Another Busy Week...We are making Great happen!

"When leaders take back power, when they act as heroes and saviors, they end up exhausted, overwhelmed, and deeply stressed." Margaret J. Wheatley

Meg Wheatley's quote was written in the context that leaders need to lead from behind, letting others take charge of all they can do. Our jobs are not to take on so much that we act as heroes and saviors. In the language of the 7 Habits, we need to get our priorities straight so we can live in Quadrant 2, the quadrant of important but not immediate. There are so many irons in the fire this week that it can feel overwhelming. Monday is 6th grade open house along with the book fair. We also have Center EPT and LEAD time on Tuesday, IST Wednesday, followed by Leaders Leading Leaders on Thursday along with a staff meeting. Then Friday tops them all with four events: Jump Rope assemblies in the morning, Franklin Leaders at lunch, Walk-a-thon in the afternoon, and Fall Family Fun night in the evening. (Wow! I'm still tired from camp last week!)

To manage all there is to do, we need to help each other as accountability partners to stay on track with our best efforts to plan and place our big rocks in the schedule first, ready to say no to that which does not fit. We'd love to see staff at Friday's Fall Family Fun Night. It will be exciting to see families playing together in the Haunted House, cake walk, pie throw, and more! Seeing students interacting in non-traditional ways enhances our understanding of them. We certainly see that at camp.

A Cooper student (on the ASD spectrum) was asked his favorite part of camp, he said, "I liked the staff best. They care about you even when you don't want them to."

Speaking of camp, 6th grade teachers were able to have Cooper Time at camp this year where they took their own group and planned an activity. The students really enjoyed the camaraderie at camp, and being able to have their teachers be part of it was sensational! LEAD time this week can be a continuation of the camp spirit. Sixth graders can show fifth graders the spirit of camp but not only sharing their camp experiences, but by having fifth graders participate in a camp-style activity similar to what sixth grade teachers provided at camp. Sarah and I would love to see what ideas you are trying during LEAD time to integrate 7 Habits, Leadership Notebook usage, and ideas for making Cooper better.

"When you do nothing, you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved, you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better." Anonymous

BIG Rocks and announcements this week:

• So many "thank you's" to extend! Sixth grade teachers for making camp the best ever! Robin, Tim, Pam, Bill, Colleen, Tracy, and Julie contributed to fund raising, scheduling, contacts, souvenirs, and much more. It was truly a team effort, and the results were outstanding!
• From 8:30 to 11:00 on Thursday of this week, the Leaders Leading Leaders group consisting of former Galileo members from all over the Metro Detroit area who are now administrators will be meeting at Cooper in the LMC (thank you, Judy!). We will need some students to help guide guests to the LMC. It would be a chance for our Leadership Photographers to take some photos as well. Let me (Terry) know if you have students available. We can use SACC students to help at first.
• Open House for sixth grade is Monday. Parents have been very patient waiting to get in the building. It's important to emphasize the good changes from the renovations along with your presentations.
• Keep the punch list items coming in! Don't be concerned about repeating yourselves!
• Our phones are changing once again. Beginning Tuesday, October 21, all outside calls will be placed by dialing 8 plus all ten digits. No "1" is necessary for any calls, but even local calls will require area codes.
• We have a Jump Rope assembly Friday morning. There will be a sign up in the office for you to select your class time. The assemblies will be in the Gym (Fatino is so awesome!) from 9:00-9:30 and then 9:40-10:10.
• Franklin is sending their "no drugs" messengers to Cooper in Friday at lunch times. Our students will get suckers from the high schoolers. It will be great to see some of our former students!!
• Our Walk-a-thon is Friday, and with camp, pledges have been sluggish. Please help students remember to help with our drive for supporting LIM activities!
• Two issues still occurring around lunch need addressing. Please continue to remind students that hallways are never places for shouting and loud talk. We need to start that right at the beginning of the day when taking students to class. It will help immensely if teachers can set the tone for quiet hallways at the start of school and during lunch times. The other issue is fifth grade lunch times. The second set of lunches and recess start at 12:10, not 12:05. Please continue to supervise your students up to 12:10 in the halls or outside if you're taking them out before 12:10. Pick up times for 6th grade lunch/recess is 12:05. Pick up time for 5th grade lunch/recess is 1:00.
• It is Cooper's turn for a QAR visit this year. We are trying to arrange the times to be outside of the times principals are on leave (see below). We will keep all of you in the loop about the expectations and dates of the visits. The principle function for all of us is to know our responsibilities relative to the Cooper school improvement plan. If you have questions, please see Robin, our school improvement chair, or one of the administrators.
• Sarah will be going on leave soon to have her baby. I, for one, can't wait to find out his name. Sarah is just not telling! The plan is for her to return in mid-January. I am missing her already!
• As many of you may know already, I will be having knee replacement surgery. I am planning to wait until Sarah returns before I go out. The recovery is expected to take 4-6 weeks. Right now I'm looking at the first week of February. That should keep me here for Career Day and back in time for TBOB. Of course all of this is predicated on variables we can't control. Sarah and I are both anticipating the best for our returns from leave. While we're out, someone will be here to help the lone administrator muddle through. We will let you know who when we're solid on the plans. Since we're both planning to take a little time off, we will be getting our evaluations completed earlier than last year. Look for us to be in classrooms often in the next few weeks.

Schedule for the Week of October 13, 2014:
Monday:    Terry B-Fast with Randy, 7:30

                  Sixth Grade Open House/Curriculum Night and Book Fair: 6-8

Tuesday:   Center EPT, 8:00

Wednesday: IST Meeting, 8:00

                     Principal PD meeting (Terry with others) 10:30 at Cooper

                     EPM, 1:00 (Terry and Sarah)

Thursday: Staff Meeting in Lounge, 8:00

                 LLL Meeting in LMC, 8:30-11:00 (Terry and others)

                 Skate Night for students at Riverside Arena

Friday:          Jump Rope Assemblies, 9 and 10:40 in Gym

                     Walk-a-thon, 2:00

                     Family Fun Fall Festival, 7:00-9:00 at Cooper!!

Cooper Staff and Students Light the Way!