Page 62 - DistanceLearning

Morning Messages That

Motivate

By Richard Hayzler, Principal of

Pequannock Township High School

There is no doubt that school right now looks Panther Pride.” At this time “school” is not about a building. It is

different. Distance learning has caused students, teachers, about the people. As school leaders we have a responsibility to
live our excellence through encouraging, motivating and inspir-
administrators and parents to adjust quickly to a new set of rou- ing our students, staff and community to become more than they
tines, learning practices and social dynamics. One comes to real- thought possible. If I can help start their day with a smile and a
ize the importance of the “little” things that make school enjoyable little learning, then they are well on their way to living their excel-
for the students, staff and community when everyone is apart from lence too.
each other.
As an administrator I was looking for ways to reach our stakehold- Principal Hayzler’s morale boosting messages include everything
from movie clips and music to him donning costumes and singing.
ers and keep focused on the idea that we want “school” to be a His upbeat and encouraging communications to his school com-
place where students, staff and community members want to be munity are enjoyed by hundreds of people every day. Some fan
because of the energy, enthusiasm and learning that takes place favorites are:
on a daily basis.

Morning announcements are something that jumpstart our morn-
ings when we are in school. I decided to begin to put together
morning announcements that provided some laughter, some learn-
ing and most importantly, a sense of normalcy during these un-
certain times. Since March 13th when the Pequannock Township
School District began our distance learning, I created a YouTube Secrets to Success Autism Awareness
Channel and use our school’s Instagram and Twitter Accounts
(@pthsnation) to send out announcements each morning with a
focused theme.
Our district has been conducting spirit weeks each week to keep
everyone engaged. My goal is to provide messages of hope, inspi- Wellness Wednesday Tribute to our students
ration, motivation and Pequannock Township High School “Golden

Richard Hayzler is the Principal of Pequannock Township High
School in Pompton Plains, NJ. You can follow Rich on Twitter @
richhayzler and view his blog at richardhayzler.weebly.com. 62 Pajama Day