Reflecting, Rejuvenating, Reconnecting

Coral Crater Adventure Tower: Kapolei, HI
As summer is winding down, it is time to move from the reflecting (or as I like to say internal marinating) phase of thinking to concrete planning.

The first event that I will be leading is the Farrington High School Teacher Leadership Cadre Summer Retreat.  Even though the TLC is entering into its third year, this is the first summer we have had a retreat.  The retreat idea came into being after a rocky transition from the first year of TLC to the second.  As we moved into a new team, with new group dynamics, I clearly underestimated the importance of relationships and the power of setting a strong foundation.

This year, we are going to start slow to go fast-we will lay down the roots for our tree to grow strong. We will nurture our relationships.

This summer all TLC members have been reading Daring Greatly by Brene Brown.  I will give more insights about this book in a future post, but the overall message is that to lead, one needs to be vulnerable.  So, we will begin our retreat by getting vulnerable and facing our fears at a ropes course. The purpose of this ropes course is to face a challenge together and support each other in overcoming it; hopefully this experience will bond the team and serve as a touchstone when future challenges arise throughout the school year.  The day will be followed up by book discussion and team building activities led by veteran TLC members. By the end of the first day, we should understand each other better as humans-humans who face challenges, humans who struggle, humans who overcome, humans who grow. It is this understanding that will allow us to inspire each other, which will inspire others.

The second day of the retreat will take place at Papahana Kualoa, which is a non-profit described as "a mālama ʻāina based learning organization that is connecting the area's past with a sustainable future".   One of our TLC members will be leading us through some morning activities to give back to the land and connect with each other, as well as our home island.  Then, we will continue learning about each other. 
http://papahanakuaola.com

We will be working to understand our teaming styles using a working styles assessment and then once we understand ourselves better, we will explore how each different style interacts.  Last year's team did this activity, but this year we are going to record the information in our Drive and refer back to it throughout the year, as a reminder of our differences and the strength that can come from them. 

This day will also be used to define our roles within the group-this is a point that brought a lot of confusion and unrest in the past because team members were not clear what their role was.  This year, we will be very deliberate in defining the roles of the team, as well as of the coordinator.  We will also use some strategies from Adaptive Schools to develop a model for building consensus that works for us.  

 As much as I love summer and wish it could last forever, I am excited about the journey ahead of us and it feels good to set some definite plans.  I believe this year will be one of empowerment and growth and I believe that the Teacher Leadership Cadre and the faculty of Farrington High School are ready to step into the arena and Dare Greatly.  

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