Welcome to March
There are so many reasons to embrace this month. However, it can be one of the toughest months for our staffs. March lends itself naturally to great opportunities of celebration to love on your staff between college basketball March Madness (Go Zags!), St. Patrick's Day or a few other exciting days I have included in this newsletter. I hope you can find one or two ideas to implement and utilize with your team. Please know I love seeing your creativity and appreciate when you tag me in your celebrations on X/Twitter. March is going to be an AWESOME month. Have fun and remember to take care of you. Peace and love, Cindy.
A Few of Cindy's Favorites
March Days to Celebrate
March 1 | "National Peanut Butter Lover's Day" (not fair to those of us with peanut issues but....) | Provide staff with a buffet of peanut butter products (peanut butter cookies, nutter butter cookies, peanut butter cups). Or you could give staff an individual Jiff To Go Peanut Butter cup with their choice of a chocolate bar, apple, pretzel or banana to dip into their cup. Place a little sticker that says "to help charge your batteries when you are on the go."
March 1 | "National Day of Unplugging" | This is a Friday and I want to encourage you to make this a weekend celebration. Encourage your staff and students to unplug ALL weekend. That means YOU too!! No weekend text or emails to your staff; it can wait till Monday.
March 4 | "National Grammar Day" | Create a paragraph with various typos and misuse of punctuation. Provide a copy to each staff member and have them mark the errors and make the corrections on the paper. They can turn it back in to you for a prize or entry into a drawing.
March 6 | "National Oreo Cookie Day" | The easiest one of the month!! Run to your neighborhood grocery store and purchase various flavors of Oreos. Leave them in the staff room for a snack. Play "minute to win it Oreo style" at lunch time with students by having students tilt their head back and place 1 Oreo on it. They have one minute to get the cookie into their mouth and eat it with hands behind their backs. March 6 is also “National Frozen Food Day. What if you asked each staff member to donate a frozen food item to the staff freeze? These could be used for staff who forget their lunch.
March 7 | National Cereal Day | Have a smorgasbord of travel cereals available for staff to greet them this morning. Include a little note of positivity such as "Breakfast the Meal of Educational Champions" or "Hope this starts your Tuesday off healthy and full."
March 12 | "National Girl Scout Day" | A buffet of girl scout cookies provided for a morning pick me up. Have the coffee warm and available for staff to enjoy as they nibble.
March 14 | "National Pi Day" | Treat everyone to an individual pie. March 14 is also National Potato Chip Day. This is ridiculously easy by going to your neighborhood store and picking up a variety pack of chips AND it is also “National Write Down Your Story Day.” What if you asked staff to write about a success they have had this month that will make a difference in someone else’s life? Stories could be shared in the staff room or used on your school's social media account.
March 19 | "National Let's Laugh Day" | A day of "dad" jokes, riddles, and my favorite knock, knock jokes. Share a few fun videos as part of your morning connection to start off the day with a few laughs. A side note: the most popular type of video that makes almost adults smile is a video of a baby laughing; try it.
March 20 | "International Day of Happiness" | Make sure you celebrate and do something today for yourself to bring happiness into your life. Principals spend so much time giving to others that it is important for us to carve out time and intentionally fill our own bucket. Today is your day to do it.
March 21 | “National French Bread Day” | Help staff figure out what they will have as part of their dinner tonight by purchasing a loaf of French bread for everyone.
March 22 | "World Water Day" | Everyone gets a bottle of water and they can choose from various mixtures and flavorings to add such as lemonade, Hawaiian punch, spark, or tea. Basically anything you can find in the powdered drink section.
March 26 | "National Spinach Day" | Provide staff with packs of spinach seeds or other green leafy vegetables staff can plant in their garden. Add a note about growing great learners and you have this day nailed!
March 28 | “National Something on a Stick Day” | Cake pops in the afternoon to help everyone get through this Thursday afternoon.
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Cindy Sholtys-Cromwell |
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Principal, Loowit High School and Kelso Virtual Academy (K-12)
Kelso School District
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Cindy is in her 24th 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.