First Two Days @ Thornebrooke
Wow!! What a first two days. While I officially started one day before Spring Break, I have felt that Monday and Tuesday were really my first 2 days. I have spent most of these 2 days doing a little bit of everything (except eating). I have really focused on meeting teachers and asking them their intent for next year – are they coming back to Thornebrooke or possibly looking elsewhere. The good news is that the majority of the teachers that I have met with have a desire and a personal tie to Thornebrooke. The passon that comes from each teacher has been inspiring. I have then asked them a series of questions….
1. What has worked well at TES in 06-07?
2. What did not work well at TES in 06-07?
3. What suggestions would you make to improve TES in 07-08?
4. Is there anything in your classroom that you need to be successful in 07-08?
5. What can I do to assist you for the remainder of the school year and beyond?
The responses have been amazing and the insight that I have gained of Thornebrooke has been deep. I almost feel as though I have been at TES all school year – except I don’t know all of the teachers names 
I have also spent a lot of time working on our 07-08 School Year Budget. A lot that I have learned in these one-on-one meetings will guide me as I work through the budget process.
Meeting the students has been AWESOME!!! While I cannot say I have a favorite grade level, I have enjoyed getting to know the 4th graders. Thornebrooke is 5 years old and these students are the ones that opened the school as the first Kindergarten class. They will also be the very first 6 year class to come through the Thornebrooke halls. What an accomplishment!!! I know they have seen some changes over the past 5 years.
I have a great network of parents. I have enjoyed meeting each one. I will have a difficult time remembering names, I will get better.
Friday is our big Spaghetti Dinner and Silent Auction. I am being auctioned off. Hopefully, I will be able to bring in a good $500 or more.
Until nextime,
Principal Kendrick
Brain Breaks
Working Smarter With Brain Breaks
From a selection of teaching tips by Clinton Lamprecht.
Clinton Lamprecht founded the School of Accelerated Learning and since then has trained thousands of teaching and training professionals in brain-compatible learning strategies worldwide. A degree in psychology, a thesis in accelerated learning, an NLP Trainer and over 10 years’ experience in training and learning confirms he brings with him a rich perspective and experience in accelerated learning that will rarely be matched.
Working Smarter with Brain Breaks
Regular breaks improve learning because they give students time to make sense of information. In the classroom, children need breaks approximately every 20 minutes for learning to be effective. During these breaks, the brain becomes more relaxed and this helps new information sink in on a deeper level because the child is integrating what has been learnt on a non-conscious level. The rule of thumb is to have more beginnings and more endings to boost memory.
Action Steps
Stop after 20 minutes and get students to stand up and talk to a partner for 1 minute about the most valuable thing they have learnt, Then change chairs. Three brain friendly learning outcomes are achieved with this exercise:
Students get time to download and make sense of the information.
Learners’ emotional state changes with the movement to a new seat.
More primacies (beginnings) and regencies (endings) help boost memory.
