Happy #FlyHighFri everyone!
The idea for Fly High Friday started last summer, mainly out of my own selfish desire to have at least one lunch per week where no kids could come hang out in my room. I really do love my students, but sometimes I need time to be an adult and a “human being” as I like to say. I brought up this idea with Nicole Link, a teacher at my school, and convinced her to cohost with me. Luckily, she tends to say yes to my crazy ideas! I also brought up the idea to Justin Birckbichler, who came up with the name and decided to start a group at his school.
I see so much negativity from some teachers, and even the best of us like to sit around and complain sometimes. The purpose of Fly High Friday is to create an open and inviting space where everyone can share the great things that happened to them each week, and we celebrate each person’s successes. I’m thankful for all the great teachers who joined us over the last 9 weeks of school. I look forward to Friday lunches even more, knowing I will be around great people who are excited about their jobs and eager to spread positivity. We are slowly spreading the word around school, and inviting other teachers to join us for lunch. Personally, I have found this group refreshing and encouraging, and it has helped me get through the busiest start to a semester.
Interestingly, I recently finished The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon & Ken Blanchard. The ideas of the book directly parallel Fly High Friday, and we are seeing that positive reinforces positive. As we build up the positive energy (and if you haven’t read The Energy Bus, I’m not talking about hippy positivity, but true positive mindset energy), it will spread from person to person and soon will overtake our school.
We have loved FlyHighFri so much that we are encouraging teachers from all over the world to start their own group. My group meets at lunch, and Justin’s meets before school. Can’t find time to meet in person? Use a back-channeling resource such as TodaysMeet to share together. And of course, add a #FlyHighFri column to your TweetDeck!
For more, visit www.flyhighfri.com.
For more, visit www.flyhighfri.com.
Mari Venturino 