Yes, it is time again for another dreaded blog post in which I weave together a variety of bullet points, links, and thoughts representing the torn-in-20-directions this head of school is experiencing in the early dawn of 2012.
What can I do? I have not blogged since we went into Winter Break and the clock is ticking on a Friday school afternoon! Having been convinced that a less-than-perfect blog post is better than no post at all, I offer you a sample of what’s on my mind.
Yet another video from Talie Zaifert, our amazing Admissions & Marketing Director, debuted over the break celebrating another wonderful Chanukah Celebration.
Thanks to our friends at AVI CHAI and PEJE for helping us promote!
I may need to reread my own blog post about the value of unplugging in a technologically obsessed era. We spent one week in Cancun and I overspent my international data plan within the first two days. How can I possibly deny the world my valuable tweets and status updates? [Seriously, how could you have not wanted to see this as it was happening?]
Next vacation…no iPhone and no iPad and I mean it! (Anybody want a peanut? Click here if you need to know how that is funny.) Other than my difficulty disconnecting and the fact that my daughter now expects to be serenaded by a Mariachi band at all meals, it was a great opportunity to relax and refresh for this new (secular) year.
I did manage during the break to guest blog on the PEJE Blog on the topic of “Entrepreneurial Educational Leadership: Seeking Excellence Beyond Our Resources”. Thanks much to Ken Gordon (as always) from PEJE for the editorial work and the opportunity. You are welcome to read it, comment on it, share it, etc., here.
Next week, Andrea Hernandez, our school’s 21st Century Learning Coordinator, and I will be off to Atlanta to participate and present at this year’s North American Jewish Day School Conference. It will be a great opportunity to network, represent, learn and connect with colleagues from all over. As soon as we finish our presentation (!), we will be happy to link to it for anyone interested. And I will hope to follow up my last blog post from a conference (here) with another multimedia presentation describing my attendance experience through a 21st century learning lens.
Closer to home…between now and July 1:
- Florida Council of Independent Schools (FCIS) Re-Accreditation Visit: March 12th-13th
- edJEWcon 5772.0: April 29th-May 1st
- Martin J. Gottlieb Day School 50th Anniversary Weekend: May 4th-6th
- The launch of the “Academy” model at the Jacksonville Jewish Center: July 1 (Click here for a reminder. Official press release coming next month!)
Four extraordinarily significant events in the life of our school will take place between now and July 1! This is in addition to all the ongoing events that make school administration so rewarding. What an amazing six months this is going to be!
We are right on track with each major item. I am so grateful to my administrative team, support staff team, synagogue partners, lay leaders and volunteers for all their ongoing contributions to ensuring the success of these endeavors. Each of them alone could take up a school’s yearly agenda – all four within six months? (Plus two new ventures not yet ready to announce! But amazing ones!) It shall surely be transformational.
Next week? I’ll be back with singular focus and a single topic: presenting an overdue “State of the School”.
