I was getting deep into my historical fiction when this hold came up at the library...and down the cozy mystery rabbit hole I went, dropping everything else to read this book. It's the first in a series--"A literary pub mystery". Wine, a pub, and books. Not hard to see why I wanted to read it. Quick synopsis: Sadie Coleman is a new resident of the small town of Shady Creek, Vermont. She's purchased a historic old mill, and turned it into a pub that has a literary theme to it: cocktails crafted after authors and books, along with a cozy atmosphere filled with book shelves and a few new book clubs. She's only been open a few months, and things are going well. However, one night her ex-boyfriend shows up at the pub. She'd broken up with him months earlier over his gambling habit. She moved away and started fresh. Now he's back and wants to see her. Slipping out the back door, she avoids him. The next morning, he's found dead, and of course Sadie is one of the suspects. With the annual harvest festival starting in a few days, with lots of tourists coming into town, it's the worst time for a murder! And to further the mystery, the same night Eric is murdered, a fire breaks out in a local antique shop. Are the two connected? What did Eric want with Sadie? Of course Sadie is curious, and needs to nose around. But that could put her in some dangerous situations, and somebody in town doesn't like Sadie very much. I enjoyed this cozy very much. I will definitely read more of the series. Characters are likable, the town is appealing, and there's plenty of build up for a romance with the ocal brewmaster, Grayson. This was a welcome diversion from a busy week. I'm really enjoying dipping into the cozy mystery genre. Only problem is there's so many I want to read, I'm having a hard time choosing my next one. Big surprise, but I do like cozy mysteries that have a literary theme to them. Rating: 4/6 for an enjoyable start to a new mystery series. If you enjoy books and cocktails, and someday dream of having your own literary pub, you'll enjoy this cozy mystery. Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio.
from Bookalicious Babe Book Reviews https://ift.tt/2XDACDp
Looking for new ways to bake with everyone’s favorite sandwich cookies? Take a look at these 12 Oreo recipes – all just as easy as they are delicious.
I think by now you all know that I really love Oreos.
Sure, I love to eat them straight from the package and can devour a whole sleeve before I even realize what has happened. But I really love to bake with them.
I’ve been whipping up all kinds of Oreo recipes for years now and thought it was time to compile some of my favorites in one place.
These are 12 of my most decadent Oreo recipes. But don’t worry! They’re also super easy and fun to make.
The following was written to be shared as part of our application to the Cmolik Prize for the Enhancement of Public Education in BC. It is an exploration into the ways in which our model has ‘fit’ nicely with the new BC Curriculum, and to share some of the influence that we have had in our district, in BC, and beyond.
Confluence and Influence – Inquiry Hub Secondary School
Background:
The 2018-2019 school year is Inquiry Hub Secondary’s 7th year since it was founded. Conceived of by Stephen Whiffin, now Director of Instruction with Coquitlam School District, I started as Vice Principal of the school with a teaching load to cover teacher preps for inaugural teachers Alan Soiseth and Dr. John Sarte. As a team we started a learning journey that continues today. The school has developed considerably since its inception and our current teaching staff, as well as our student body, continue to guide the school through improvements in course development and the implementation and delivery of our program.
Before we even got started, a team of us designed two Board Authority Authorized (BAA) courses for the school: Foundations of Inquiry and Digital Learning (digital literacy). Here are the original courses and the updates to meet the new BC curriculum requirements:
These courses have been shared significantly with other BC, Alberta, and Ontario schools and school districts, and they have also been shared globally. The significance of these courses is that they create the venue through which our students can study passion projects of their choice and get credit for them, while training themselves to be ready to take Independent Directed Studies (IDS) courses. IDSes require students to design their own course with about 100 hours worth of time dedicated to their learning. Foundations of Inquiry gives students opportunities to explore different forms of inquiry and to dive deep into passion projects, while Digital Learning provides them with skills around areas such as research and presentation. To see some of the projects our students have worked on, visit InquiryHub.org/Students.
Here are a few more resources to help understand that journey the school has been on, already shared on my blog:
One of our early challenges with Inquiry Hub was that while we were creating a program that focused on student competencies, most BC curriculum courses were filled with content that, for lack of a better phrase, ‘got in the way’ of what we were trying to do. Foundations of Inquiry and Digital Learning were intentionally designed around developing learning skills or competencies rather than content, but the rest of the curriculum didn’t make this a focus. Fortunately, shortly after we created Inquiry Hub, the Provincial Government started to redesign the curriculum.
Where this was most helpful was:
1. A focus on Core Competencies
“Core Competencies are at the centre of the curriculum redesign in BC. Core Competencies are sets of intellectual, personal, and social and emotional proficiencies that all students need to develop in order to engage in deeper learning. The Core Competencies include thinking, communication, and social and personal competencies.”
“Competencies are embedded and evident within the learning standards. They come into play when students are engaged in “doing” in any area of learning. Together, the literacy and numeracy foundations, essential learning, and Core Competencies contribute to the development of educated citizens.”
2. A new Curriculum Model
“The curriculum model is made up of three elements: Content, Curricular Competencies, and Big Ideas. Teachers combine the three elements in ways they see fit to personalize learning in their classrooms. Content What students are expected to know Curricular Competencies What students are expected to do Big Ideas What students are expected to understand.”
“The model pulls together the best from modern learning theories and BC teachers’ advice. At the outset, BC educators said, curriculum needs to:
be flexible to better enable teachers to innovate
focus on higher-order learning
address Core Competencies
integrate Aboriginal world views and knowledge
respect the unique nature of disciplines while supporting cross-curricular learning”
Inquiry Hub Secondary was already on a path of personalizing learning, with a focus on learning competencies. The school already had a focus on ‘Big Ideas’ that were cross-disciplinary, blending what students would Know, Do, and Understand. The courses we developed helped us on this journey, and so too was our desire to work closely with students and have them take responsibility for their own learning and the direction of the school. It was serendipitous that there was a confluence between what we were trying to achieve as an innovative school, and what the new BC Curriculum was also trying to achieve.
Influence:
Over the past six-and-a-half years, we have had countless educators visit us: from Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and the Yukon; from the US, China, England, Ireland, and Australia. Locally, we’ve had educators from across BC and the Lower Mainland visit us as well, both from the public and private sectors. These tours rely on student tour guides and student presentations as well as time spent with our teachers. Blog posts have been written about the visits, and we often share resources including the BAA courses we developed. It is not always easy to measure influence, but here are a few examples of how Inquiry Hub Secondary has influenced schools and programs in Coquitlam and beyond:
Digital Learning 10 in Coquitlam
This year over 2,000 grade 9 students took Digital Learning 10 in Coquitlam.
Where we have seen the biggest influence has been in our own school district. In 2015 Riverside Secondary School started delivering Digital Learning 10 to their Grade 9 students (which is also the grade we deliver it at for Inquiry Hub students). As described by the Riverside Principal:
Our main goal was to create a clear and coherent framework that would enable our students to develop the digital literacy skills necessary in today’s world. I think the decision to bring this in was multifaceted.
1. We felt that students were learning about the outcomes in DL10, but we needed a better model for assessment. 2. We felt that the course offered a coherent framework that enabled us communicate with staff, parents, and students what we were prioritizing with respect to digital literacy. 3. It offered us the staffing to coteach, coplan with the classroom teachers so that we could build more capacity with staff, but also ensure that every child was getting explicit instruction in the areas of the 5 fluencies and digital citizenship. In particular though, it was a way to ensure that all students were documenting their learning through their Edublog.
Benefits: Staff became more proficient at integrating technology for learning. Students developed strong skills in the areas of communication/media, research, creativity, problem solving, and collaboration. We spent a great deal of time working with them on the ethics/responsibility of interacting virtually. I think one of the greatest benefits was that students created their own digital profile that allowed them to showcase their learning, strengths, and passions. This positive digital footprint was something they could use to seek employment, apply for scholarships, use in their GT interviews, and help their parents see what they were learning at school. Several students have gone on to pursue fields related to technology (Tesla, Bio Technology, Computer Engineering, etc). ~ Anthony Ciolfitto
In September 2017, two more schools, Heritage Woods and Port Moody, also added the course, and this past September (2018), seven of our eight high schools offered the course with the last school, Centennial, being added next September. This year over 2,000 students took the course, originally designed for Inquiry Hub! Next year it will be delivered to almost every Grade 9 student in the district.
Digital Learning 10 in Abbotsford
In 2014, the Abbotsford school district were re-imagining what the Rick Hansen High School could be, and a team of educators and educational leaders from the district visited Inquiry Hub. The influence of that trip can be seen in this article, shared on their school blog on November 30, 2015. They were influenced both by the Digital Learning course, and by our use of inquiry-based learning.
2016 was the first year that they used the Digital Learning Course as part of their Grade 9 interdisciplinary pod. They called it Digital Literacy and integrated it into their program, like we do at Inquiry Hub. As shared here on March 26, 2015:
“Next year [2016] at Rick Hansen our students will be working in an inquiry based environment… Students will be expected to pursue knowledge to prove their understanding as they solve real world problems that ignites a passion in them. Our grade nines will be in a cutting edge interdisciplinary model where math, English, science and digital literacy are taught in unison, not isolation.”
Rocky View School District, Alberta
“Inquiry Hub has been a frequent site visit for divisional leaders, administrators and teachers from Rocky View Schools. The ripple effect of these visits can be seen in our commitment to making learning visible, both within our division and beyond, through social media and celebrations of students who share their learning. A common reflection we’ve had, and incorporated into our instructional leadership and design conversations, is how might we create the conditions for student engagement and ownership of their learning? The Inquiry Hub is a space where confident, engaged students can tell you what they are learning, why it is important, and who needs to hear about it. We will continue to follow and visit Inquiry Hub to inspire educators in our division to strive for student agency and student voice as they design learning in Rocky View.” ~ Dan McWilliam – Learning Design Team. Rocky View Schools, Alberta.
Burnaby School District
I have had the opportunity to visit The Inquiry Hub with teams of teachers from our school on a couple of occasions. These visits helped push our thinking in the areas of student voice, flexible environments, community connections and authentic learning opportunities. We were particularly impressed with how the staff support students in pursuing their passions! Further, connecting with the students and staff at The Inquiry Hub provided us valuable insight into the necessary supports, structures and considerations as we move toward innovative learning environments at our school.
~Dave Rawnsley – Principal – Burnaby North Secondary School
Something I have been struggling with and thinking about…
You have two students in your class.
Student A puts on earbuds and has some music and can have some extreme focus on the learning at hand.
Student B wears earbuds and can’t concentrate at all.
So, if Student A benefits from listening to music in certain circumstances, then we let them continue.
If Student B doesn’t benefit, we have to move in another direction.
The question with this situation I am often asked by teachers as they often receive it from their students; “is this fair?”
When talking to teachers, my stance isn’t that every student has the exact same experience in school. Every student should have the same opportunities and the chance to be successful. This doesn’t mean everything looks the same. What works for one might not work for another. This is not just with “earbuds” but is present in many aspects of school. We can’t have personalized learning with standardized solutions.
Is this possible in every situation? No.
Is this hard work? Absolutely.
Is this only on teachers? Not if you want it to become a “norm.”
It will take more than telling teachers it is good practice and then not providing supports.
If we want to give opportunities for our students to become successful, this will be a team effort.
What I would like to learn from you…
If you are an administrator or in a coaching position, what do you to make the above a reality?
If you are a teacher, what supports would you need to make this a reality
In my book Culturize, I make the statement that each one of us is responsible for our own morale. We cannot and should not allow others to live rent free in our heads. Having said that, I also know that all of us from time to time fall victim to allowing others to dictate our mood and our attitude. None of us is immune. There were times throughout my career when I allowed the words, actions or behaviors of others to determine my mindset and how I approached each day. I was most susceptible when I was tired, frustrated or felt like my work wasn’t valued or appreciated, especially by my supervisors, whether it was my principal when I was a teacher or my Superintendent when I was a principal. Maybe some of you have felt that same feeling or level of hurt.
There are moments and days when I still get caught in this way of thinking, even though I know better, but they have slowly lessened over the years. Perhaps over time as I’ve aged and my experiences have broadened, I’ve learned not to let those emotions linger and disrupt my entire day. The good news is I no longer carry that burden for very long or let it control my entire day like I once did. Now in my new role as CEO of my company I do my very best to make sure my associates feel valued, appreciated and most importantly, cared for. Honestly and proudly, I can say I truly love them and want them to be successful in every aspect of life, both personally and professionally. I am not perfect by any means, but I do strive to model a standard of excellence that I expect from myself and the work we do today in serving the principals, schools, districts and organizations with whom we work.
So why do I share this with you? Because we all have blind spots.
These blind spots serve as reminders that regardless of our title in schools today, all of us still play a role in determining the morale of those who work alongside of us and for us. I still feel strongly that ultimately we are responsible for our own attitudes and the level of energy we bring to the table each day, but I also believe we can impact and influence others merely by the way we treat them. If we begin to see that how we treat others can have an impact on an individual, we can better understand how we can impact the overall mood and morale of an entire staff or team, which eventually leads to how people inside and outside of our organizations view our culture.
I was reminded of this very idea again earlier today during a conversation with a principal colleague of mine. He shared how he had reached out to a director at central office this past week regarding a concern that he and others had and offered to help by sharing a possible solution and some resources. He shared that after he read the email response from this director, he felt dismissed and in some ways, not appreciated. To make matters worse, this director did a complete 180 after hearing from some others in the district, eventually deciding to move forward with the recommendation brought on initially by this principal, but then failing to acknowledge this person’s contribution to addressing the district’s problem.
So this got me thinking. I wonder how often morale lingers in our blind spot and what role we play in creating the conditions that cause us to change lanes and miss it? More importantly, what steps can we identify that are needed in order to help us see the big picture and lead others in a more positive way that strengthens our morale and therefore our overall culture. So here are a few steps I would suggest:
8 Steps to Acknowledge and Validate the Suggestions of Others
Upon receiving a suggestion(s) from a co-worker, thank them for investing the time to share their thoughts and ideas with you.
Call them or have a F2F conversation with them so you are clear on the amount of research that was done to help move an idea forward or to gauge the level of concern shared by this individual (ie: are they hearing this same concern from others?).
Communicate that you plan to reach out to others to get their view/perspective on things and then let them know you will get back to them.
Once you have collected more information on the issue, bring all parties together to thank them for their input/concern and share your thoughts on how you plan to handle the matter moving forward.
Gather feedback again before making a final decision on how you plan to move forward.
Communicate to the school community the process you used, who was involved and the reason behind your decision in order to provide clarity and reduce confusion.
Have a pre-established process for how you will handle calls and complaints so everyone is on the same page on how future communications will be handled.
Follow up with a personal phone call or visit to the individual who first brought this to your attention and thank them for their time and more importantly for their leadership and their willingness to help you lead.
When we fail to acknowledge or dismiss the contributions of others, regardless how big or small, we miss an opportunity to strengthen the core of our community; the value of what people bring to the organization. Trust is cultivated when we take the time to personally invest our time in others and confidence is built when we listen to others and validate their ideas not only by our words, but even more so through our actions. When we leverage the talents and strengths of those in our organization, not only do we build capacity by fostering more leaders, but we enhance the overall morale of those who work in our schools and districts.
Yes, I still believe we are responsible for own morale, but I also believe we can have a positive overall effect on the morale of those around us by how we respond to their ideas and suggestions. We can’t always see everything, but we can expand our vision by being more intentional in acknowledging and validating the contributions of others so they are not left feeling empty like my colleague mentioned above did this morning.
So I ask you, have you checked your blind spots recently?
Something I have been struggling with and thinking about…
You have two students in your class.
Student A puts on earbuds and has some music and can have some extreme focus on the learning at hand.
Student B wears earbuds and can’t concentrate at all.
So, if Student A benefits from listening to music in certain circumstances, then we let them continue.
If Student B doesn’t benefit, we have to move in another direction.
The question with this situation I am often asked by teachers as they often receive it from their students; “is this fair?”
When talking to teachers, my stance isn’t that every student has the exact same experience in school. Every student should have the same opportunities and the chance to be successful. This doesn’t mean everything looks the same. What works for one might not work for another. This is not just with “earbuds” but is present in many aspects of school. We can’t have personalized learning with standardized solutions.
Is this possible in every situation? No.
Is this hard work? Absolutely.
Is this only on teachers? Not if you want it to become a “norm.”
It will take more than telling teachers it is good practice and then not providing supports.
If we want to give opportunities for our students to become successful, this will be a team effort.
What I would like to learn from you…
If you are an administrator or in a coaching position, what do you to make the above a reality?
If you are a teacher, what supports would you need to make this a reality
What will happen? How will they react? How will I be viewed?
These are some of the questions that will go through the minds of school leaders when faced with making courageous decisions, or engaging in difficult conversations where feedback needs to be given to a colleague. There is a genuine sense of fear, which explains why so many tough conversations and decisions that will make a difference in our schools are often avoided.
Let’s look at the fear first. When engaging in a difficult conversation with a colleague that usually centers around giving them feedback about something that they have done, how they have behaved, leaders often think to how our colleague will respond. Will they be upset? Will they react angrily? Will they become less committed to the school? Will they talk about me negatively to others and gain their support? These possibilities will play out through our minds and, quite possibly, influence a leader enough to avoid the conversation completely for it will cause too much angst and damage.
Sure, this can be the case sometimes. Difficult decisions and unsought feedback to colleagues can result in varying levels of fallout. The conversation can soon become a topic of conversation in the staff room, or in some cases, a colleague can react in being vocal in online forums. A colleague may not agree with the feedback that we are giving them and argue the case, which may lead to them not talking to us for a while, or our relationship with them changes. When faced with making difficult decisions that involve a group of colleagues, small or large, then our fears can be even greater. School leaders may question themselves beforehand: How will the judge me? Will they no longer ‘like’ me?
The reality is, however, that we should not be positions of school leadership if we are seeking popularity. Sometimes, the tough decisions are those that will benefit our students, our colleagues, or the sustainable future of our schools, which will upset some people along the way. Getting total alignment, buy-in and support on everything is nigh impossible. We need to stop kidding ourselves that we are ever going to be respected by everyone we work with. This can be hard to accept, especially if we see our mandate as trying to please everyone and keep them happy.
We need to view courageous decisions and giving necessary feedback in those difficult conversations, as crucial to moving a school forward. For example, if we really want a colleague’s behaviour to change because it is upsetting others and ourselves, then we need to commit to giving our colleague this feedback. As, written in another post, school cultures evolve to become very much about what the leaders and people in those cultures are prepared to tolerate and school’s are no different in this regard. Occasionally, we have to make that difficult decision in order to make progress and, yes, not everyone will be happy. As long as, we have good reason for making decisions and they are with the best intentions, without overwhelming opposition, then things will be fine. We must, however, be prepared to deal with a bit of turbulence, which can at times get personal and hurtful depending on who is reacting. Acknowledged, this is not as easy to do, as it is to say.
The key with all courageous decisions and difficult conversations boils down to picking our battles. Our role as school leaders is emotionally taxing. Take too much on and school leaders will quickly find themselves exhausted. We need to find ways to have others share in taking some of this load and be mindful that making decisions and giving feedback is about inching towards progress rather than making headway with one fell swoop.
