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The part of this that struck me the most, and that I see the great examples of in my work, is valuing the differences. On my team we have 120ish students and not all of them are equally lovable every day. In situations where one teacher is struggling to see a certain student’s perspective we have each other to rely on. This is possible because we all have different life experiences and tolerances and it is a blessing for our students.  As a leader, I think it is important to remember that we must help others work with people who may have different strengths so that we can well rounded teams.
I wonder how well any of us is doing with this at this time of year?!?! :)  Typically, I spend a lot of time with my husband and kids. This year I stopped taking home my computer charger. I can now only do the amount of work that my battery allows. (I am a little bummed about the new computers since that will mean longer battery life.)

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Habit 6: Synergy
The best example of synergy that I have in my current role as a PreK Special Education teacher is my collaborative relationship with the OT that serves my program.  I always feel that we come to the table with a mindset of sensitivity to our varying ideas and perspectives, a healthy respect for one another, and a desire to come up with a solution that is mutually agreeable to each of us regarding how to best meet the needs of the students we share.  I do not necessarily have this level of collaboration and synergy with some of the other members of my team.  Reading this chapter has given me some ideas of how to create a more synergistic relationship with team members whom I have perceived as not wanting to have a collaborative relationship with me.  I can now see that pulling back when I've felt rejected or pushed aside by one particular team member has robbed me of an opportunity to grow that relationship.  Even though I will be moving on to a new position in the district this fall, I am curious and motivated to try some of the ideas from our book to see if this relationship can be moved towards one that is more collaborative and possibly even synergistic.
Habit 7:
I feel that I have a decent balance of personal and professional life, but I do find my job duties overflowing into personal time a lot more than I would like.  I try to balance this by making sure I exercise regularly, attend church every week, and spend quality time with my sons.  These things help restore me and renew my commitment to my work.  I can definitely tell when I've slipped in any of these areas because it has a ripple effect on my stress level at work.  Luckily, I am mindful of this and know that by getting back into a better system of eating healthy, exercising, and trying not to work at home every weeknight, I will be able to get back on track.

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Habit 6:
An example of synergy in my current work is collaborating with the math department and even more specifically my Algebra 2 team. We work together to determine which instructional strategies and ways of teaching are going to be most beneficial for all students. We bring our own ideas to the table which helps differentiating our lessons with multiple ideas for different student learners. As a school leader it will be important to build a team around you and us synergy to reach the goals of the team.
Habit 7:
The balance between work and home is definitely something that a lot of us struggle with. I find myself very involved in the school and district, which I absolutely love and it is a huge reason why I became a teacher. However it is important to find time for myself to rest and relax and to grow professionally. I am just about to finish my 4th straight year of graduate school which has been good for me professionally, but is also time consuming on top of a full time job. I'm hoping to find a better balance between work and home now that grad school is over.

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Thanks everyone for your honesty in sharing your reflections and experiences.  I have enjoyed learning more about each of you over the past few months. See you this afternoon!

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Habit 6: Synergy
As an Instructional Coach, I have the privilege of witnessing synergy or the attempt at synergy daily, whether it be the Reading Specialist and SPED teacher collaborating with the classroom teacher or the Principal and I collaborating about PLC focused on student data. It is the ability to have all things working together. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. We all work together to see things from different perspectives and explore new possibilities. More heads are greater than one approach. We are all heading toward a common goal.

Habit 7:
With 4 children at home, the balance between work and home is not easy. My kids are busy, get sick, etc. This can bleed into work very easily. When I am home, I try to squeeze some work in, sometimes. It is a daily battle, leaving me feeling guilty no matter what I do. It is important to seek balance in order to do all things well. On top of that, I need time to sharpen my saw, or unwind. I need "me" time to exercise or rest in order to release stress and be the best I can be.

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Habit 6: With this being my first year as an elementary instructional coach, I have found that my view on the educational setting has changed drastically; I no longer see the world through my 1st grade teacher lens, I see the big picture. With serving an entire building of teachers at various grade levels, synergy and the concept of 'the whole is greater than the sum of its parts' has been evident in the work I have done this year. I see the example of synergy in a building that has embraced having an instructional coach, and through educators who have welcomed me into their classrooms through co-teaching, coaching and working together. With that being said, I also feel that I have learned big lessons in listening to staff members and 'valuing the differences' as discussed in Habit 6. I feel that through this, I have been able to establish relationships and trust, which is vital for my role as a school leader.

Habit 7:  I like to think of my teaching career as chapters in my life- there are the chapters before I had a child, and the chapters after.  Before having my son, I took everything home all of the time.  I would carry bags and crates full of paperwork, curriculum, and craft projects that I sometimes got to and sometimes didn't.  I would go to school on the weekends and stay late most nights.  When Daniel was born, I had a wake up call.  I learned to use every precious minute of my day at school to complete what needed to be done, and I also learned to prioritize and walk away from tasks that weren't a necessity.  I'd love to say I have this balance down now, but I am a work in progress.  My son taught me so much about balancing my professional life and my personal life, and finding peace in it all.

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Habit 6:
I am truly blessed to be apart of a department that exemplifies synergy. We are constantly working together to help each other reach our goals for both our students as well as each other. While we have weekly meetings scheduled for collaboration, our ongoing conversations that happen almost daily is what fosters synergy amongst us. At times we may disagree with certain things but the level of trust amongst each other allows us to move through those issues and work toward a common goal.
Habit 7:
The balance between work and family right now is easy. I have 4 young children so the moment I step out of my car when I get home I don't have a choice but to give all my attention to my family. After the kids go to bed is when I work on things for work but iI try to get most things done at work so I am not up so late. Before having such a busy family life I made sure to keep a regular workout schedule that allowed me to get my mind off of stressful events that were taking place at work.

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Habit 6
The thing that stood out to me about synergy, is the concept that there does not have to be a right and wrong when working with a group.  I was in charge of desserts after a funeral at our church.  Everything I did, from the time I started the set up to the number of pieces that I cut the cakes into was "wrong" according to some of the older women. It was a horrible experience. I think that this is often how we treat new teachers.  We roll our eyes at their naivete, correct their ideas and wait for them to learn. When we apply this idea of synergy however, having new teachers can revitalize our team.  Their energy and ideas can be contagious!  We can learn from the fresh ideas that they bring to the table and use our experience to help them overcome the challenges that we all face.

Habit 7:
I am an introvert, so I definitely make sure that I take time to sharpen my saw! When I don't I know that everyone around me pays the price! I make sure that when I know that I am going to have an especially busy time, that I create lists, prioritize and use other tools to help me stay organized. I also try to make sure that I have an end goal with progress checks along the way to help me feel like there is an end in sight. I try to make sure that I exercise and sleep, so that I have the energy to make it through those times.

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An example of synergy in my current role is working with teachers on our RTI team. I work with four teachers on a system of interventions to help students. We meet with the students weekly, sometimes daily to discuss assignments, tests, etc and to create plans to help them improve. I contact parents to keep them informed on student progress. Working and communicating with parents has been successful because they appreciate being informed, and they know that their child is receiving additional support during the school day................
I wouldn't say that I do anything special to balance my personal and professional life. I have always had the mindset that being the best professional and hardest worker you can be will enhance your personal life. The one thing that I do to avoid being overwhelmed is asking for help. This has been an area of weakness for me, but I realized that I didn't really have a choice. I tried to handle multiple things on my own, but was unsuccessful in doing so. The funny thing is that I never had difficulty asking for help at home!

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Habit 6: I have truly enjoyed experiencing synergy in my new building this year, along with my new position as lead teacher.  I feel that in my administrative role, it is a part of my role to help create synergy within my building.  It has been quite rewarding to see the many different parts of my building work collaboratively to see the synergy occur.  It has simply been myself helping to facilitate the collaboration and trust amongst staff members, but it truly is each individual staff member that contributes to the whole.  Synergy is easily seen in the building starting with the administration and working all the way to reach the students.  Students understand that it takes the many different members of each team, including parents participating in their child's learning, to create the positive educational outcome.

Habit 7:
When I was in the classroom, I found it much easier to be able to leave things at work for work so that I was able to set time aside for myself at home. Having 3 young children, I felt that my time at home with them was very valuable and I wanted to cherish those moments. Now in a leadership role, I find that I am able to prioritize what needs to be accomplished at work, and do take items home to work on, but I make sure they are things that won't require a lot of time. I feel that I am able to create a great balance between home and work stress by exercising and allowing some "me" time. By doing this, I am able to give my all both at work, professionally, and at home to my family.

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Habit 6: I love working with people and collaborating.  One of the reasons that I wanted to work in Early Intervention was because of the opportunity to work directly with parents on how to best work with their child.  Within our Early Intervention team, we work very closely with OT, PT, Speech, Vision, Hearing, AAC/AT and School Psychology.   We all work together as a team to do what is best for the child and the family.  We have team meetings weekly and we typically discuss each child at least every 6 weeks or more frequent if needed.  Within our Early Intervention team, we are spilt into 2 teams which consist of 2 ECSE teachers (me), an SLP and 2 Service Coordinators and we share an office.  Although at times this many people in an office can get a little crazy, it has really helped with the teaming concept!
Habit 7:
I try to separate work and home, but it is hard to do with all of the paperwork that we have to do in this job! I often times have to take paperwork home to complete MDTs and IFSPs because there is just not enough time in the day to get it all done and do my regular scheduled visits. I often do find that even if I do not take work home, I am guilty of "taking my work home" as I am always thinking about the families that I work with and their children and how I can better serve them. In this job we deal with a lot of stress that the families have and share with us and we see a lot of things that can be concerning for us as well - dirty homes, children not getting attention they need, very medically fragile children and even sometimes children who do not survive due to their disability at a young age. It is hard to separate these things at times from work and home.

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Habit 6
The synergy concept is such a great way of explaining and defining what happens when a team truly comes together for the greater good. When the team feels ownership and can work together, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  I enjoy the way Covey breaks down what is necessary for synergy to happen. When members of a group do not trust each other, it is hard to fully focus on your part. You also have to value the differences of the members in the group. I enjoyed the reminder from the story "The Animal School." Everybody has their strengths, and if we don't value those strengths, we end up losing out on some very positive possibilities.
Habit 7
As far as balance goes, I keep plenty busy in many different aspects of my life. Being busy is a part of who I am, but I keep busy with school, busy with church, busy with family. I find the most important thing is staying organized. Scheduling time with family is sometimes a struggle, but their flexibility is what allows me to do so many things.

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Habit 6:

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Habit 6:
As I was reading about synergy, this section of the reading really stood out and resonated with me... "Without a doubt, you have to leave the comfort    zone of base camp and confront an entirely new and unknown wilderness. You become a trailblazer, a pathfinder. You open new possibilities, new territories, new continents, so that others can follow (p. 275)." Being in a new building and a new position as instructional coach this year, I have found comfort in being uncomfortable. Everything about this school year is new, unknown, and exciting. One thing that our coaching team strives for is to increase collaboration, meaning more people working and creating together. Building and maintaining strong relationships is vital to my job. An example of synergy this year has been between myself and one of our fifth grade teachers. We have been co-teaching math together for almost the entire year. It's amazing how much you can learn from each other and how much a lesson can be strengthened by creating cooperatively. I feel like the work I am doing in this classroom has also bubbled over into other classrooms in the school; widening our collaborative team and creating excitement about teaching!

Habit 7:
It has taken me a long time to find the right balance between my personal and professional life. My first few years teaching, I spent so much time in my classroom, working on the weekends, and on weeknights at home. You just learn to prioritize. It's helpful for me to make a top 3 or 5 list each day of my most important items to finish. If something doesn't get done, it's always there waiting for the next day.
As far as growing professionally, I try to set aside time twice a week to do professional reading. Luckily, the coaching team is always looking to expand our capacity, so we e-mail each other education articles frequently. It helps to surround yourself with others that push you to become better!

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Habit 6
I have truly had a year filled with synergy. The most meaningful experiences I've had the opportunity to be a part of  developed in the most organic ways; a conversation following an IEP or connecting with a colleague I had never met to problem solve ways to meet the needs of a 2E student. Connecting with colleagues who are true experts in their field has allowed my knowledge to grow exponentially. We've created partnerships, and long range goals that will have a greater impact than we could have had as individuals. One example was visiting with Mary Spillane about the similarities between highly gifted individuals and those on the spectrum. From that conversation we created a Schoology warehouse full of tools to meet the needs of both groups of students. We also presented together on the topic at the State ASD Conference. What an awesome experience! Another example was a conversation I had with the school psychologist at BW about a high achieving student who was overwhelmed and exhibiting a great deal of stress. We decided to offer study/stress management sessions during GPS this spring and will start with incoming freshmen next year to build their executive function skills from the start. Openness, honesty, and authenticity have been the foundation of these new partnerships, and it feels like synergy to me!

Habit 7
Over the course of my career I have gotten so much better at creating/finding a balance with my work and home life. I have gained a great deal of perspective over time, and have learned to prioritize pretty well. I make daily exercise a non-negotiable which has an incredible impact on my overall well-being. I have also embraced seeking out the best in situations; finding the gold, not the dirt. Finally, I try to soak up as much wisdom and awesomeness as I can from my colleagues and share whatever I have to offer! I work from a place of gratitude. It's a good place to start.

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Habit 6: I am lucky to experience synergy regularly working in my building. While I am definitely someone who at times just does things to get them done, I also realize through experiences with synergy that the outcome is so much better working with people. A recent experience is our revamping of RtI. I worked with a group of instructional leaders in our building to plan and implement some new ideas and the results of working with the group were outstanding. I really think students benefited from this group of people working together.
Habit 7: This is an area I am constantly working on. I tend to "take things home with me" and have trouble remembering it is healthy and necessary to take a break and take care of all aspects of life. I exercise regularly, and I always feel better when I exercise. I should realize how much better it makes me feel and transfer it to other "sharpening" activities, but I'm still working on that :)

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Habit 6: I am lucky enough to see and participate in synergy not only at my grade level but also at my building level. We work really hard at Leonard Lawrence on building relationships with not only our students but also our staff. My grade level colleagues and myself really try to get to know every Kindergarten student in our school whether it be at Recess, hallway, lunch, etc. but we also work across grade levels to help build relationships with other students in different grades. Some students build strong connects with different staff members whether it be their current teacher or not. I currently have a Third Grade student who enjoys coming down and lending a helping hand with whatever we are doing in Kindergarten that day or sometimes she comes down to just re-energize her self and take a break. Her and I have a developed a student/teacher relationship built on trust, hard work and honor. Not only do I respect her and she respects me, but my students respect her and love when she comes to visit. Relationships are the foundation of learning, life and trust.
Habit 7: I would be lying if I told you that I find the perfect equation of balance in my career and home life everyday. Sometimes I have a better balance at work than home and other days I have more balance at home that work. I have learned to put myself first and always try and look for a Silver Lining each day both personally and professionally. I also set a few boundaries for myself professionally. I will get to school early in the morning and use every spare minute to my advantage, but then at 4:00 p.m. and on the weekends I try and keep work at work. Yes, there are times (beginning of the school year, conferences, etc.) that the balance scale may be off, but I have found that this strategy works well for me. Work Hard, Play Hard!

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Habit 6:
There have been several great examples of synergy among two fellow teachers and our iPad Academy Coach. At the end of last year, we decided to gamify our grammar lessons.  The environment we had created, both in person and through video chat,  allowed us the comfort and safety to suggest any and all ideas, share successes as well as failures, and develop new ideas.  The level of effort seemed less than what would be needed on my own, but the lessons that were developed far surpassed what I could have done individually.  This was a synergy at work!
Habit 7:
This habit is one that I continually struggle with.  There is very little balance between the four areas as I emphasize 1 or 2 areas over the other.  If I were to look across a bigger picture, like a year, there may be balance.  I often feel that I'm reacting  to something (Quadrant III) that requires me to make time to 'Sharpen the Saw'. One area that I am fairly consistent at is making time to be away from everything but family (Private Victory Time) one day during the weekend.

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Habit 6: I look at "Synergy" through the lens as the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I am fortunate to be a part of several teams (grade level, technology, and leadership, to name a few) where I have the opportunity to build relationships and collaborate with amazing educators. No longer are we an entity of one in the classroom. As one who embraces technology I value the opportunity to collaborate with educators from all over to provide meaningful opportunities for student learning. Building relationships with people will allow you to open so many doors. Establishing these relationships builds a sense of trust and understanding which are key components for learning.

Habit 7:
After 26 years I think I have finally found the balance (maybe)! It's hard to find that balance many times as the roles we are in are ever changing. I am doing a much better job of leaving work at work. I have also found that exercising after work is a great way to reduce stress that may have built up during the day! Making time to do the things I enjoy is another "newly found" way to find balance.

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After reading Habit 6, it was fun to think about ways I have personally experienced synergy in the workplace. Recently, I have experienced this with the coteaching teams in my building. My coteaching partner and I have had a very positive dialogue with coteaching pairs with how to make coteaching better in the building. I sensed a desire to make things better, and an openminded outlook from many pairs that was really inspiring. One major takeaway from this habit was that trust is huge when it comes to develop synergy. This is a nonnegotiable for a leader to possess in my opinion.
Habit 7- I try really hard to not take home work to do every night of the week. I think by not doing school work at home, I actually feel more productive and refreshed when I do get back to school.

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