February, The Month of Love
There are so many great things about this special month that make it special. February is the month of love, a new grading term for some, my daughter’s birthday, and IT is finally starting to stay light a bit longer on my drive home. (YAHOO to all of them). February is a time for magical learning in the classroom when our students begin to hit their stride and “get it.” Our seniors are coming to the realization that graduation is around the corner. All of our hard work IS paying off, and we see the fruits of our labor. Each and every day, educators are making a difference in the lives of students, staff, and the community. Your never-ending belief in those you serve is a true game-changer. You are an inspiration. You will find this newsletter full of easy-to-use ideas to bring joy, laughter, and support to your team. February celebrations seem to all revolve around food, so you may want to purchase some Pepcid to keep on hand next time you are at the store. As always, feel free to reach out to me if I can support your work and to share your celebrations. You can always find me on Twitter or email. We are in this together, no matter the distance between our zip codes. Peace and Love, Cindy
February Days to Celebrate
Feb 1 | National Dark Chocolate Day | With the grocery store aisles lined with candy this should be an easy one. Look for individual chocolates to share with your staff today.
Feb 3 | National Carrot Cake Day | Instead of cake slices for everyone, look for carrot cake cupcakes. With February being such a sweet tooth of a month, the added veggies will help with a more balanced diet for everyone. And Feb 3 is also National Bubble Gum Day-Bubble blowing competition for staff. Another idea might be to have staff share their favorite flavor of gum and brainstorm with their students a recommended new flavor they wish existed. Prizes for the most creative and tasty of ideas.
Feb 6 | National Chopsticks Day | “Chopping Through the School Year Together”.
Feb 7 | National Send a Card to a Friend Day (and my daughter Kenzington’s Birthday) | Handwritten notes seem to have become a lost art. Take a couple of minutes today to encourage all staff to send a note of encouragement and appreciation to someone they care about. Provide staff with a notecard and a stamp for the finishing touch.
Feb 8 | National Kite Flying Day | Where I live in the pacific northwest, we usually do not have kite-flying weather in February. However, I will be heading to the dollar tree to pick up a kite for each staff member. Add a note that says, “Our students soar like kites because you help them fly. Happy Kite Flying Day.”
Feb 9 | National Pizza Day | Raffle ticket drawings throughout today for a gift certificate for a pizza dinner. Check with your neighborhood pizza parlor for a BIG discount.
Feb 10 | National Umbrella Day | Here are a couple of ideas for this day: provide staff with root beer floats with little umbrellas in the drink or have umbrellas as door prizes for all of your recess duty and outside supervision staff. Have you seen the movie “Singing in the Rain”? Make it a day of trivia to celebrate this iconic movie.
Feb 10 | Is also the Friday before the Super Bowl. Now that my Patriots and Seahawks have been eliminated, I will have more time for cooking for this occasion. Why not have a potluck with staff today full of favorite appetizers?
Feb 14 | Valentine’s Day | Plan ahead if you are giving out staff Valentine’s Cards.
Feb 16 | National Almond Day | Take advantage of the after-Valentine’s sales and pick up some almond candies to share.
Feb 17 | Random Act of Kindness Day | This is one of my most favorite days as I wish this were celebrated every day. Challenge your students and staff to do a random act of kindness this week. Give all participants a post-it to write on about their act and cover a wall with these examples of kindness or create a kindness chain with their stories.
Feb 21 | National Sticky Bun Day | Little Debbie will be your best friend today. Go to any grocery store and pick up a few of these cheap and unhealthy snacks to share.
Feb 23 | National Chili Day | If you know me at all, you know I LOVE Seinfeld. My cats are even named George and Newman as a tribute to this great show. Fans of the show will understand this one — purchase several cans of chili. Have a drawing where staff pulls out a paper from a basket. Winning papers will say “soup for you,” and they win a can of chili OR draw a paper that says “NO SOUP FOR YOU,” which is a losing ticket.
Feb 24 | “Skip the Straw Day” | Pass out recyclable or metal straws as gifts with a note, “You make such an impact on your students every day; may these reusable straws make a similar impact on our earth.” Or it is also National Tortilla Chip Day. It may not be Taco Tuesday, but this is a fabulous day to take around your treat cart with a variety of chips for staff to choose from for an afternoon snack.
Feb 27 | “National Strawberry Day” | Strawberry soda floats, strawberry snacks, or strawberry seeds for staff to plant.
Cindy is in her 23rd year as a school administrator. She is currently the principal of Kelso Virtual Academy and Loowit Alternative High School within the Kelso School District in Kelso, Washington. Cindy has been recognized by the National Association of Secondary School Principals as the 2021 National Digital Principal of the Year. She has two teenagers and has been married to her husband, Leszek for 23 years. Find her on Twitter @sholtys.