Connecting over photos

Try this relationship builder! In School Culture By Design Podcast Episode #100, Dr. John Eick shares a fun way to connect over cell phone photos.

Photo reel activity: 

• Get your cell phone and open photos

• Flick photo reel 3 times

• Pick one photo in that grid

• Share that photo with the person next to you and explain why it either makes you PROUD, SMILE, or A LITTLE EMBARRASSED. 

What will you share… a photo of your family or pet, vacation highlight, favorite hobby, holiday tradition, or maybe an adventure from your summer break?

Take time to be PEOPLE FIRST and share part of your story as it will lead to lasting relationships and colleagues you can lean on during tough times.

STORYTELLING SPARKS CONNECTION

During our Storytelling Sparks Connection podcast episode, guest Robin Nott shared the benefit of taking time to share our stories and how it can lead to a more PRODUCTIVE, CREATIVE, and SAFE environment.

Adapted from Robin's Story Sparks, this activity may be used with students or staff to SPARK CONVERSATIONS, BUILD RELATIONSHIPS, and remind us we are BETTER TOGETHER!

Start sparking connections! Click below to download.

Making Connections & Building Relationships

We believe relationships are the foundation to thriving school culture. These Connect Cards are designed to help make connections in a fun and low risk way.

Carve out a few minutes at your next staff meeting or in the classroom and pick a question or two. Perhaps you will discover shared interests and experiences and learn more about your colleagues or students, while also sharing a part of your story. #PeopleFirst

Click below to download a printable PDF of the NEW Connect Cards!

Opportunity to RECONNECT

“We are hardwired to connect with others, it's what gives purpose and meaning to our lives.”

- Brené Brown 

The return to school this fall presents an amazing opportunity to reconnect…as a staff and student body! Let’s take time to genuinely check-in with each other and ask how others are doing after so much virtual time and after our summer break.

Check out the RECONNECT CARDS for an easy way to ask fun and interesting questions to get to know each other better and build relationships!

Click below to download a printable PDF of the RECONNECT CARDS!

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The Love List

For a few years we have offered the LOVE LIST to schools to encourage their adult staff on campus. It included questions such as “my favorite morning drink” or “a time I felt appreciated.”  The intent was to learn more about one another and refer back to the list for future personalized surprises and appreciation weeks throughout the year.

Since the staff version was so popular, we thought why not create a LOVE LIST for your STUDENTS that would help create connections as many of us begin school with distance learning.

Imagine a notebook you keep next to your laptop with a dedicated page or two for each class.  During the first few weeks of school ask your students in a casual way about different loves they have.  Also, you can ask these questions in the chat room as a way for students to get to know each other – a question each day for the first two weeks. Ask students to listen to each other and write down similarities between classmates. Jot their answers in your notebook and then refer back to them during future conversations. 

Consider some of these loves you might ask students:  

• What type of music do you listen to?

• When is your birthday?

• What activity/hobby do you love?

• What drink do you find most refreshing?

• What is your go-to candy or ice cream?

• What kind of movie do you love to watch?

• What TV show do you binge on?

• Which app on your phone/tablet do you use the most?

• What is you favorite video/board game?

Students want to know you listen to them, you remember things about them, and you notice them.  What better way to do this than commenting later in the month or semester about something they have shared!

Also need the STAFF LOVE LIST? Click below to download an editable version.

People First

We identify in many roles in our lives, both professionally and personally.

Think about all of your roles. Which was the first one you thought of? 

It is important to remember that we are all people first, especially during our virtual conversations. As we are on our conference calls and video meetings with colleagues or students, before jumping into business or online learning, let’s take time to genuinely check-in with each other and ask how others are doing.

Further, why not take a few minutes to learn something new about your staff or students! Check our latest edition of the Connect Cards. The BETTER TOGETHER edition provides fun and interesting questions that you can ask staff or students to get to know each other and build relationships. Pick one of these 18 questions to kick-off your next virtual meeting!

Click below to download a printable PDF of the Better Together Connect Cards for FREE!

Passing It On

Recently I experienced a heartfelt example of passing traditions down in my family. It originated with my wife’s Grandma Ivy’s famous pink cookies. She would bake them in Alaska for family and neighbors… and everyone LOVED her cookies! Generations since have continued the tradition of baking pink cookies. This time, my 3 year old grandson, Miles, learned this special pink cookie recipe from his great-grandma, Karran. Miles was SO excited the moment he walked in the door and sweetly asked to start making cookies! 

In a moment of honesty that morning, Karran told us she had “almost” made the cookie dough herself. She then realized, if she is going to pass on the art of pink cookie baking, she must teach all of it...every step! I thought, bravo!  

Passing it on must be intentional – because it is really easy to just bake the cookies and have them ready when Miles walks in. Passing it on became intentional when Karran asked Miles and his mother, Shyana, if they wanted to learn how to make the pink cookies together. Miles experienced the process first hand as he added the sugar to the bowl.

Yep, sugar is sweet and so is passing it on! Some day Miles may not remember many details about his great-grandma, but he will never forget who taught him how to make those Pink Cookies.  

Take a moment and think about some of the traditions at your school. What traditions do you have? How can you help ensure the traditions will be passed down each year? Traditions could be homecoming, an annual spring art show, or maybe an amazing way to send off graduating seniors. Traditions may evolve over time with new staff and students. And...it’s never too late to start a new tradition!

What is a tradition your school is planning this spring? We would love to hear! Share with us on our “School Culture by Design” Facebook page!

Share the Love

Valentine’s Day marks a great opportunity to spread LOVE and TOGETHERNESS across your campus! We’ve heard so many great ideas in past years and wanted to share a few below for inspiration. Start planning now and collaborate with either an established club at your school or assemble a new team to create a memorable Valentine’s Day event!

Just think if EVERYONE at your school received something on Valentine’s Day… it would brighten their day and ensures they receive at least one thing. 

Personalized Hearts: cut out hearts for every student and staff member and then write their name and a brief message on the heart. Place hearts around campus the evening before Valentine’s Day. The hallways look great decorated and everyone enjoys finding their heart! 

Treat Bags: fill small bags with sweet treats for departments that often get overlooked, such as transportation, cafeteria, or custodial. Ask a club to volunteer or organize a group of students to deliver the bags.

Live Music and Dessert: during lunch time, have select members of your marching band, jazz band, or a DJ play music and have a club volunteer to hand out treats to everyone.

Spirit Beads: give spirit beads to students and staff in the morning to wear all day. The spirit beads could be red/pink or school pride colors.

If your school has not yet planned for a Valentine’s Day activity, we hope these ideas inspire you to use this day as an opportunity to intentionally build culture and relationships among students and staff.

Share your Valentine’s Day event and photos on our School Culture By Design Facebook group!

#BetterTogether #SchoolCultureByDesign

PAUSE AND REFLECT

This past week one of my educator friends posted a graphic on Facebook titled Teacher’s Winter Break Checklist and typed “It’s coming…8 more days 😂.” It included scenarios that all educators can connect with, such as leaving your teacher bag in your vehicle, staying up way too late, wearing pajamas for multiple days, and going to the bathroom whenever you want!

Her post made me pause…because that is what the holiday break offers to educators…a PAUSE. A pause in the hectic pace of school life. A pause from pouring so much of ourselves into other people, and instead, taking time for ourselves. For some, that may mean wearing pajamas for three straight days, bingeing on Netflix, or even eating cookies for a meal!

Taking a pause is necessary. Not because we don’t love what we do, but because a pause is what we need to be our best for our schools, students, staff, and families.  

The holiday break offers an opportunity to REFLECT on the previous semester and to look forward to the upcoming semester. There is power in reflection because it provides opportunities to learn, heal, and generate motivation.

That’s why we are providing the 20/20 Reflection Form. Use it to facilitate an internal discussion about what went well, what could have gone better, and what you should focus on second semester to continue to make your school the best place it can be.  

You deserve that. Everyone in your school community deserves it too. 

So put down your cookies. Take a break from your Netflix binge. Curl up with our 20/20 Reflection Form to celebrate the victories from the fall semester and to get motivated for a great 2020!

Enjoy the pause!