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  Kara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

  A veteran educator, I've been a teacher, principal, ED @ www.mathforamerica.org, head of school, and now Director of Education Content @ Smore. Ph.D. in Teaching & Learning. I ❤️ my Libby app :)

  More posts by Kara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore.

Kara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

A principal Christmas message is a great opportunity to celebrate wins!

For starters, everyone is in a celebratory mood. We're enjoying the delightful holiday cards arriving daily. We're reading annual updates of friends and family. We're primed for cheery news.

So, come on, principals!

Start with a few great pictures.

A gallery of highlights of the past year, or the past fall, is a great way to kick off your holiday message. Not only do parents love to see pictures of their children, it shows you off as a present and involved school leader. You can choose pics on a theme, pics that illustrate the mission of your school, or just moments that you caught as you were walking the building. The more the merrier. Don't limit yourself! And don't forget about the adults in the building. Have any faculty members received honors or awards? Include those as well.

Parents love bragging rights, after all!

Find creative ways to tell your story.

What about a Best of '22 list? A mock Spotify playlist? The year in memes? A video of students sharing one thing they love about their school. Match your creative interests to your school mission and personalize your Principal Christmas Message in a way that feels right to you & your building.

Remember, it's important to get your story out there & this is a good opportunity to do so!

Need more inspiration?

Just in case you'd like to really go all out, we've included a fun blog post with creative suggestions for how to go crazy with an annual holiday update. But the one thing that's important: communicate gratitude for your community. Certainly, they are grateful for you!

You can get started with this template, here! Merry Christmas 🎄

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