202/365 – people to thank who have had an impact on me. If you work, you’ve been in meetings. Meetings that go on forever and ever and ….well, if you work, you know what I mean. Some of these meetings you have no control of and you must attend; whereas, others you end up being a part of because you want to make a change and the only way to do it is to be a part of the process. In my current role, I am the chair of the Professional Development Committee not by choice but because the position went unseated for a few months and since I was taking on the responsibilities anyways, I was asked to take on the designation as well. I didn’t want to as teaching already is a draining job but sometimes I’m not thinking straight and just do things 😉 But seriously, I wanted to make a change in what was happening at the school level and think I, along with the committee, have organized workshops and days that albeit don’t meet everyone’s needs, do try to provide staff with something they can benefit from. Now speaking of the committee, I have a good group that I work with but my right hand man is just that – someone who has been at my side and picking up my slack but also offering support in everything I have taken on by just being there. Greg T was a new staff member a year after me at McNair and last year we both joined the committee. From the get-go, he and I have been working together to get things accomplished and make Pro Development something of value. The committee along with Greg and myself were able to get together a Whistler retreat venue for one of our days and when I needed someone to co-pilot a new educational technology, Greg was my go-to guy who said yes and here we are using Freshgrade in the classroom. We are currently organizing a 5 school joint day where Greg and I have attended every afterschool meeting arranging things behind the scenes to make next Friday a success. I have gotten to know Greg more because of our work on the committee than I would have ever just by passing each other in the hallways. I totally appreciate your support, assistance and camaraderie in this role that I fell into and instead of just a committee member, I consider you as joint Pro-D chair because I value your input in what we are doing. Thank you Greg for your hours of dedication to ensuring that we, as a team, provide something that our staff may see as worthwhile and also for being by my side in those meetings and acting as a sounding board for decisions that I don’t have to make unilaterally!!
randysangha 