![\"\"](\"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/08\/Cabot-Trail.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nMy summer reading consisted of the The Power of Moments<\/u> by Chip Heath and Dan Heath<\/a>, and Daniel Pink<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing<\/em><\/u>. \u00a0I didn\u2019t intentionally choose books that focused on the element of time, yet both reads certainly had commonalities and offered up ideas that I could apply to my role as a school leader. \u00a0I tend to think more about the \u2018what\u2019 in my practice and not necessarily the \u2018when\u2019. \u00a0After reading both books, I learned that \u2018when\u2019 should be an important consideration when making decisions related to student well-being and learning.\u00a0 Image Credit<\/a><\/p>\n Chip and Daniel Heath also write about the first day of school being a moment of \u201c\u2026elevation and connection and pride\u2026\u201d. The first day of school is an example of a potential moment that \u201ccries out to be shaped\u201d.\u00a0 Schools have the opportunity to shape this day and be the designers of a moment that matters, one that is meaningful and memorable.<\/p>\n On September 4th<\/sup>, Grade 8 students are transitioning to a brand new school environment and beginning their five-year journey through high school. This is a significant temporal landmark. To make it a memorable day, Rockridge staff has planned activities to \u201cspark insight\u201d, and \u201cboost the sense of connection\u201d (Heath & Heath).<\/p>\n – Students will be welcomed by upbeat piano tunes being played by our accomplished student musicians<\/p>\n – Grade 8 students will be greeted by Grade 9 and 10 mentors and guided to their homeroom<\/p>\n – Students will engage in fun getting-to-know-you activities<\/p>\n – Timetables and locker combinations will be distributed<\/p>\n – Under the guidance of mentors, students will locate their assigned locker and practise opening their locks<\/p>\n – Mentors will tour the school with students, introducing them to our custodian, their teachers, administrators, counsellors, youth worker and office staff<\/p>\n – Students will end their shortened day by returning to homeroom for a snack before heading home<\/p>\n Our aim is to ensure our Grade 8 students go home feeling excited to return the next day, armed with the knowledge they need to make them feel comfortable in their new surroundings. This day should be a defining moment for them. In addition to the importance of \u2018beginnings\u2019, Daniel Pink also writes about the significance of \u2018breaks\u2019. The importance of providing breaks for students has been a topic of conversation in our schools for many years.\u00a0 As we deepen our understanding of self-regulation, we have learned that frequent breaks help students sustain focus. \u00a0In elementary school, they are called \u2018body breaks\u2019 or \u2018action breaks\u2019.\u00a0 At the high school level, students are given \u2018brain breaks\u2019, as teachers recognize that cognitive fatigue can set in at some point during an 80-minute instructional block.\u00a0 \u00a0 Pink brings up some interesting points about the timing of breaks. \u00a0He references research done in Denmark on results of national standardized exams. Danish students who wrote their tests in the morning scored significantly higher than those who wrote in the afternoon. This isn\u2019t particularly surprising; however, what is interesting is that when the students had a break for twenty to thirty minutes to eat, play and socialize before taking the tests, their scores did not decline in the afternoon. In fact, their scores were higher after having a break regardless of the time of day.<\/p>\n Pink also offered advice on what breaks should look like. According to his research, five guiding principles can be applied for all organizations, including schools:<\/p>\n Something beats nothing.<\/strong> Evidence indicates that short, frequent breaks are effective.<\/p>\n Moving beats stationary<\/strong>. One study showed that \u201chourly five-minute walking breaks boosted energy levels, sharpened focus, and improved mood throughout the day and reduced feelings of fatigue in the late afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n Social beats solo<\/strong>. \u201cMuch of the research on restorative breaks points toward the greater power of being with others\u2026\u201d.<\/p>\n Outside beats inside<\/strong>. \u201cTaking a few minutes to be in nature is better than spending those minutes in a building.\u201d<\/p>\n Fully detached beats semidetached<\/strong>. When taking a break, try not to combine it with another cognitively demanding activity.<\/p>\n In the year ahead we will strive to make \u2018when\u2019 a priority when structuring breaks into the day for students, not only for their well-being, but to potentially boost their productivity and levels of achievement. We will also aim to create defining moments for our students, ones that shape their lives and endure in their memories. Surely the first day of school and graduation are defining moments, yet many moments in between deserve to be highlighted as well and could serve as opportunities to foster a sense of pride and connection. With a little planning and a lot of enthusiasm, perhaps we can make ordinary moments become extraordinary ones for our students. \u2018When’ matters.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When I think back on the summer, a few moments stand out for me.\u00a0 One was finishing a challenging 300 km cycle around the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island that included several daunting mountain climbs (well,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":5840,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-students"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>In my many years of being an educator, the start of a new school year is accompanied by a sense of excitement, anticipation and a few jitters.\u00a0 It marks a new beginning.\u00a0 As Daniel Pink notes, \u201c\u2026beginnings have a far greater impact than most of us understand. Beginnings, in fact, can matter to the end.\u201d\u00a0 He goes on to write, \u201c\u2026we should be awake to the power of beginnings and aim to make a strong start.\u201d \u00a0Pink suggests that many days are particularly effective for making a fresh start, one of them being the first day of school. \u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n