Larry "K"

  My father is a former Superintendent of Schools  of the Oakland Public School System in New Jersey.  My dad was known around town as  Larry " K"  and he never seemed to waiver from the understanding that his constituency was the kids in his school system.  .  He is someone who I look to for advice frequently and always enjoy talking with him about my position and what is happening in the world of education.  Recently he shared with me  a letter that he wrote- " Life is a Journey, Not a Race". As I have been spending a lot of time with our staff working on our Student Learning Objectives, tests and more tests as usual my dad helped put everything back in perspective for me and what my focus should remain on in my role as a building principal.

 "  Children are consistently placed under undue stress and accountability . We have taken the joy out of learning and replaced it with rote instruction practices. The tyranny of testing has become so intense that teachers may find themselves spending more than half of the school year teaching specifically for test results. Teachers realize their performance evaluation and the status of the school are based on placing numerical numbers on the foreheads of students. Many excellent teachers have left the classroom rather than to conform to robot teaching styles. If you recall, the teachers that remember the most are those who instilled a love of learning and enriched your learning styles. They were inspirational ,  challenging and brought joy and excitement to their lessons.
   We need to remember that life is a journey not a race. In schools we have reduced the amount of recess time, cut back time for physical education and fitness, cut back on art and music and added excessive amount of homework. This is being done even when we see more obese children and lack of physical fitness. There was a time when recess was a time for communication skills to be enhanced by students. You learned to accept other children and to learn how to play a variety of games. Many friendships and social skills were forged at recess and lunch play period.
  Childhood should be a magical time for kids. It is a time to explore, dream, imagine, pretend, make new friends and enjoy learning"

   Thanks for the reminder dad! I will continue to fight the good fight and help make each and every day a positive one here in my school, Hamagrael Elementary, for children, staff and our school community.



   Here are some pictures from our first Character Education Assembly of the school year . The theme of the month is " Responsibility"