|
 Closing
Day program brings HFM BOCES staff together
Standing shoulder to shoulder, the HFM BOCES staff is a
formidable team, providing life-changing services to students
and school districts throughout the region.
That was one of several themes that was woven into the Closing
Day program at HFM BOCES on June 22.
 Board
of Education President Robert Townsend opened the morning's
program by reminding the HFM staff that the board had three
goals for the 2006-07 school year: Growth, fiscal
responsibility, and defining the emerging identity of HFM BOCES
itself.
"There were some bumps in the road this year," Mr. Townsend
acknowledged, "but we as a team continued to work together to
get through them. This year has truly been a home run. We have
made a real difference in the lives of the people we have
served."
Putting a human face on our individual and collective
achievements
With almost 350 staff members providing service to students and
component school districts on a daily basis, it is almost
impossible to fully calculate the impact these individual and
collective accomplishments have on students throughout the
region.
 But
the HFM BOCES Professional Development Plan team brainstormed a
way to try.
All
staff members were asked to write on a sticky note one personal
accomplishment for the school year of which they were
particularly proud. These were then posted on sheets of paper on
all the walls of the conference room to be shared with fellow
colleagues. As a microphone was passed around room, staff
members took turns reading a few selected entries out loud.
With
more than 300 accomplishments on display, it became apparent
that everyday small successes amount to monumental achievements
when viewed a whole.
 Here
are just a few of those achievements:
•
I assisted employees learning new jobs.
•
I made a child feel safe and loved.
•
I created new activities that challenged students
academically and excited them about learning.
•
I learned how to direct negative behaviors in the classroom.
•
I improved my health, which in turn helped my attitude in
the classroom.
•
I have learned to give directions to all areas of the BOCES
campus.
•
I treated at-risk teens with respect and compassion, and
nine out of 10 times I was treated the same. Act as you want to
be treated.
•
I try to greet students arriving in the hall with a
smile and a hello to make them feel welcome.
•
I got more involved on BOCES committees helping to improve
our students' experiences in our programs.
•
I learned how to use our new computer system and telephone
system. |
