I mentioned yesterday on Day 18 that I was at a teacher-blogger retreat in French Lick, just up the road from my southern Indiana town. Yesterday was too phenomenal not to re-slice, so I'm including some pictures so you can get a visual of a few slices of our day...and "our" was more than 550 teachers from as far away as Colorado, California, and Canada.
Our day began with a keynote from Gerry Brooks, aka "Principal Gerry." One slice from this dynamic principal is to be sure to develop a positive plan of action for dealing with students, parents, and colleagues, and to LISTEN first, respond second. {There were MANY other take-aways, but what really stuck with me was this.} Teachers all have their favorite teacher tools, so bringing some sticky notes, liquid chalk markers, and Flair pens was a no-brainer for me. I walked out with a great basket of goodies (top right) to brighten my day! The entire event had a "Red Carpet" theme, and the evening event actually featured red carpet, photo ops, and even an "Oscar" statue for each teacher to take as a commemorative reminder that we are indeed stars in the eyes of many of our students! I'd be remiss if I didn't give a shout out to Holly Ehle and her team of planners! This event has grown by approximately 500 teachers since the first blogger-retreat in 2015! They've worked tirelessly for months to make this weekend about teachers who also work tirelessly each day to help students grow to meet their goals and achieve their dreams.
7 Comments
Sonja Schulz
3/19/2017 05:37:11 pm
This really looks like a great experience.
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3/19/2017 05:39:45 pm
Sounds like an incredible experience! It's so great that you had the opportunity to attend. The take-away around listening is golden. Thanks for sharing!
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3/19/2017 06:50:29 pm
Oh, what a fun conference that must have been! I have loved every Gerry Brooks video I've seen; didn't know he does presentations too.
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3/19/2017 08:36:25 pm
Incredible weekend for sure! Thank you for sharing a take away from this. I deal with students and parents all day long in my role as Dean of Students, and (even though difficult at times) I try to really listen to them before I respond. This was a good reminder of how important that is.
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Diane Anderson (newtreemom)
3/19/2017 09:54:29 pm
Wow! Again I am asking myself how I missed hearing about this! I am in Indy, it would have been great!
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Lisa
3/19/2017 10:00:32 pm
Thanks, Diane - I can't recall how I first hear about it last year (my first to attend), but it's typically in mid-March. There is a Facebook group, so search for French Lick Blogger Retreat and you can learn more.
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3/19/2017 11:48:51 pm
Wow, 550 teachers talking about school on a weekend?? :-) Awesome! I read your take away, but beyond that, what was the best part of this conference? This sounds like an incredible experience to have been part of! Thank you for sharing with us!
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