Unlearning to Learn

Good Morning and Happy Friday!

Graham Steer and Lady Blues Cross-Country will be competing in the UIL Regional Meet in Lubbock on Saturday morning.  Safe travels and GOOD LUCK!

RSB3 Qualifies for the Area Marching Competition! Congrats to the Rompin Stompin Big Blue Band.  They earned straight 1’s this past weekend and will be marching in the Area B Marching Contest at 4:30 pm at the Collins Stadium in Denton.

Lady Blues Volleyball- With the victory over Vernon this past Tuesday the Lady Blues clinched a share of the District Champion crown.  They will be in action this afternoon at 4:30 against Burk to determine playoff seeding. The sub-varsity Lady Blues also had an excellent year with the JV finishing as District Champs with an 8-0 record in district and the Freshmen finishing as District Champs with a 7-1 district record. GREAT JOB LADIES!

Good luck and safe travels to the Graham Steers Football Team as they head to Vernon to defeat the Lions.

Veteran's Day Tribute- We are planning a special blog post and video honoring those that are serving or have served in our armed services and have a family member working for Graham ISD.  Please complete this form to have yourself and/or your husband/wife, father/mother or son/daughter honored. You may submit the form more than one time to honor additional people.  Also, please email a photo (preferably in uniform) to me at sonny.cruse@grahamisd.com.  Please submit your form and email me the picture by noon on Friday, November 4th.  If you sent me information and pics for the last years tribute, I still have those, but please complete the form and send me pics of new information. Veteran's Day Form.

Unlearning to Learn

So what is the value of unlearning? The most obvious benefit is recognizing and stopping the stifling mindset that is manifested unintentionally when we feel we know. It’s the ‘this is how I or we’ve always done it’ syndrome. The ability to rid yourself of old ideas that are no longer relevant is valuable as you plow into the future. Unlearning (and then learning something new) helps to keep us innovative, relevant and valuable.

The video titled the The Backwards Brain Bicycle provides insight into the difficulty of unlearning something as simple as riding a bike.

Riding a bicycle is a life skill we learn as kids that sticks with us for a lifetime. Once you learn it, you never forget it. But what if there was a special kind of bike that will make everything you learned useless?

You may think that I am talking nonsense, but there is actually a bike that nobody can ride unless they unlearn riding a bike. Watch the video and you’ll understand.

CORNY JOKE OF THE DAY (COURTESY OF GHS TEACHER, MRS. LOWERY)

WHY DID THE TURTLE CROSS THE ROAD? (SCROLL DOWN FOR THE ANSWER)

TO GET TO THE SHELL STATION!

We Are All Teachers

Good Morning and Happy “Pink Out” Friday!

• Congrats Graham Steer and Lady Blues Cross-Country! The Lady Blues finished 2nd and the Steers finished 3rd. This qualifies both teams to compete at the Regional Meet. For the Steers, Will Walton finished 5th and Sam Perkins finished 10th.  
• Graham Steer & Lady Blues Tennis- Our tennis teams competed in the Area Tennis Contest in Vernon yesterday. Great Fall Season!
• ALL-AMERICAN GIRL PAGEANT- Congrats to GHS senior, MaKenzie Graham, daughter of Woodland Elementary teacher Deborah Graham, on being crowned All-American Girl!  All the young ladies did an excellent job representing themselves, their family and their community.
• GJHS Cross Country-  Congrats to the athletes and to Coach England! Both the boys and girls earned Team Championships as well individuals earning Champion honors.
• Lady Blues Volleyball will be in action this evening at 4:30 against the Iowa Park Lady Hawks.  GOOD LUCK LADIES!
• Graham Steer Football has a big game this evening versus the Krum Bobcats.  Kickoff is 7:30. Hope to see you there. GO STEERS!
• Rompin Stompin Big Blue Band will be competing in the UIL Marching Contest on Saturday at Early High School.  Our scheduled to time to march is 4:00 p.m.  Come be part of the RSB3 fan club that will be there cheering on the RSB3.  Expectations are high… BREAK A LEG RSB3!

We Are All Teachers

“If we don’t model what we teach, then we are teaching something else.”

If kids see us… we are teachers!  Anytime we come in contact with young people we automatically become a teacher.  Regardless of how we treat others be it with respect, dignity, rudeness, mockery, etc. we are teaching those that see us.  We may be teaching what is right and we may be teaching what is wrong, but there is no question that… we are teaching.  

With this in mind, make the choice to be a positive light. Through our choices we can show the young people we work with that is possible to be in control of how we feel, act and treat others. Without your example, many of them will never know it is a possibility to live their lives differently.

CORNY JOKE OF THE DAY:

What do you call a pig that knows karate? (Scroll down for the answer.)

A pork chop!

The American's Creed

Good Morning and Happy Friday!

Congrats Graham Steer and Lady Blues Tennis! This past Tuesday, in an exciting match lasting more than four hours, Graham came out on top 10-9.  In the deciding match, Graham's Emily Browning won in a tie breaker, sending Graham to the area tournament in Wichita Falls on October 20.  Other players that had outstanding matches were:  Adri Ustick who lost her first set 6-3 won her second 7-6 in a tiebreaker and won another tiebreaker 10-8 after being down 8-4, and Emily Rice who also won in tie breaker fashion.  

On an individual note, Graham Steer tennis player Marcus Montfort has been offered an athletic scholarship from Holmes College in Mississippi.  Marcus will be making a decision regarding this opportunity following his campus visit this winter.  

The Rompin Stompin Big Blue Band had a terrific showing at the Ponder Marching Classic!  The RSB3 earned the following accolades: 3rd Place 4A Band, Finalist & 6th Overall! The are competing this weekend in Early!  Great job band and best of luck in Early!!

Lady Blues Volleyball- Big game this evening in Burkburnett.  Best of luck Lady Blues!

Retirement Seminar- ESC 9 is hosting a Retirement Seminar that is sponsored by District 9 Texas Retired Teachers Association.  The event will held on Saturday, November 12, 2016, from 10 AM to 2 PM.  Lunch will be provided by the Wichita Falls Federal Credit Union. Representatives with the Texas Retirement System of Texas and the Texas Retired Teachers Association will be providing information and answering questions.  To attend the event, register on the ESC 9 Service Center Website.

School Safety- Crisis Manager App- The district is moving our emergency operation plans to a digital format. Our staff, parents and public are encouraged to download the Crisis Manager App on their smartphone. Steps to accomplish this task are:

• Access the app store on your smartphone.
• Search for SchoolDude CrisisManager.
• Install the app to your device.
• Access our school plans:
• Tap on the CrisisManager app to open it and tap Continue without logging in.
• Tap on +Client Plans, find Graham ISD in the list and tap on it.
• Tap on the nameofplan(s).
• The plan will then download and appear on your CrisisManager home page.
• Tap on the plan to view it.

This will allow you to view the public portion of our campus and district emergency operation plans.  Once fully developed, a secure login will be shared with our local first responders to allow them access the most up to date security information in case of an emergency.

Employee Wellness- Pioneer Elementary Wellness Group- Tuesday/Thursday from 4 - 5 pm with a trainer.  All employees are invited to join the group.  Cost is $12 per month. Email Lisa Budarf at lisa.budarf@grahamisd.com to sign up or for more information.

Graham Steers vs Krum Bobcats- Would you like the opportunity for you and seven family members or friends view the game from the upper level of the Newton Field press box?  If so, complete this form Graham Steers vs Krum Bobcats Press Box Drawing.

The American’s Creed

In 1917, William Tyler Page of Maryland won a nationwide contest.  The U.S. House of Representatives accepted the statement as the American’s Creed on April 3, 1918.  Its two paragraphs remind us that responsibilities are the source of rights. It deserves to be read and recited.  Especially during these tumultuous political times!

I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed, a democracy in a republic, a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.

I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies.

Corny Joke of the Day:

Why did the cow cross the road? (scroll down for the answer)

To get to the udder side.

Avoiding Herd Thinking

Good Morning and Happy Friday!

Lady Blues Volleyball (@Vernon) and Graham Steers Football (@Bridgeport) are on the road this evening. Best of luck and safe travels!

Our Lady Blues and Graham Steer Tennis teams are in action against WF Hirschi on Saturday in Graham. Start time is 9:00 a.m.  Good luck to all!

The Rompin Stompin Big Blue Band is participating in the Ponder March Festival this Saturday as they continue preparing for the upcoming UIL marching contest. Good luck RSB3!

WATCH D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students)- We had an excellent kick-off event this Tuesday with approximately 300 attending the event.  It is never too late to participate in this program. Contact the office at Pioneer, Crestview, Woodland or GJHS for more information on how you can participate.

Register to Vote by Tuesday, October 11! October 11 is the last day to register to vote for the November 8, 2016, General Election. (Your application must be received in the Voter Registrar’s office or postmarked at least 30 days before an election for you to be eligible to vote in that election.) Early voting runs October 24–November 4. Voter Registration Info

Avoiding Herd Thinking

In case you haven’t watched television lately or you haven’t  “connected’ with your “friends” via social media there is an election scheduled for November 8, 2016.  The media (print, broadcast and social) provide stumbling blocks for our thinking.  Remember, there is no such thing as an unbiased article in a newspaper or an objective sound bite on television news. Reporter, editors and producers are experts at getting us to believe what they say and to adopt their point of view.

Most of us, most of the time, are very binary and immediate in our judgments. We immediately classify items as good or bad, true or false, etc. Three pitfalls to effective leadership linked to binary thinking include:

1.    The decision maker forms opinions before it is necessary to do so, and in the process closes his/her mind to facts and arguments that may be brought forward.

2.    The flip-flopping perception. Quickly making a decision based on the initial information received and then changing the decision based on subsequent details provides the perception that the leader believes the last thing they heard from the last person they talked to.  This is counterproductive for the leader and the organization.

3.    The perception of going along to get along.  Human nature leads us conform to others.

Effective leadership requires one to be able to realize the shades of gray in order to avoid the pitfall of herd thinking. Imperative to this is the ability to avoid forming an opinion about an important issue until all of the facts have been revealed and all arguments have been heard. This can be quite complex, as it requires you to embrace opposing thoughts as the same time- think- decide.

Whatever you do, don’t be like the subjects in this video… think for yourself!

CORNY JOKE OF THE DAY

What do you call it when a shoemaker drops his vegetables? (scroll down for the answer)

Corn of the cobbler!