Principal for a Day - Part Two

Submitted by Denise Leeson

I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to serve as Principal for a Day at Sawnee Elementary with Principal Kimberly Davis.

This is Ms. Davis' 9th year as a principal, though it is her first at Sawnee. Sawnee Elementary is located halfway between PR and CU. Some of the students will attend West High and some end up at Central High. Sawnee is unusual in the county because it is made up of two completely different buildings. There are 1700 students who are currently attending. I met a new family who was starting that day. Sawnee Elementary is larger that most middle schools and the new East High School. They have two media centers and two lunchrooms. In between the two buildings there is a chicken coop, with at least three laying hens who never wander from their garden area, even though they are not fenced in during the day. 

I began the day watching the substitute teachers check in and then helping in the carpool line, greeting students and parents. There were quite a few "Go Dawgs" and high fives for Principal Davis.

Principal Davis and Principal Denise were featured on the morning news cast. The show is produced and presented by students with faculty help. There are two green screens, cameras, a teleprompter feed and more. I presented two books that are now at the Cumming Library that were donated in Sawnee's honor. I invited the students to come and use the catalog to find a Sawnee book and check it out. We stopped into a few classrooms to say hello. The students were all so engaged. Each classroom had special lighting and decorations that were very soothing. 

I was able to spend some time in the upper grade Media Center. Dog Man books are even more popular at Sawnee. Students have a special in the library every week and many of the students stop in more often to get new reading material. I learned that the Media Center is not purchasing any books this year as they instigate a new process for books in the library. There is a committee of teachers and parents that read and approve any new books that will go on the shelves. The committee is working its way through the current collection this year and getting ready for any new purchases. It takes a while to get all these i now understand why 75 items at a time must seem awesome to students when they visit FCPL.

The next item on the day's agenda was the weekly Admin team meeting. "We" worked on plans for the next faculty meeting and heard updates on staffing and students. It is amazing how intimately the staff know their students and the families. Next I attended the weekly Leadership link meeting with all the schools admins and we heard from Dr. Bearden. I learned about many testing acronyms. I thought the library had a lot of unusual terms. Then it was off to lunch duty in the K-2 cafeteria. Lunches begin at 10:30. I gave out napkins, hugs, forks and visited with lots of adorable students. I opened milks, juices, and cut open snacks. Several of the students mentioned they visit the Cumming Library.

The campus is so large that Principal Davis gets 5 miles of steps in on a good day!

 

After lunch it was back to finish up the Admin team meeting over lunch (at 11:30 a.m.) to choose the icebreakers for our faculty meeting and prepare for all the short and long term substitutes that are necessary to run such a large school. There are 149 full and part time teaching staff plus a wonderful crew of janitors and kitchen crew.

Sawnee students are all guided in their day by the 7 mindsets. They have a mindset tree to remind them everyday. This month's mindset  is Attitude of Gratitude.

I also learned that the school system is changing their learning platform next year to a product called Canvas. A great fact to share with everyone. The teachers are currently going through training so they are ready for the new challenge next fall. (Sound familiar?) 

A special shout out to Outreach. Principal Davis' father lives in the Oaks at Post Road. With the help of Karina and gang he was able to set up a book club and he is so very thankful for the Library and all the help he received.

My Mother was a principal for many years and it was wonderful to see a bit of what her work day must have been like. I had a fabulous morning representing the library and playing Principal—even if only for a day.