School’s Out….

….for the summer!

As the 2016-2017 school year concludes, discussions of ‘summer break’ begin. Many around us who say, “I’m sure you’re so excited for summer” or “You don’t work over the summer, right?” are surprised to hear that most administrators do work during summer months. In fact, our never-ending To Do lists are filled with items that keep us busy, even when students and teachers are not in the building:

*End of the year Reports for the State
*Class-building for the following year
*Scheduling – ugh! Is there an app that helps us do this?
*Interviewing & hiring Staff
*Creating a PD schedule for the upcoming year
*Preparing for the 1st week back with staff & students
*Organizing our spaces so we can start the year refreshed and under control

In addition to our principal responsibilities, summer is a time that we focus and spend more time on our own learning. All seven of the MAP bloggers will be attending the National Principals Conference in Philadelphia in July and look forward to presenting on tips that help us manage our professional and personal roles. We are excited to connect F2F (face-to-face) with other colleagues with whom we have connected with on Twitter and Voxer! We continue to learn and grow as professionals through the power of our PLN.

While the summer months provide administrators with time to renew and plan for the coming school year, what better way to become inspired and motivated for the future than to get lost in a good book! Check out summer reading lists from each of our Moms As Principal bloggers below:

Tracey 

Claire   

Lindsy 

Liz    

Kelley  

Melissa 

Lynn    

Most importantly, we try to remember that summer is a precious time to hit the reset button, relax and spend time with those we love. It’s a great time of the year, when we actually take a break. Many of us have planned brief get-aways with our families, and truly look forward to unplugging and being present in those moments, making new memories. We commend fellow MAPS member Esmeralda Moseley on her auto-reply email message:

School is out for the summer, but our students and staff are never very far from our mind. We’ve said it before….use this time to recharge and refresh!