So, with this blog, I have got to use habit number 3 - Put first things First.  I have a standing appointment in my calendar to blog once a week,and yet - it never seems to happen. I always find a way to delay doing this. During our Leader in Me Training, they talked about developing your "Big Rocks" for the week, so that they always get taken care of first. It seems, I need to add blogging as a Big Rock for Jim Argent.  

Enough of that, today we have our first Kindergarten Open House and I am so excited!  I can't wait to tell all of our new parents about the wonderful things that are occurring at Lake Myra and to give them a progress report on our Leader in Me process. I am also excited to see our student ambassadors show off their leadership skills during the open house.  There are so many amazing things happening here that I am going to have to be careful that the meeting does not last hours!  It is truly GREAT to be a Lake Myra and to be an otter!

Next blog, I will post an update on our Leader In Me and Lighthouse Team news.  Until that time, why don't you check out our Leader in Me website and all of our staff mission statements:  http://lakemyraleadership.weebly.com/

Next week, our staff will receive the initial training on The Leader in Me!  We are so excited to officially begin this journey. Up until now, we have been researching our trip, buying our "tickets", packing our suitcase, and gassing up the car.  However, we haven't actually started the journey.  I liken it to the night before the first trip to Disney when you are a kid.  We are excited to have a memorable trip that influence us all for the rest of our lives, but we really don't know what we are about to get into.  I have been on the phone all week with the leaders from Franklin Covey, including Connelly Skeen (our Leader in Me Coach) and Jane Knight (our Leader in Me trainer).  Both of themhave me so excited.   They have explained to me that the initial training really allows the adults to analyze themselves and how they can use the 7 Habits to be better people, leaders, and teachers.  How exciting is this - how often do adults get the opportunity to reflect and receive training on how to look within to be better people and teachers.  I have heard it is transforming for everyone involved - and I can't wait!  As a firm believer in jim Collin's thought of "Going from Good tto Great", I truly believe that this journey will allow our entire staff and school community to continue improving and continue to help our students prepare for their future! 

Stay tuned - i will blog a breif snippet from each of the days of training!  Also, make sure you are following us on Twitter!

I recently finished the book, Mindset, by Dr. Carol Dweck.  It is an extremely powerful book that forces the reader to reflect on how they look through the world.  You see, many people have the lens of a fixed mindset, which means that people's qualities “carved in stone".  It was a mindset that you either have it or you don't.  However, many other people look through the world with a growth mindset, or the thought that all people have the capacity to grow and improve regardless of their innate qualities. Through hard work and effort, a person can improve.  I was very happy upon reflection that I travel through life with a growth mindset (most of the time).  I truly believe that we ALL can be successful.  It is why I am so proud of our vision statement:  Preparing all learners for their future.  At Lake Myra, I am so proud that we have teachers with a growth mindset that are working so hard to ensure that all students are having their needs met!  Until next time, ask yourself:  What kind of mindset do you have?

We are approaching the beginning of school and this always feels like a birthday week for me. On Monday we will have our staff retreat and all the teachers will return for the year and we will welcome our new teachers.  That is a present for me.  On Thursday the 25th, we will have our Meet the Teacher from 6:00-8:00 and that will be a present for our teachers as they get to meet all of the WONDERFUL Lake Myra Otters!  Then on Monday, July 29th, we receive our cake with the first day of school and I am so excited.  Schools are meant for children to fill the halls with learning and laughter.  Our buiding is just a shell during July (even though we are busy!!!!).  I personally ca't wait to unveil what is in store for all of our students this year.  Of course - that is the student's birthday present.  We will unveil the formal implementation of Leader in Me - which we have discussed in previous blogs. However, we will also introduce a more concentrated effort on technology and 21st Century integration this year with the introduction of our collaboration room - The Synergy Suite - and our Teacher Leader Corp. members.  Four of our teachers are receiving intense training (today is day 1) on how to use technology in a more collaborative and integrated method.  This will result in more rigorous and engaging lessons for all of our students as they come back and train the staff.  The teachers will be able to use our Synergy Suite for real world problem solving and learning.  The Synergy Suite will have moveable furniture for collaborative projects. It will also house 10 ipads, 12 laptops, 2 digital microscopes, an interactive Smart Projector, and a digital video editing area.  This room will allow our students to work the way businesses and universities expect thier employees and students to work!  It is truly exciting and I can't wait for everyone to see it and learn in it!  Of course, just like any kid with thier birthday approaching - there are alot of things I am excited about and can't wait until!  See everyone next week during our birthday week!!!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! The Argent family had a great time at a Carolina Mudcats's game as we dodged raindrops and enjoyed the fireworks display.  Personally, I have had a wonderful time reflecting on the 2012-2013 school year and looking forward to the 2013-2014 school year.  We are really excited to get all of our Otters back in session and begin the formal implementation of The Leader in Me Program.  If you are interested in the "ins and outs" of the program, please visit their site:  http://www.theleaderinme.org/.  You can also visit the Eastern Wake News and read an article about Lake Myra and the program:  http://www.easternwakenews.com.  We cannot wait to bring this amazing program to the students at Lake Myra and really hope that the school and business community will embrace it as much as our teachers have. Parents will be thrilled to see life long leadership habits develop and how it will make a difference in their child.  We hope that you will share your excitement and feedback with us throughout our journey.  The first opportunity to share feedback will be at our Meet the Teacher event on July 25 from 6-8.  You will have an opportunity to fill out a short survey and help us craft our program implementation.   Have a great remainder of track-out and we will see everybody at Meet the Teacher on July 25th!

So ... I haven't posted in a while. It took an interview with an outstanding candidtate to jump start me again.  She let me know that she loved our website, but that I needed to add more blog posts.  Therefore, I am making it a habit to post every Monday!  Help hold me accountable! 
And speaking of Habits - I am so proud of our school as we were selected by The Leader in Me Foundation for one of their grants to implement The Leader in Me program based on Dr. Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  It is such a powerful program that will help teacher leadership skills to all of our students and will help them with such important life skills. When you hear your students discussing being proactive, or beginning with the end in mind, just realize that we are teaching so much more than the standards - we are teaching life skills that will help all of our learners prepare for their future!   It is so exciting and we can't wait to start this journey and hopefully help you as members of our school community, with your leadership and life skills!

To read more about The Leader in Me Program - please visit their website:  http://www.theleaderinme.org/

As I am sitting here today on a gorgeous Friday afternoon, I am reflecting on the first quarter of this school year.  The sounds of the halls are silent as we are tracked out, but my brain is abuzz with enough noise to counteract the silence.  The "noise" I am hearing is genuine excitement from the first quarter.  The students and teachers at Lake Myra have started a new curriculum in the eyes and are not only embracing it, but learning at high levels.  The new curriculum is the Common Core Standards.  If you have found your way to this blog, you are tech savvy enough to do a quick Google search to figure out the immense challenges of this new curriculum.  GONE are the days in education of skill and drill and memorization and in comes a wave of 21st Century Skill and critical thinking for student and teachers.  Luckily, Lake Myra has been doing this for the last several years and we are truly seeing the impact of the teaching of Common Core type lessons.  The students here are able to think!!!!  To me that is exciting - even when I see students struggling with basic memorization concepts, I am encouraged by their critical thinking.  It is an exciting time to be an educator and an exciting time to be a parent.  So I tell you all this so that as you work with your child - realize that education is different than when we were in school.  Students need to be empowered to think in every aspect of their life - empowered to engage in conversations and debate (in a respectful way - which needs to be taught and modeled, also) - empowered to problem solve and find multiple solutions - AND empowered to take risks and learn from failures!  Hopefully, this can anyone reading this to reflect about how they interact with elementary students and maybe make a few changes around the house to help Prepare their Learners for Their Future!

On a final note - A HUGE shout out and congratulations to my mentor and dear friend - Dr. Ken Branch - for winning the Wake County Principal of the Year last night! He is so deserving and such a wonderful person.  I will always admire him and thank him for helping light the fire!!!!!