teamwork

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Teamwork and Dreamwork

There is a little friend I’ve “adopted” this year (really, this child has adopted me).  From the first day, first moment of introduction, a connection was formed:

  • Teacher:  …and this is Mrs. Van; she’s the boss of our school.
  • Child:  Why do you want that job?
  • Me:  I’ve been asking myself that question for years…

It’s been “on” ever since that first encounter.  This child seeks me out daily to interact, comment, and share a special observation or two along the way.  Take this conversation:

  • Child:  (Getting out of the car to walk with me) I need to eat breakfast today.
  • Me:  Wonderful, because here we are!
  • Child:  This is the lunchroom, NOT the breakfast room.  Where is the breakfast room, boss of the school?

Or how about this observation:

  • Child:  I need Monday off for ‘labors’ (Labor Day)
  • Me:  Well, you will have Monday off in fact!
  • Child:  I guess you are smart enough to be the boss of the school ’cause we need rest from all this school work we have to do the first week.

After another weekend, this was our morning encounter:

  • Child:  So boss, I went fishin’ this past weekend.
  • Me:  I enJOY fishing!  Did you catch anything for supper?
  • Child:  No, it’s called fishin’ and not catchin’…we ate hamburgers instead.

Then, there’s one of my favorites I overheard during lunch last week:

  • Another child to my little friend:  How do you know she’s the Boss of the school anyway?
  • My friend:  Do you not listen to her at rally and on the mornin’ ‘nouncements everyday?  ‘Cause she just is and ’cause she carries keys and open doors and serves breakfast in the lunch room and helps children and teachers and ’cause everybody says so…
  • Other child:  Well, who made her that?
  • My friend:  Well, God of course ’cause she’s got a direct line.  (Don’t I hope?!)  🙂

teamworkToday, while walking through the classroom of this friend, the child asked to speak “private” with me.  🙂  We decided to go for a little walk and run a couple of errands together in the school.  During our walk, we stopped in the lounge to fill my glass with ice and the child noticed the staff board with pictures:

  • Child:  So all these people work with you, Boss, to make our school work.
  • Me:  That’s right!  It takes all of us working together as a team to help you reach your dream everyday.
  • Child:  Well, Mrs. Miller must’ve had a dream to build this school ’cause we sure work as a team here at Miller everyday and nobody wants to cross you or her, Boss.

It does take the entire team working together to make dreams come true for our learners.  Just like my little friend, I believe in the POWER of LME and in the POWER of Mrs. Miller’s “dream” too!  Dream on, Team Miller!  🙂

Note:  …and for those of you curious to know, this child knows my real name but prefers to call me “Boss of the School…out of respect.”  🙂  I love my job! 

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Destination ImagiNation!

One of the more unique programs offered in Midlothian ISD is the Destination ImagiNation (DI) program for students.  DI is a hands-on, minds-on creative problem solving process where students can learn to unleash their imaginations and take unique approaches to problem solving on a global scale.  The vision for DI:  “To be the global leader in teaching the creative process on the journey from imagination to reality.”

So what do students do in DI?  Student teams work together to solve open-ended challenges on a variety of topics and then present their solutions in creative ways at regional tournaments.  MISD has a long history with DI (since 1999) and an even longer history with Odyssey of the Mind (similar program many years back).  Teams think on their feet, work cohesively, and design original solutions; they also have fun, take creative risks, focus together, and frame ideas while working with STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and the arts (music, art, drama presentations).

As a mom of former DI-ers, I can vouch firsthand on the fact it is rewarding work and fabulous training for real-life.  Our oldest daughter just recently shared with me how the skills developed through many years of DI helped her solve problems at the university level; several of her peers were completely lost in the creative problem solving process.

We had two LME teams participate this past weekend in DI competition at the regional level.  Our “Rising Stars” team (grades K-2 only) included Hannah, Avery, Emma, and Collin.  They won the prestigious “Spirit of Discovery and Imagination Award” in their age category for outstanding achievement; way to go Rising Stars!

Our DI team of “older” members included Mia, Skyler, Kathryn, Aidan, Whitney, Brooke, and Allana.  They competed with teams from all over the region in a global challenge involving famous folks such as Albert Einstein, Cleopatra, Amelia Earhart, Athena, Ellen Ochoa, and others.  Shown here with their DI Coach, Dan Altman (dedicated Miller parent and volunteer), they did an amazing job as well!  Congratulations and special thanks to each team member, family, and coaches for your dedication and enthusiasm to DI this year!

Patience, flexibility, fluency, elaboration, originality, persistence, and respect are just some of the valuable learning tools the creative problem solving process offers to young learners.  Here’s hoping we have many more participate in DI in the years to come!  🙂