I am going to screw up royally.

I had two meetings today.

I enjoyed both of them.

The first was an opportunity to get to know the new PD Coordinator and begin working with her on plans for the district PD.

She bought me lunch at California Pizza Kitchen: awesome all on its own!

But we also had a really productive and positive conversation.

I can't lie, I am insanely jealous of her--I wanted that gig (I'll get over it).

And I also can't deny that she is going to do a terrific job.

She is friendly, humble, kind, willing to learn, brimming with good ideas, and able to work the system.

The second meeting was a NaNoWriMo planning session with a colleague.

To say I am hyped about trying this whole novel writing thing is a significant understatement.


We reviewed the program, set up our profiles and virtual classrooms and ordered classroom kits.

We downloaded the lesson plans, student workbook, and suggested rubric.

We made a tentative plan for getting started.

There are some ways that the program overlaps perfectly with our curriculum.

And other places where we will need to make some adjustments...so we need to talk to the rest of our team...

We also set up an account in Write About (an awesome on-line writing platform).

We are going to use Write About for the planning and writing stages of NaNoWriMo because it will allow us to track student progress in detail, give written and audio feedback, and create a safe writing community for our students.

Seriously, check it out. Just saying.

Then we reviewed a couple of grammar websites and are pretty impressed with Grammarflip.

This project is going to be an enormous challenge.

I have no doubt I am going to screw up royally. It is a fact, an inevitability, an unavoidable reality.

I am scared sh*&less.

But I am determined to do it regardless.

It is kind of like zip lining, you know you aren't really falling, like to your death, but it is still scary and you still have to tip toe to the edge with your eyes closed and ask someone else to push you off the cliff.

Accepting the terror and trying anyway are at the heart of what I am learning about innovation. (Thank you George Couros!)

And after I fall flat on my face, I will get back up, tell my students who are are laughing at me to "shutty shut face :/" and try again.

Its a going to be a good year.

That feeling is a very good thing.