Kelly Dunford

“They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” ~ Carl W. Buechner *also tweeting for @ancastermeadow

[Kelly Dunford @KellyDunford]

4 Characteristics of Outstanding ‘Warm Demander’ Teachers | Edutopia https://t.co/F3pBQgZpxh

[Hamilton Spectator @TheSpec]

Eight kids ended up in the emergency department of McMaster Children’s Hospital in June because of electric scooters.
https://t.co/Q4XYF2FePM

[Kelly Dunford @KellyDunford]

Mindset is key. We have the power to choose our focus.

[Kelly Dunford @KellyDunford]

Thanks, Ted. Agreed.

[Kelly Dunford @KellyDunford]

Check out teachthenseetheworld's video! #TikTok https://t.co/AgtELzLpsk
Love this method to generate a shared vision of classroom norms at the beginning of the year (instead of listing off a bunch of rules!). Student voice matters!

[Kelly Dunford @KellyDunford]

@MrRobHistory ***comfortable students are essential***

[Kelly Dunford @KellyDunford]

@MrRobHistory These are great, Derrick. Would be a meaningful task for teacher’s college students to create their own posters based on their placements! @LaurierTeachers @brockteachers

[Derrick Roberts @MrRobHistory]

How can we feedback to students?

[Kelly Dunford @KellyDunford]

https://t.co/07dJwO3GgK? Provide your voice for Optimist Park playground renewal survey!

[Kelly Dunford @KellyDunford]

Joy on #WorldDownSyndromeDay @ancastermeadow

[Kelly Dunford @KellyDunford]

Be sure to take a look at our Lost & Found - items will be donated on Friday ⁦@ancastermeadow⁩

[Kelly Dunford @KellyDunford]

@howie_hua Count up strategy: 148+2+150+16 =316: 168

[Kelly Dunford @KellyDunford]

Happy Chinese New Year
"Xīnnián hǎo"
In Mandarin: xīn nián hǎo /sshin-nyen haoww/In Cantonese: san nin hou
The Lunar New Year: On February 10, 2024, we will enter the Year of the Wood Dragon.

[Kelly Dunford @KellyDunford]

I learned a new thing about the w in wrap!! #TikTok https://t.co/cOouZRHHgv

[Kelly Dunford @KellyDunford]

@UberFacts “Red Rover” and “Mercy”

[Trevor MacKenzie @trev_mackenzie]

5 seeds to plant on the first day of school:

1. Agency: voice & choice.

2. Curiosity: lessons that spark awe.

3. Equity: all can succeed.

4. Wellness: calm, confident & joyous spaces.

5. Competency development: HOW we learn matters.

Intentional starts create inspiring ends.

[George Couros @gcouros]

“What are you doing for students that they can be doing for themselves?” AJ Juliani

This is one of my favorite quotes in education, and whenever I think about it, it reminds me that not only does this promote deeper learning for students, it can actually lead to less “time” expended by teachers.

I was thinking about early on in my career, and doing what I saw others do outside their classrooms, and thinking about how this was just what a teacher should do. I would spend a bunch of time decorating my classroom before students would enter. But as I grew older, I realized that what I was sharing, no matter how much I tried, was more about me than it was about the new students entering my classroom. Decorating the classroom together was way better (and easier), more authentic, and saved me a bunch of time.

I wrote about this idea in #InnovateInsideTheBox with Dr. Katie Novak:

________________________

“We spend so much time decorating the classroom before students show up, and then we call it ‘our room.’ Something as simple as decorating the classroom together not only gives students ownership of the space but also demonstrates that you care about their opinions. (It can also save you a ton of time!)

________________________

Rethinking the idea of decorating my classroom before school starts, not only saved me a lot of time, but it helped me to build better connection with my students and understand what they were interested in.

Also shared in #InnovateInsideTheBox:

________________________

My point is that when you look for opportunities to get to know your students and their interests and find a way to connect them to learning, you demonstrate empathy and create connections by caring about what they care about.

________________________

Just something that helped me, that I hope can help someone starting out the school year.

[Dr. Bryan Pearlman #MaslowBeforeBloom @DrP_Principal]

Mikey was a student who exhibited some of the most extreme behaviors for a young student. He had already received three superintendent level suspensions before he completed third grade. Mikey had more days out of school than in school. The behaviors included many physical altercations with students and staff, destruction of school property, consistent and significant disruption of the classroom (and school), and eloping from campus.

As principal, I really should have been listed as the teacher of record for Mikey, since he was in my office every day for several hours. Mikey was off-task pretty close to 100% of the time. Nothing in my toolbox worked well to reduce the negative behaviors.

A colleague suggested that we give him a “special job” in the building with more responsibility than his behaviors had warranted. At first I thought this was a very bad idea. But what choice did I have? Nothing else had worked. Worst case scenario, this too wouldn’t work and I would be in no worse place than where I had started. I asked for his recommendation. He suggested that we put him in charge of announcing the buses at arrival and dismissal. I told him that this sounded like a really bad idea. The thought of giving Mikey a walkie-talkie seemed to be a recipe for disaster. Mikey used words that even made me blush. Each classroom had a walkie in it too. I could just picture the damage control that I would have to do after Mikey used a four-letter word for the whole world to hear. My colleague reminded me about what I had to lose and the fact that nothing else had worked.

I went digging in our school’s basement and found an old bright orange crossing guard vest (circa 1985), a really beat up “Lil Captain” badge, and a Radio Shack walkie-talkie. On Friday afternoon, I called Mikey down to my office. I asked if he would be interested in a job at school. He asked for some information about the job. I told him that we really needed help with buses arriving and leaving each day since Dr. P was really bad at it. Mikey agreed that Dr. P was really bad at it and he said that he would like that job. I gave him his uniform and asked that he report on Monday morning.

Very early on Monday morning, I heard a mini-van door slam closed. I looked out the window and recognized the mini-van and the student walking up our sidewalk. Mikey walked straight into my office with a dry cleaning bag over his shoulder. He sat the bag down and pulled out a perfectly cleaned and ironed crossing guard vest with a very shiny badge on it. Mikey put these items on and saluted me. He said, “Captain Mikey reporting for duty sir”. He then took out the walkie-talkie. It had a “Captain Mikey” label on it (his mom must have used a home labeling machine to make this for him). I looked carefully at him and realized that he was completely serious, completely excited about his new job, and had a big smile across his face (I had never seen him smile before).

Mikey was very successful with calling buses as they arrived. In addition, our dismissal process ran like clockwork with Captain Mikey on the job. I have to admit that he was much better at this job than I was. Captain Mikey expanded his job description to help younger kids as they crossed in front of the buses. He even became the king of giving fellow students high fives and morning greetings. Mikey’s behaviors reduced by at least 95% almost immediately.

Even students with the most challenging behaviors have the potential for turning it around. Mikey rose to the occasion, felt needed, experienced success for perhaps the first time, and his behaviors improved significantly.

Thank you for doing whatever it takes to help students to succeed in school and life!

Join the “Maslow Before Bloom” Facebook group: https://t.co/015cLKjJ1m

[Kelly Dunford @KellyDunford]

@ShawnMcKillop @ymcahbb @HWDSB Shawn! YMCA is so lucky to have you! You will be missed - congratulations on this incredible new chapter.

[Dr. Bryan Pearlman #MaslowBeforeBloom @DrP_Principal]

When I was a building principal, we had a group of boys who were consistently getting office referrals during lunch for aggressive and disruptive behaviors. In the past, these behaviors had led to increasingly severe consequences that did not reduce the negative behaviors (and caused some students to be sent home and to miss instruction). I sat down with the group and we worked together to come up with a plan on what to do during lunch. One of the boys asked if we could start a knitting club, since his Auntie had recently taught him how to knit. Since he was a leader of the group, the other boys agreed. I asked them to come back tomorrow with some ideas of what to knit. The next day one of the boys said that he wanted to knit little hats for the preemies at the hospital, since his little cousin was there and that a nurse mentioned that they had run out of the little hats. The boys knitted daily and we delivered the hats to the hospital. We received many heartfelt thank you notes from families, nurses and doctors (and even an in-person visit with a personal thank you and cookies from a newborn's mom). This group continued to grow as did our ability to create knitted hats for preemies. This became a huge success for the participating students. There was significant improvement in the students’ behavior, attitude, achievement, and attendance. It is so important to think outside of the box for “win-win” solutions. It really isn’t the WHAT you do that is important, it is the WHY you are doing it! Our knitting group become a team, family, and community.

#maslowbeforebloom