Building Relationships

What a great first week of school! Hopefully it's getting easier to get up and going in the morning.  It's still a struggle at my house, but I know we'll get in our groove soon.

This upcoming week and the next, I will begin guidance lessons in your child's classroom.  The first lesson is a "Get to Know Your Counselor" time, and I can't wait to get started!

The MOST important job I have at Christie is to build relationships... which works out perfectly because that's one of my favorite things to do. I tend to believe that meaningful relationships aren't built en masse. Maybe it's the way I'm wired.... or maybe it's because I was the stereotypical (and sometimes overlooked) middle child growing up... but I like to give and receive personal attention.  Remember my name.  Remember something about me.  Prove that you listen to me when I talk. That's the way I like to be treated, and it's how I try to treat others.

Even though I haven't been in the classrooms regularly yet, I'm already working on relationship building.  I've been walking through classes looking at faces and name tags, studying class lists, and even flipping through last year's yearbook.  I want to walk into your child's classroom next week and see at least a few familiar faces.

When I was a classroom teacher, it was very common for me to mail cards to my students, make phone calls home after the first day of school, and send emails to parents letting them know about something funny or kind that their children said or did.

But that was when I had 22 kids in my class.

Now I have over 300.

This is the biggest "class" I've ever had.  It certainly makes doing the personal things I like to do a lot more challenging.  But I don't typically back down from a challenge. ;)

Be on the lookout for a card to your child from me in your mailbox in the next couple of weeks.  Check folders periodically for a note from me.  Don't be surprised if you get an email or phone call from me, sharing something great that your child said during one of our guidance lessons.

I've been given an incredible opportunity to focus on 3 grade levels at Christie instead of all 6. I want to take advantage of that and be very intentional about building relationships.

I know I won't be perfect. I can guarantee that in June, as I reflect on my first year at Christie, I'll wish I had done more in some situations and done things differently in others. It comes with the territory. But I can also assure you that I will have given it my all this year.

There's nowhere I'd rather be, and there's nothing I'd rather be doing! :)