One thing that got to me last year, and it was my fault more than anyone else's, was the lack of house activities the second half of the year.
I think we should plan out a monthly house competion/ mixer. This could be a lunchtime water carrying activity, a potluck, or a movie night.--but we need to keep interest in the competition August (or September)--May.
I also would like to make the point system more vital to campus life. I, personally, awarded points for every test, quiz, and paper (every "big" activity). It took approximately ten minutes a week to award these points. I didn't publicize it as I could, and will do so in the Fall. I would encourage all other teachers to do so. I know that other teachers may have had more complicate formulae, but I awarded ten points for an "A" and five for a "B."
I also want to have more in-house activities. I have been reflecting on the year the past two or three weeks and, despite my disappointments, I still believe that we have as fine a group of young people as one will find anywhere in the world. The young people of Conor House are just, flat out, good people. I'm sure that the same is true in Excelsior, Halcyon, and Sideris.
I have heard that the latest hen party has produced a schedule for house days at Charter. Let's try to occupy two or three days a month. We could use one in house activity and one intra-house activity/ competition. We could plan these out this summer--or, at the very least, brainstorm ideas.
Last year's activities bear revisiting:
1. Dodgeball.
2. Water Wars.
3. Princess Bride (a truly Charterian "Rocky Horror")
We entertained
4. Kickball.
I thought we might screen
5. Star Wars, Episode IV (the best of the lot)
Suggestions?
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By the way, Jackie forwarded to me the sorting questionnaires. It would be nice if we could sort sometime in late August. I have worked out a rather lovely solo of the sorting song on my still almost new guitar--and the amp I bought can take it to the back row without blinking a tube. We could also set up a booth at Freshman orientation to make ourselves more conspicuous. (I saw a few students sporting pins at graduation--go houses--and I have three screenplays brewing for next year, one a total secret, one continuing the adventures of Beomath and Mathgar, and one overtly house related.
Yes, I should've closed the parentheses in my previous post.
)
Now they're closed.
Yes, I agree that we need to come up with a schedule, especially for the 2nd semester, which is so busy.
Mel, I don't think it was your fault, it was all of us. We all sort of dropped the ball there. And I DEFINITELY agree about making the points more prominent, and getting everyone involved!
I had this crazy idea of getting a little voice recorder that I could just say "10 points to Conor, minus 10 points to Sideris," etc. and then drop the recorder off to a Scribe at the end of the week. I don't think that will work, so I don't really know why I'm mentioning it, except that I just liked the idea of being able to walk around campus and call out points.
Anyway, back to something more realistic, I do have to say--without intending it to be accusatory--that I think we could do a better job of spreading some of the House activity initiation and officiation around. I don't know if it ever felt this way to you guys, but it certainly felt to me sometimes that I was sort of the visible representative of the Houses in general (admittedly, in part, because I wore my golden robes all the time, but I also felt like I sort of ran a lot of things) rather than just the Head of my own House. I don't think any of the other Heads would think this of me, but I don't want other teachers or students to get the impression that I'm co-opting that role for myself, or seeking to put myself in the limelight as some figure more important than other people. I should not, in the House system, be viewed as anything more than the Head of Sideris House. If I am guilty of anything, it is perhaps pushing the whole thing so hard that I may have come off to some people as more than what I intended; but, and again I don't mean this to be accusatory, I did sometimes feel like I had to drive a lot of it. I have learned that sometimes I do convey things much more forcefully than I intend or am aware of doing, and that I can unknowingly make people feel like I'm steamrolling them. It's something I've been told I do, but something I'm not really aware of doing in the moment, nor is it my intent, so if you guys see me doing it, by all means let me know.
Maybe we need someone to be the kind of Headmaster type of role who is not bound to a specific House, though I don't know who that could be. The other solution is to be more proactive about making sure all the Heads (as well as other teachers) split the load more evenly. If it's something we can't all do together, then we should rotate responsibilities for subsequent events.
That way, also, none of us is regularly put in the position I found myself (or put myself) in during the water relay of having to run the event and therefore not being able to cheer on my own students the way I would have liked.
And if I came off as too forceful or steamrolling in this post, please be assured that it was entirely intentional and I meant every word. (Dag, there's no font for "irony.")
Noah, I was thinking the same thing. as you were--and I said so at one point. I purposely tried to "run things" at the dodge ball events. JP and I played music at sorting. I had a couple of "picnics" with my house. I had that snazzy green beret with a compass on it.
But Noah was the de facto czar of things and all sort of filtered through him.
Although I live my life with quiet dignity, I am willing to don something silly. If we can fix a HOUSE DAY, I propose the following:
Week One: Heads meeting/ planning. (I have some busy teachers in my house, but they'd be more than welcome.) We'd plan, look ahead, address any issues which may arise.
Week Two: House leadership meeting--captains, prefects, etc. meet and flesh out plans.
Week Three/ Week Four: One inter-house activity, one intra-house activity.
House days we should wear the colors--always. I got out of the habit of wearing my pin and, frankly, got pretty frustrated at the end.
I think the main reason the 2nd semester felt like things didn't work as well was because we basically didn't do anything, which is again why we need to have a more defined schedule.
Anyway, at the lunch last Tuesday, Lori mentioned that Key Club can move to "whenever," so that we could have Fridays as House days, which I think is the best day anyway. Nothing else conflicts then, as far as we could tell.
So for now, I say let's go with Friday as House Day.
I also meant to say that I think that weekly plan looks good.
I love Friday as House day.
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