Tuesday, August 23, 2011

The First Two Days

photo by Ganymede, available on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/people/goldenhamster/



On my first day as a principal, I received a frantic email (cc'd to the superintendant, no less) from a teacher locked out of the school. This email was sent at 7 am on the 22nd of August, a full two weeks before school started! When I arrived, at a much more reasonable 8:45, I discovered that I had no computer or network access. I couldn't even put in a ticket to request a tech analyst help me with my problem, because I was locked out of any and all computers in the school. At least the phones worked. I spent much of the rest of the day searching for keys to cabinets, missing document cameras and projectors, vinegar for the moldy coffee maker (Starbucks is REALLY far away) and chatting with teachers (a much more fruitful and enjoyable task!). I can't wait to hire a secretary for this school!

On my second day, I arrived at my “other” school to discover that my office had been entirely deconstructed by the custodian over the summer. He did a bang up job of cleaning the carpets, but in the process hid my office furniture (and computer) in various parts of the school. As I searched throughout the school I discovered not one, but two, leaks from the previous day's thunderstorm. “No problem”, I said to myself. Once I get my office arranged and my computer set up, I'll put in a ticket to have the roofer or the plumber come have a look. However, I soon discovered that I did not have access to any computers at this school either! Didn't we solve this problem yesterday? Fortunately I soon had computer access and was able to write a newsletter, create a year-at-a-glance calendar, and take a big bite out of my staff handbook.

I share these adventures not as a discouragement, or by way of complaint, but to celebrate what wonderfully diverse jobs we have. The funny part is, I haven't even met any parents or students yet! It is bound to get only more exciting.

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