Kelli Houston

EDAD 590

First Staff Meeting Agenda

Location: Rover Elementary School
Attendees: Rover Elementary teachers and staff

Introduction: Good morning, faculty and staff. It is so nice to see all of

you again. I want to thank you for meeting with me one-on-one this
summer and for attending some of the social activities I planned to get
to know the community. I sincerely want to thank you for accepting and
welcoming me as your new Principal. I feel like family already, and I
know we are going to have a great year together. I have some
activities planned for our first day together that I hope you will enjoy. I
have also allowed some time for you to meet with your teams and
other teachers to get ready for the school year. Before we get to those,
though, I want to share with you what you can expect from me as your
principal. First of all, I see our number one goal as working together to
shape the minds of our future. It takes all of us to make this a great
school, and you can expect that I will value and consider your input
and suggestions. I want us to work together as a team and where
decision-making is shared by all of us. You can also expect that I will
have nothing but high expectations for you and for our students. All of
us can achieve excellence and will continue to learn and expand. You
can also expect me to be a visible person in the school. You can expect
me in your classrooms quite frequently to observe your teaching in
order to provide you with quality, constructive feedback, so that
together we can make sure each child has a supportive and positive
learning environment. You can also expect my support. I want you to
come to me with your needs. I want to know what I can do to help you
be more successful and to help your students be more successful. You
can expect me to work collaboratively with you and with parents to
provide the best educational experience for our students. You can
expect my whole heart, and that I will put everything I have into
making our school a fun, caring, positive, supportive, and student-
centered environment.

Getting-To-Know-You Animal Activity: The staff will be given fifteen

minutes to find a picture of an animal that they feel best represents
who they are and what qualities they share. Each staff member will
 then present their picture, and the rest of the staff will share their
perceptions and assumptions as to why that animal was selected. The
staff member will then share their explanation. I will go first, and ten
select the next person.

Handbook Jeopardy: The staff will be put into teams of four randomly.
Some staff members will also serve as judges. Questions will be
prepared that highlight important handbook information. Each team
will select a category and dollar amount. After being given the
question, then team will have a short amount of time to discuss the
questions and give their best response. The judges will either accept
the answer, or reject it. If the answer is rejected, the opposing teams
will have the opportunity to buzz in and supply an answer. Clarification
for answer will be given for each question. After all questions have
been given, points will be added up and the winning team will earn a
little prize. This activity will ensure that teachers understand the
important policies that are in their handbook, and they will have fun
while reviewing them.

Lunch will be presented to the staff in the lounge.

Team and Transition Meetings: For a majority of the afternoon, teachers

will have time to meet with their team to discuss and plan for the
upcoming year. At this time, transition meetings will also be held. Each
grade level team will meet with the team above their grade and below
their grade. They will discuss student needs and learning goals in
preparation of the upcoming year.

Individual Goal Setting: The teachers and principal will be given a piece
of paper and an envelope. They will be asked to write down three goals
they have for themselves this year. One will be a goal on student and
parent communication, one goal will be related to colleague support,
and the third will be a personal goal. After they have their three goals
written, each staff member will fold up their piece of paper and seal it
in their envelope with their name written on the outside. Teachers and
principal will be given their goals back in the middle of the year to
review and re-focus.

Closing Remarks: I want to thank you for your dedication to todays

meeting. I hope you had a productive, worthwhile day, and are feeling
recharged for the new school year. As I stated this morning, I have high
expectations for all of you, for our students, and for our school. I
expect us to have a great year. You all know that you are the ones that
make our school what it is. Because you are so important to our school,
I want to clearly state what some of my expectations for you are. I
expect you to inspire our youth. Be their role models, show them the
passion you have for learning, be present and ready to teach at all
times. Seize every opportunity and make it a learning experience. I
also expect you to help our students learn the information and skills
necessary to be lifelong learners. I also expect you to be collaborative.
Communicate with parents about our expectations, grading, and other
policies. Work together to make sure their childs needs are being met
both at school and at home. Consult with me on a regular basis so I
understand what you need from me. Build relationships among your
colleagues and work together to make sure everyone is implementing
the best teaching practices. Above all, I expect you to help create a
school culture that is positive, fun, caring, and student-centered. Thank
you again for today, and I cannot wait to work with you continuously
during our best school year yet! Tomorrow you will be given most of
the day to work in your classroom to prepare for your students. Also at
this time, please visit the area education agencys website to complete
your Blood borne Pathogen and Mandatory Reporter trainings. We will
also welcome the PTA president and city council representative as they
would like to share some important information with us, and we can
start collaborating on projects, events, and additional opportunities for
our families.