Shannon Black (she/her)

Mum of three, wife, traveler, hiker, photographer, dog, nature and yoga lover 🐾 Opinions are my own.

[Shannon Black (she/her) @MumPRJ]

https://t.co/SG2rXjQw9x Check it out on ClickASnap

Let’s go @BlueJays

[Shannon Black (she/her) @MumPRJ]

https://t.co/Axf1zV7cXd Check it out on ClickASnap

[Kamala Harris @KamalaHarris]

Extremist so-called leaders want to erase history with lies. We will not have it.

[Fascinating @fasc1nate]

The inside of a wasp nest. https://t.co/tivleXjD2q

[Rep. Ilhan Omar @Ilhan]

We shouldn’t allow for the silencing of voices supporting Palestinian human rights.

[Rep. Ilhan Omar @Ilhan]

I’m voting against this resolution. It was designed by MAGA Republicans to target and shame a colleague, Pramila Jayapal, for comments for which she apologized and clarified. https://t.co/iC4JK6e7Vp

[The Atlantic @TheAtlantic]

"Seen in the context of Kennedy’s career, what’s surprising is not his foray into anti-Semitism, but that it took him this long to arrive here," writes Yair Rosenberg: https://t.co/X0azeiDwP0

[Shannon Black (she/her) @MumPRJ]

An absolutely incredible match today @Wimbledon … with 16 year age gap. I’ve never seen either @DjokerNole or @carlosalcaraz play better tennis 🎾

What a treat to watch 👏👏👏👏👏

[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

[Shannon Black (she/her) @MumPRJ]

Sad to see the #Wimbledon fans boo @vika7 … Azarenka handled @ElinaSvitolina’s choice to not shake hands with grace and dignity. Deeply respect both women. Thanks for the wonderful match 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

#Wimbeldon #Wimbledon2023
#graceunderpressure

[Wimbledon @Wimbledon]

We are being treated right now 🤩

#Wimbledon

[Shannon Black (she/her) @MumPRJ]

💥💥💥💥

#Wimbledon

@vika7 and @ElinaSvitolina are absolute rockstars. It’s a master class out there today from these women who happen to both be mums 💪🏻

#Wimbeldon

[Rick Anderson 🇨🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦🇮🇱🇩🇰 @RickAnderson]

I think it is true that quality of life is now often better in European cities than in American ones, for the reasons David quotes here, and others.

And less comforting to Canadian ears, I would say it is also becoming true that Canadian urban quality of life has slipped behind European cities. Our housing, transportation and other infrastructure is suffering; as is our economic standard of living. And our urban planning is weak, relative to the renaissance underway in European cities.

Sorry if you do not wish to hear this, but I think it is true and something Canadians need to think about.

[Historic Hub @HistoricHub]

The photographer Leonardo Sens, waited 3 long years to take this fantastic shot in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

[Shannon Black (she/her) @MumPRJ]

@Wimbledon “Tell me you’re at #Wimbledon without telling me you’re at Wimbledon” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Shannon Black (she/her) @MumPRJ]

If you’re not watching #Wimbledon right now, turn it on! These amazing mums are killing it out there 💪🏻

#wimbledon2023

[Jesse @jesse_kw1]

This is absolutely the correct response to an individual request. Boards would save themselves a lot of headache by publicly communicating this though. Many people are under the impression that they can get accommodations for this and it creates a chilling effect on educators.

[Ilhan Omar @IlhanMN]

Netanyahu is now openly promising to “crush” Palestinian hopes for statehood, days after the Jenin massacre.

How long will we continue to fund Netanyahu's human rights abuses with zero strings attached? How long will we allow him to make peace impossible with no consequences? https://t.co/50B9iXsvI2

[The Washington Post @washingtonpost]

Tennis icons Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova met as teenagers, forged one of the greatest rivalries in sports and then became close friends.

After 50 years, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova understand each other like no one else can. When cancer came, they both knew where to turn. https://t.co/78ixTyl15M

[Fascinating @fasc1nate]

This photo shows the Statue of Liberty seen from the torch. The torch has been closed to the public since 1916 when it was damaged in an explosion caused by German spies.

The event is known as the Black Tom explosion, which happened on July 30, 1916. At that time, the United States had not yet joined World War 1, but they were selling weapons to the Allied powers. Germany sent saboteurs to destroy production lines and supplies.

Around 100,000 pounds (45,000 kg) of TNT were stored on a barge on the night of the explosion. Guards noticed small fires and left, fearing an explosion. At 2:08 am, the first and biggest explosion occurred. It was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history, equivalent to 5.0 and 5.5 on the Richter scale. The blast was felt in Philadelphia and shattered windows in Times Square. The explosion caused $20,000,000 in damages and claimed four lives.

This incident turned public opinion against Germany and eventually led the United States to join World War 1 on April 16th, 1917.