regardless of our role in the Kipling community, we must treat every child as if they were our own. We must treat each other as we would want to be treated. We must offer support and guidance to each other so that we can achieve the goals of our school and community. Our success is dependent on cooperation and bringing the expertise and talents of our teachers, staff, parents, and community together to serve our students and realize our goal of being the best elementary school in the state and nation.

MY PERSONAL EDUCATIONAL VALUES
1. EXCELLENCE EVERY DAY:
We must be committed to giving our absolute best to our students every single day. Our students deserve no less from us. Every day requires our commitment to being the absolute best we can be in our roles. This requires a commitment to hard work, honesty, and integrity in everything that we do.

2. STUDENT CENTERED ACTIONS AND DECISIONS
It is vitally important to never forget why we are here. Schools exist for one purpose – To educate students. The decisions we make and the actions we take will be based solely on what is best for our students and their learning. One of my favorite quotes is from Mahatma Gandhi who said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” The Kipling Elementary School community will find itself by our commitment to serving our students.

3. LIFE-LONG LEARNING:
We must be committed to continuous improvement and recognizing that we can always improve and get better. For ourselves—as well as our students—there will always be more to learn, a new mountain to climb, and new challenges to face. We must resist the temptation to get comfortable in being good. Instead, we should embrace challenges and new knowledge in our continued effort of seeking and maintaining greatness.

ENTRY PLAN – GOALS
1. Perform a needs assessment to establish our strengths and areas for growth
2. Build upon a culture of learning, leadership, and high expectations
3. Establish a system for clear communication

Over the next several weeks I will expand on each one of these goals in more detail.

Today I had the privilege of listening to former Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor, speak here at the National Association of Elementary School Principals national conference in Nashville TN. Justice O’Connor has devoted her time since retirement from the Supreme Court to enhancing civic education in our nations schools through her website www.icivics.org. This website allows students to play interactive games and simulations that teach students about government and citizenship in a fun and engaging way. I encourage all of you to check it out. It is indeed a great resource for teachers and families.

Listening to Justice O’Connor today reminded me of two things. First, I am reminded of how much we all owe to women like Justice O’Connor and others that have worked to ensure equal opportunities for all of our children. Secondly, I am reminded of the responsibility we have to carry on that powerful legacy.

Justice O’Connor, now 84 years old, was born in 1930 on a cattle ranch in Arizona. There was not a school close to her home so she left at a young age to attend school in El Paso. She eventually went to law school at Stanford University, and even though she graduated 3rd in her class, she was unable to get a job as a lawyer due to the fact that she was a woman. After much perseverance she was eventually offered a position in the San Mateo prosecutors office but on the condition that she work for free. Several years later, in 1981, she was the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

If I can sum up her main messages to our students I would say they were “don’t give up” and “every individual can make a difference.” It is these beliefs of her and other women like her that have made the future better not only for our daughters but all of our children. However, we do not only have to look at famous figures such as Sandra Day O’Connor to find this inspiration.

It is likely that you have these examples from within your own family. As I listened to her today I thought about my grandmother. She would have been 80 years old this year but passed away in 2010 after a short battle with cancer. Although not famous, she was a quiet leader in every sense of the word. She was kind to everyone, listened to understand, and always acted from a place of conscious and character.

One of my favorite stories about my grandmother is from her college years. She attended the same college that I did, Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green KY. I remember when I first started school there she came with my parents to drop me off. As we were walking around the campus she told me about a history professor she had in the early 50’s that informed the class on the first day that no girl would get above a “C”. She said that he then proceeded to explain why he thought it was impossible for any woman to work at a level higher than that. Stunned, I asked her what she got in the class. I remember her looking at me and saying “I worked hard, learned a lot and got a C.” It wasn’t what she said, but how she said it that struck me. The “C” was the least important part of the sentence, she said it as though it was an afterthought. This story always reminds me of her strength of character. She did not let the views of her professor impede her commitment to learning. I like to think that she worked so hard and did so well that she maybe gave him a moment of pause when he gave out final grades. The truth is though, it doesn’t matter. My grandmother would not be disheartened or dissuaded from her commitment to learning. And more importantly she persevered and chose to define herself by her own rules, not the arbitrary grade of one biased professor.

It is exactly this type of grit and perseverance that we need to instill in our students, boys and girls alike. People like justice O’Connor, my grandmother, and role models from your own families did not persevere only for us or our children to have it easier. Instead, they pass on the obligation and responsibility to us to make the world a better place than it is now. Just as they did during their time. In the end that is what citizenship and civic education is all about. Improving your school, community, and your world to make it a better place for future generations. Let us continue to build on their legacy.

My favorite season of the year is finally here. CONSTRUCTION. Deerfield road isn’t the only thing under repair right now. There is a crew hard at work here at Kipling installing air conditioning, new cabinets, and ceilings. A lot of people are hard at work making sure we have the finest educational facilities around when school starts back in August. Have a look at the pictures below and see if you can recognize anything.