A few years ago my admin announced we were going to change how students were informed of their teacher assignments. Instead of being given a piece of paper, they were going to be invited onto campus to meet their new teacher. I am going to be honest. My initial thoughts were, “But I will lose time getting ready for Monday!” What a jerk I was!

Fortunately, the joke was on me. I LOVED the experience. It was the best way to “get ready for Monday”, which should have been obvious to me in the first place. Being able to introduce myself to students and their families and personally invite them to kindergarten orientation is more powerful than I had the imagination to realize. Telling a family that you look forward to seeing them at an event while your hands are interlocked is different than using those same words in a flyer or social media post. (Do all!) We love to use the mantra “Relationships Matter”, but it is mentally hard sometimes to make the shifts necessary to build the relationships from Day One.

I also discovered that this event is like holding a family reunion. Former students stream in to meet their new teacher, but there is time to hug the formers ones as well. Sharing summer stories, showing off new hair cuts, giving them a thumbs up that their next year is going to be fabulous, reminding them that they still live in your heart even if they will be occupying a different physical space . . . all of these moments are beautiful and fun and energizing.

Simple shifts in thinking and practice can have deeply meaningful effects on your culture and practice. My eyes are open to what simple shift I can make next.