With a blank slate and 180 school days ahead, we asked our newest school leaders, Principals Julie Matukewicz and Earl Farber about their thoughts for the new school year. Meet our Guest Bloggers - Julie and Earl.
Julie sees opportunities…
Elmwood Campus Principal Julie Matukewicz
A new school year always brings a sense of renewal- a fresh start, a refocus, a chance to meet new goals.
When I joined the Elmwood team as Principal in May, I had a chance to begin getting to know the students, the teams and the families. I knew how fast September would come and my thoughts on what to continue, what to start and what to improve evolved as I got to know all of the stakeholders.
I am excited to begin a new school year and am focused on instruction and parent engagement. I look forward to helping our teams utilize all of our instructional resources to design multi-faceted programs.
Earl focuses on inspiring staff…
East Avenue Campus Principal Earl Farber
While it is truly a two-way street, when I think about my staff over time and what I do to inspire them I look at two very different ways. One way relates to the direct work with staff and the second way is what I do for self-care that allows me to be the best I can be at work.
When I think about the direct work with staff, it comes down to not asking staff to do anything I’m not willing to do myself. It truly takes a village to support our students and because my title is that of Principal, it doesn’t excuse me from doing some of the less desirable tasks. Additionally, I’m constantly asking, “what if?”, when thinking about different events/opportunities/etc. that in the end would benefit the students.
With regard to self-care, I encourage folks to take time outside of work in order to relax, decompress and to get away from the thoughts and stressors that may come with some days. Pick up a hobby or revisit past interests that may have taken a backseat to the tasks of work and everyday life. I picked up sewing recently and have used that to relax myself as well as to take care of my staff.
Thankfully, their hard work every day, is in full view. I draw great inspiration myself from them and hopefully they feel the same towards me.
