Principal of the Pack: Team 2 ... the times they are a changin'

Hi Folks

Last post was about team. This one is about the inevitability of change in the team and what a good school, or team has to do to accommodate that change. It is no secret that the teaching populated by many members of the baby boomer generation. That includes me. Many of my contemporaries are choosing to start the next phase of their lives and are retiring. This past year three of our teachers, Mr. Hoffman, Mrs. Schellenberger and Mr. Smithaniuk retired taking with them almost 100 years of teaching experience. You don’t replace that knowledge without losing something.

Replacing departing staff is part of the renewal process. Strong organizations embrace change and carry on in a positive direction. They maintain their positive inertia through the strength of the group’s culture. What is culture…it’s a two syllable word for ‘this is how we do things.’ If the culture is strong, new folks are embraced and taught the culture.

I was wondering how we were doing absorbing seven new staff members this year. I thought and hoped our culture was strong enough to do the job that needed to be done. At our Meet the Teacher night on Thursday my highest hope was confirmed. As I stood aside and the staff were introducing each other I was left with overwhelming feeling that we had rallied around our new staff and they were part of the Pack. They were talked of embracing our mission of learning how to learn and learning how to get along. They belonged at Woodhaven. Welcome!