"Critical Friend" Kevin

Last week, the Borgia and Beyond parent advisory meeting focused on student faith was quite uplifting. The parents in attendance were excited to talk about the ways Catholic schools had enhanced the faith lives of their children, and our conversations focused on preparing our students to live that faith in the world beyond Borgia. To begin the meeting, parents took the time to symbolically represent what it looks like when a student is guided by faith. Using ginger-bread outlines, the parents places items on the ginger-bread men that represented "what it looks like" when a student is guided by faith. The items these parents incorporated ranged from rosaries to "big hearts," to "dirty boots," and even armor. While the first two of these symbols may immmediately make sense, the latter two may need some more explaining.  The group discussed how students have to have the "armor" to stand up for their faith, and for their beliefs. They also discussed ...

This morning with my advisory I shared a video featuring Natalie Gilbert, a teenage girl who forgot the words to the National Anthem in front of 20,000 people at an NBA playoff game in 2003. She was not a professional singer; she was a young lady who won a contest giving her the opportunity to "feel like a star." And while I'm sure she would have preferred to have had a perfect performance, the result of her "failure" was a response that makes you feel good about being a human. If you would like to check that video out, you can view it here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4880PJnO2E  This video is one of my favorites on You Tube because it is not just a video that shows humans reacting kindly to one of their own in her time of need, but also because it is a video that I can relate to in a lot of ways, as an educator. About 48 seconds into the video, the look on her face is one that I have seen many times before. This is the point where Natalie Gilbert recognizes that ...

At our back-to-school meetings, the new teachers had the opportunity to hear English teacher George McKee speak. Mr. McKee shared advice with the teachers, and none of his advice stood out more to me than his assertion that "it is insulting to [his] students, if [he] is not deeply invested in the subject [he] is teaching. And while Mr. McKee was speaking only of his own personal philosophy, the first two weeks of school have taught me that this is a philosophy the permeates the culture at Borgia High School. To illustrate my point, I would like to share some of the great things I have seen in our first two weeks of classes: *Mr. Unnerstall had students create "cave paintings" on Notability as they explored early forms of communication. *In Spanish, Mr. Thompson had the students working on "Padre Nuestro," allowing them to practice their faith in Spanish. *Ms. Parsell had the students create maps to their homes in an effort to show how much more world th...

On Tuesday, Borgia welcomed six new teachers to its family. All six of these new teachers just happened to be guys, and three of the six are named Andrew. However, that's not the only unique thing about this class of new hires. Four of the six of them are Borgia graduates, and you can't talk to any of the six of them without wanting to be in their classes. Students will have a lot of fun learning with them. Learning was the focus of our new teacher orientation on Tuesday as we discussed our favorite classroom learning experiences. We discussed these in our effort to analyze what makes learning memorable. It was a lot of fun to hear about some of the experiences the new teachers came up with! The following ideas were among the memories: 1. Teachers wearing costumes to get students interested.  2. Sugar-box sculptures of Ancient Greece. 3. Having to participate in a debate and argue for a side aside from one's own. 4. Having to become a planet to participate in ...

As a young man, I was always jealous of the kids at school who got to celebrate a birthday on a school day. On those days, the birthday boy or girl would receive dozens of "Happy Birthday" wishes, and often the whole class loved the birthday student because he or she brought a birthday treat for all to share. Not to mention, the teacher usually gave the birthday student some sort of special treatment...or so it seemed. My birthday is on July 24. So, I did have some years where the teacher would recognize my half birthday in January. However, I never felt as special as I assumed those other kids felt who celebrated an actual birthday at school.  When I became a school administrator, I no longer had to wonder what it was like to be at school on my birthday. I was here on Wednesday, as we still have a lot to do to get ready for the school year. However, my first Borgia birthday was much more than a routine day.  On Wednesday, I got my first real taste of what it means to be part...

Those of you familiar with "Remember the Titans" may be able to relate to the family atmosphere that can be achieved when teenagers are brought together to achieve a common goal. And though the band did not have to deal with the adversity present in "Remember the Titans," they did get away from their normal lives and regular routines to get to know one another, and to create a show that the Borgia community will be proud of! Our band director, Sue Bright, did an amazing job mixing together the hard work of the week with time for the students to get to know one another. Just when the band needed a break, she sat the kids down, shared a little from the Bible, and then reminded the students the importance of being a team...and of being a family.  This year, nearly half the members of the band are new. A mix of freshmen, a couple transfer students, and a couple returning students who are new to band combined with the returnees this week for the first time. However, by t...

Perhaps the most important thing a new principal can do in his first month on the job is to meet people in the school community. Conveniently, our school is full of people, even in June and July. Whether they have been at school for a camp, to work, to change a schedule, or to discuss an internship, the people in our school have kept it abuzz throughout summer break. However, I could not rely exclusively on these chance meetings to acquaint myself with our entire community. So, I invited our teachers to join me individually. In doing so, I hoped to learn more about the people who comprise our school, and I learned some really interesting stuff: *Mr. Buchheit is going to perform the complete works of Shakespeare abridged the weekend before school begins. *Mr. Stevison comes from a family of educators. *Mrs. Marquart (formerly Ms. Volkman) has a photography studio of her own and has 23 weddings coming up! *Mrs. Addison also has a degree in photojournalism. *Mr. Bitzer ...

Today I had the chance to enroll my daughter in school for next year. She will be a sophomore, and she is just as excited to be part of the Borgia community as I am.  As I sat across from Mr. Wunderlich as he discussed class options with my daughter, identifying her needs and preferences, I realized how nice it will be to experience Borgia from "both sides of the desk." A big part of my job is knowing what is going on in our building and how we handle students' academic needs. While I can learn quite a bit about this by being observant, I am going to accelerate my knowledge of the way we do things by experiencing them as a parent. After watching Mr. Wunderlich work, it is clear to me that we have a counseling staff that seeks to truly know our students. I would have likely learned this working with our counselors this year, but now I already have a good taste of what they do, as well as what they want to do to enhance the experience of our students. After enrolling today,...

Though I don't officially begin the job until July 1, I am already getting quite the positive taste of the St. Francis Borgia school community, and this all began with my opportunity to meet the staff last month. On the final work day of the school year, the students were no longer in the building, but the teachers gathered for mass, a breakfast, and to tie up loose-ends heading into the summer. When I introduced myself to the staff, I discussed my past, sharing that my preparation to lead the school academically stems from the great people I have had the chance to work for and with in the past. I discussed my great years in the Parkway School District, and shared that I learned quite a bit from my time at St. Dominic, even though they did not want to hear much about my time with our rival! What surprised me about my visit, however, happened next. The questions from the staff were not about my professional background. Instead, they were about my family. They wanted to know about my...