Stinkin Thinkin

Good Morning and Happy Friday!

Congratulations to Smith Graham and Garrett Gatlin! They won first place at the district debate tournament and have qualified for the CX Debate State Tournament in March.

This past Tuesday our Lady Blues and Graham Steer basketball teams defeated Mineral Wells in close contests.  Congratulations!  Best of luck to our teams this afternoon as they travel to take on Abilene Wylie!

Voting- We have had 169 team members complete the Educators Oath to Vote. The deadline to register to vote for the Texas primary is February 1, 2016. The primary election is March 1, 2016. This is extremely important, as over 90% of local elections in Texas will be determined in the Republican primary. This link will take you to great information about how to register to vote and how to see if you are already registered.  http://www.votetexas.gov/register-to-vote/ 

Stinkin Thinkin

Do you ever watch the television show, Hoarders?  To me, it seems so insane that someone can collect and wallow in that much junk.  Although most of us may not hang onto and stack up that much physical stuff we do allow our minds to hoard “garbage thoughts.” This practice leads to ‘stinkin thinkin!”

In Flipping the Switch by John Miller he surmises this closed mindset greatly inhibits personal and organizational growth.  He places this negative thinking into five categories or mindsets: Exception Mentality, Expectations, Entitlement Thinking, Experience Trap and Exclusion.

Exception Mentality = Hearing an idea and immediately thinking of someone else who really needs to hear it.  If this applies, it is a good idea to stop and consider how you can apply this idea to yourself.

Expectations = Closed mindset thinking such as, “I knew this training would not be any good.”  Instead, ask yourself, “How can I gain the most from today?”

Entitlement Thinking = Thoughts such as, “I have been here twenty plus years, so I deserve…. or “When will I get more training?”  The better thoughts and questions are,  “What can I do to invest in myself?” and “How best can I acquire new knowledge to meet the challenges presented?”

Experience Trap = Human arrogance, overconfidence and reliance on one’s experience as being paramount to completing the voyage.  Instead, keep asking, “How can I enhance my effectiveness” and “What can I do to acquire new skills?”

Exclusion = Exclusion of someone’s perspective or marginalizing their input.  As we are all teachers and all students continue to ask, “How can I truly listen and consider what this person has to say?”

Removing these roadblocks from our thinking is not easy.   Change begins with “Me!”

Hope you have a blessed day!

Corny Joke of the Day:

Why shouldn't you write with a broken pencil?

Because it's pointless.

Flipping the Switch

Good Morning and Happy Friday!

Reimbursement for Leave Upon Retirement- Per Board Policy, DEC (LOCAL), a professional or paraprofessional employee who retires from the District shall be eligible for reimbursement for local leave under the following conditions:

1.     The employee’s retirement is voluntary, i.e., the employee is not being discharged or nonrenewed.

2.     The employee provides advance written notice of intent to retire. Contract employees must provide written notice at least 90 days by February 1. Non-contract employees must provide written notice at least two weeks before the last day of employment.

3.     The employee has at least five years of continuous service with the District.

4.     The employee retires under the rules of TRS at the time of separation from the District.

The employee shall be reimbursed for each day of local leave, to a maximum of 50 days, less any days used in the previous two years, at a rate established by the Board. If the employee is reemployed with the District, days for which the employee received payment shall not be available to that employee.

The rate established by the Board shall be in effect until the Board adopts a new rate. Any changes to the rate shall apply beginning with the school year following the adoption of the rate change.

Stadium Update- Additional testing has been conducted this week. We expect to learn the results in a couple of weeks.  A “Plan B” is being developed should the situation require us to alter our previous plans to remodel the home side.

AG Project Center Update- Final plans and costs are being completed.  We anticipate beginning dirt work in approximately three weeks.

Young County Stock Show Results- Congratulations to the students listed below for their achievement at the Young County Livestock Show.

Rabbits

Garrett Box-3rd place

Goat Show

Becca Burgess-Junior Showmanship Winner

Sheep Show

Matthew Clayton-Reserve Grand Champion

Philip Rice-2nd place junior showmanship

Swine Show

Reserve Duroc-Jordan Crago

Champion White Other Purebred-Sadie Walls

Reserve Champion White OPB-Jordan Dodson

Champion Black Other Purebred-Kegan Dowdy

Reserve Champion Black Other Purebred-Jackson Osborne

Champion Spot-Cade Anderson

Champion Hamp-Tyler Walls

Reserve Champion Hamp-Creed Jordan

Reserve Champion York-Hayden Leach

Grand Champion-Creed Jordan

Reserve Grand Champion-Garrison Stovall

2nd place Junior Showmanship-Cade Anderson

3rd place Junior Showmanship-Boston Brewer

2nd place Senior Showmanship-Caleb Crago

3rd place Senior Showmanship-Jordan Crago

Steer Show

Grand Champion-Jade Jordan

Reserve Grand Champion-Tanner Walls

Champion British-Ben Burgess

Junior Showmanship-Ashtyn Reese

Commercial Steer

Grand Champion-Kolton Gough

Steers and Lady Blues Basketball- Good luck to the Freshman, JV & Varsity teams competing at home this evening versus Stephenville. 

Flipping the Switch

Sometime ago, I read QBQ- The Question Behind The Question by John G. Miller. Just recently I read the companion book- Flipping the Switch.   Both are quick reads designed with the purpose of self-reflection and unleashing one’s power of personal accountability. 

In Flipping the Switch, Miller compares the process of framing the questions we ask ourselves to our action of flipping on a light switch.  Both processes create the initial flow of energy.  Self-reflective questioning from the lens of personal accountability leads to personal learning, taking ownership, acting creatively and being of service to others.  Conversely, questions focused on the actions of others leads to blaming, complaining and thinking like a victim.

When challenged or frustrated, ones natural reaction is to develop questions focused on the actions of others such as:

           

Why is this happening to me?

When will others do things right?

Reframing the question can turn the attention back to us and lead to personal empowerment.

What can I do?

How can I contribute?

Miller offers three simple guidelines to construct questions that lead to personal accountability and personal empowerment.

• Begin questions with “What” or “How” instead of “Why,” “When” or “Who.” Why questions tend to lead to complaining. When questions can lead to procrastination. Who questions lead to blaming.
• Include the word “I,” not “They,” “Them” or “You.”  Avoid “We” as I can change only “Me.”
• Focus questions on action.

During our daily lives, we have several opportunities to take charge of how we frame our questioning.  This may just be the essential first step to “flipping the switch” for better work and home life!

Hope you have a blessed day!

Corny Joke of the Day:

What word is always spelled wrong in a dictionary? 

Answer: Wrong