• Did the assessment come out exactly how I see myself because I have a strong sense of who I am, or because how I wish I was or want to be has an impact on the outcome by making me answer the questions in a certain way. I asked my husband and daughter for feedback on this, and they both see me exactly as the test results describe, so I guess that answers that! I think ultimately I pride myself on who I am and how I operate in the world, so it was reassuring to see those qualities come out in the test. As far as I am concerned, I passed!

• I think it is so true that your greatest strengths can also be your greatest weaknesses. While I have a deep sense of responsibility to those around me, I can also take things personally and be overly sensitive to others' opinions. While I feel most energized and effective when I am showing up for someone who needs my help and/or sharing my knowledge, attention, and expertise, I can also get taken advantage of and then burn out because I don't know how to say no. While I have strong relationships and a deeply social nature, I also tend to be protective of myself and need time to deepen my connections over time. Unfortunately, I don't always have the time to develop relationships deeply and can sometimes come across as stand-offish when thrown into new situations.

Ken Blanchard, What is Servant Leadership?

"Love only grows by sharing. You can only have more for yourself by giving it away to others."

Brian Tracy

"The complexity of life is resolved in the simplicity of love." Harold W. Becker

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." William Butler Yeats

"Everyone shines, given the right lighting."

Susan Cain

• “Leadership is the awesome responsibility to see those around us rise." - When you are a leader, you don't do the job anymore. Rather, you see those around you be better at the job, in part because of the experience and support you have provided along the way. A leader fosters growth and provides a circle of safety. I whole-heartedly believe that the teachers in my building are waaaay better at teaching than me, and I openly admit that.

• The "Power of Kindness" - Acts of kindness and generosity create a bump of oxytocin in your system, resulting in warm feelings and a sense connectedness. The more we have, the more we give. Kindness begets kindness. I believe this to my core. There is no better feeling than giving and receiving kindness. I always tell students that when you put kindness into the world, you get kindness in return.

• "Values should be written as verbs. They are things we do."

  honesty=tell the truth

  integrity=do the right thing

  We know this in our work with students. They need to know what it looks like, what it sounds like, and how it makes you feel.

• Agency - According to google, agency is "the sense of control that you feel in your life, your capacity to influence your own thoughts and behavior, and to have faith in your ability to handle a wide range of tasks and situations. Your sense of agency helps you to be psychologically stable, yet flexible in the face of conflict or change."

  Sinek suggests that one way to make people feel and have agency is through accountability. "You have responsibility for this project. If it goes right, I will give you credit. And if it goes wrong, I will stand by you and support you as you try to mend it."

  I see this as integral to leadership. Teachers and students need to believe they can, and will, succeed. They have the capacity to solve any problem.

The other leaders I have been thinking about are those quiet leaders on staff. The ones who quietly support the work through those underground channels, often just in their attitude and relationships. When we were tasked with bringing on a new approach to supporting students called Collaborative Response, I knew just who to go to. I asked a specific teacher to take it on with me as part of the new committee. I knew her to be one who is always willing to try things and take risks, but who also comes with very strong values and skills in working with complex students. She took it on with such enthusiasm that you couldn't help but go along with her. And she has a great deal of credibility with the rest of the staff. When she puts posters in front of the toilets all over the school, it is taken differently than if we did it. Her enthusiasm became others' enthusiasm. When she presents to staff alongside me, they listen from a different lens. And she models the work from a teacher perspective, which holds so much more credibility. She doesn't see herself as a leader, but I sure do.

Difficult conversations have been a leadership goal for me this year, making up a good part of my Leadership Growth Plan. I am learning that these types of conversations don't necessarily have to be hard or contentious, even though they are often addressing things that may need fixed, changed, or that may be upsetting. According to Sonia Gill in her book Successful Difficult Conversations in Schools, a successful difficult conversation is "a difficult conversation that creates positive change, quickly and kindly". She goes on to say that "without conflict, we cannot be as good, or great, as our potential". I think if you reframe difficult conversations into conversations for growth, people are much more willing to engage and try to make positive changes. It's all in the delivery - which I think this conversation tool will help with. Although I just said difficult conversations don't have to be difficult, I admit that I don't always believe this. It takes courage, vulnerability, and well established trust to get to place where this can happen. It also takes confidence. I am working on it...

According to Julia Martins in "How to lead by example, according to one Asana leader", leading by example means modelling the behaviour you want to see in your team: "When you lead by example, you don’t just push team members towards excellence—rather, you actively demonstrate that excellence. Leading by example is the difference between saying, “You can do this” and “We can do this together.” Though the support and encouragement in the former is great, the latter builds connection, camaraderie, and trust." I couldn't have said it better.

• building a relationship with an Indigenous Elder - our Elder has worked with us for three years; we have benefited greatly from her wisdom and guidance

• embedding Indigenous people and knowledge in school events - our Elder participates in many school celebrations and events, such as the opening of our new outdoor learning space; our monthly assemblies focus on the Seven Sacred Teachings, as shared by students from every grade level; we acknowledge the land every Monday during announcements

• sharing resources by Indigenous authors and artists - we have expanded our library collection to represent and celebrate Indigenous authors; hosted author David Bouchard to share his work with students; host Indigenous art and artist through AFA's travelling art exhibits

• creating opportunities for teachers to learn from Indigenous people - participated in a sweat lodge as a staff, took part in the Blanket Exercise, learned Indigenous games

• professional learning - book study on Ensouling Our Schools - A Universally Designed Framework for Mental Health, Well-Being, and Reconciliation by Jennifer Katz

• creating space that encourages inclusion of Indigenous perspectives - designed an Outdoor Learning Space to support learning from the land and which reflects Indigenous ways of knowing

• clearing a path for learning from the land - creating sit spaces, weekly walks through the ravine, outdoor learning space; a horse-riding staff retreat; a guided staff walk learning about native plants on Nose Hill

• model ways of knowing through practices such as sharing circles (used school-wide), land-based learning, celebrating the Seven Sacred Teachings

• honouring Chanie Wenjack and his story through a school-wide "Walk for Wenjack" during Secret Path week; Orange Shirt Day

While we have much to celebrate, one area we need to work on is in designing learning for parents to help them understand the need for this work. We sadly have had some push-back from a small number of parents. We need to work more intentionally with parents to develop an understanding of why we do this work, that we have a responsibility to acknowledge the truth and develop understanding and empathy. As Bonnie Schiedel says, "we owe it to our kids to learn more and do better".

I also loved what was said in this article about helping young learners understand by helping them connect and relate on a personal level: "By making stories about residential schools relatable, kids can understand in their hearts, as well as their brains." It is more than the information and facts of the story, it is the "teaching to the heart".

As I ran around like a mad-woman chasing grade 6s through the forest this morning (I am at outdoor school this week), I felt awesome! I am leading by example by pelting kids with bean bags - how great is my job! Camp is such a great place to connect with kids and show them you care. It allows for great conversations, and has given me an opportunity to just stop and enjoy them as little humans. The best quote of the week: With great excitement, a boy yelled "hey, there's a squirrel!!!" Another boy responded: "Well, it's better than a chicken." What else can I say?

One particular part that really resonated with me from the letter was the point that meetings need to have real value and merit. Teachers want to improve - we need to value their time and make our meetings worthy of their time and attention. There is nothing more un-motivating than a meeting that could have been an email. Time is precious, and we all know that the number one impact on student success is the teacher. We need to capitalize on capacity building and supporting solid task design if we want to move kids forward. We also know that a healthy, happy teacher equates to healthy happy kids.