Settled in and ready for the first home football game of the season! Let’s go Vikes!

And FINALLY… Book #30 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! Mistborn #2: The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson. A slower middle book. Lots of talking and less action until the Sanderlanche. But that being said, I’ll be starting book 3 momentarily! It’s been an amazing summer of reading!!!

Book #29 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! Star Wars: The High Republic: Tempest Breaker by Cavan Scott. Enjoyed this story that interwove with so many other tales from all 3 Phases of The High Republic.

Today’s the day each year we celebrate our smart, funny, adventurous, talkative, musician, dancer, runner, reader, gamer, and now driver! Happy Sweet Sixteenth Birthday Rachel!!

Book #28 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! Star Wars: The High Republic: Edge of Balance, Vol. 4 by Shima Shinya. Gorgeous visuals in this final High Republic Manga! So much action and emotion on every page!

Book #27 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming. An interesting premise BUT VERY disappointed with the MASSIVE amount of racism is in this book. The shock on many of the pages shook me right out of the story. Are all classic Bond books like this?

Book #26 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! The Success Criteria Playbook: A Hands-On Guide to Making Learning Visible and Measurable by John T. Almarode. Doing some professional learning around one of our School Improvement strategies.

Rachel’s first Cross Country meet of her Sophomore season is in the books. Great to start the season at home with the Northwest Vince Zavala Invite at Ryder Park in GI. Proud of her hard work.

Book #25 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! Challenge! Secrets of the Castleton Manor Library #11: Up to Noir Good by Jan Fields. Always enjoy a fun and cozy Castleton murder mystery.

Claire and I cheered on Rachel and the Best Band in the Land as they marched at the Nebraska State Fair today! Gorgeous day and TONS of folks out at the fair.

Book #24 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! Nobody Wants Your Sh*t: The Art of Decluttering Before You Die by Messie Condo. ESSENTIAL reading for everyone who, like me, has years worth of stuff cluttering up their house and garage.

Book #23 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! The Dresden Files, #1 Storm Front by Jim Butcher. So much hype on #Booktok for this one and I loved it! A hardboiled detective story with a noir atmosphere in the vein of Raymond Chandler… but the detective is also a wizard. Deep world but not overwhelming.

Book #22 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. This one has been on my TBR for a long time. So glad I finally read it! Quirky and funny and fast paced!

Book #21 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! Home Is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose. Fell for the VHS cover art while shopping at Sam’s Club. Pleased to find this an intriguing mystery with great storytelling style.

Thanks Brian and Janel for letting my staff invade the farm today! We enjoyed lunch and most of us hit our targets in archery! Pixar stole the show of course!! And thanks PTA dad Zach for serving us up delicious burgers!

Book #20 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! Star Wars: The High Republic: The Edge of Balance―Premonition by Daniel José Older. Great to see Yoda in action in this fast paced story!

A sure sign that school is right around the corner: Annual Newell PTA Family Night at Island Oasis. Thanks Newell PTA for a fun evening!

Book #19 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! Star Wars: The High Republic: A Valiant Vow by Justina Ireland. Great seeing the development of High Republic characters over the long arc of the multi-book story.

Book #18 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! Best of All Worlds by Kenneth Oppel. A family falls asleep in their cabin and wakes up with the cabin in a mysterious new place. Perfect for fans of Lost or Under the Dome, and books like Lord of the Flies or Maze Runner. Very relatable characters.

Rachel’s Band Camp Week ended last night with the annual Exhibition, Drilldown, and games at the park! Such a fun night, can’t wait to follow along as their show gets better and better.

Book #17 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! Autism Out Loud: Life with a Child on the Spectrum by Kate Swenson, Carrie Cariello, and Adrian Wood. A heartbreaking and heartwarming look into how families of children with autism live. As a principal it was so impactful to hear their stories.

Book #16 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! Good Game, No Rematch: A Hilarious Memoir of Video Games, Personal Growth, and the Intersection of Comedy and Nostalgia by Mike Drucker. The title says it all: Funny with great nostalgia feels for 80s and 90s video games!

I’m half-way! Book #15 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove. This book is everything it was hyped to be. A new take on classic movie monsters on a space ship in the future. Thanks @ezeekat.bsky.social for this fun escapist read.

🎉 Big News! 🎉 We are beyond proud to share that Ellie has been named a 2025 National Merit Scholar! This incredible honor is a testament to Ellie's dedication, intelligence, and hard work. Way to go, Ellie!!

Book #14 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! Casino Royale: James Bond Original Series #1 by Ian Fleming. I’ve enjoyed the movies, but never read the books. Casino Royale is totally 007 and also totally of its time ( a buffet of chauvinism, much like the movies). But an enjoyable, engaging, quick read.

As the summer roles on, another tradition checked off: Watching the annual Wayne Chicken Show Parade ✅

Book #13 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! Star Wars: The High Republic: Into the Light by Claudia Gray. Another thrilling High Republic tale with some of my favorite characters from the era! I really enjoyed getting a deep dive into Wookiee culture on Kashyyyk.

Book #12 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! Boston's Freedom Trail: Trace the Path of American History by Cindi Pietrzyk. Read it on the Boston Band Trip. Learned some fun facts about the places we saw.

Boston Band Trip - Wednesday: Our last full day in Boston. Started with a stupendous guided tour along the Freedom Trail. Performance day outside at Faneuil Hall! Shopping, a visit to the MIT Museum, and supper at Margaritaville. Closed out the evening with the epic Back to the Future the Musical!!

Boston Band Trip - Tuesday: We had several interesting visits today: The Kennedy Institute; The Prudential Center and upper viewing deck; The New England Aquarium; and finished the evening with a relaxing Harbor Dinner Cruise!

Boston Band Trip - Monday: We splashed in the sun and rain at Water Wizz all day, then l checked Fenway Park off my bucket list tonight! What an AMAZING experience!!! Great energy in the stands and history all around! Go Sox!!

Boston Band Trip - Sunday: Arrived in Boston; Enjoyed Revere Beach; Saw the final performance of The Blue Man Group (They were fascinated by Ellie’s hair); Ate supper at Fire and Ice together; drove by Cheers, and even caught a glimpse of Fenway.

For those that keep track. We spotted Japanese Beetles in the Balcom Manor backyard this week. Sprayed today.

Book #11 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! The Hollow (Hercule Poirot Mysteries #25) by Agatha Christie. A FANTASTIC Poirot mystery. Classic setting. Fun twists. And always the grey cells.

Book #10 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy by D. Michael Abrashoff. Fantastic book on leadership! So many connections to things I’ve done but challenges me to do more. Would totally make a great book study for principals!

Book #9 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown. Think Magic Treehouse for adults! I loved this quirky fun adventure book! A fun magic system and easily remembered characters made this book a fun and fast read!

“He says, ‘That ain’t a breeze, sweetheart—that’s Mother Nature tryin’ to slap the taste outta your mouth. That’s not wind, that’s airborne attitude.’”

Book #8 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. My second reading of this essential book. Refocusing on 7 Habits is just what I need and may just be the perfect professional learning for my staff next year. I think I’ll reread The Leader in Me too.

Book #7 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! You Win in the Locker Room First: The 7 C's to Build a Winning Team in Business, Sports, and Life by Jon Gordon. Still reading to find a good staff PD book. This one is great for leaders and I’m processing some of the great ideas.

Book #6 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle. Reread. Great tips and strategies for building culture.

Book #5 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! The Duck Commander Family by Willie Robertson and Korie Robertson. I enjoyed the show and the book was a good background on this family’s story. A little sadder though having read it after Phil’s passing a week or so back. That’s a huge loss for them all.

Book #4 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! Choose Your Own Adventure #1 The Cave of Time by Edward Packard. Thanks to OpenLibrary.org for letting me dive into one of my FAVORITE childhood series. These books were the best! I took a few risks in this one, but made it safely back home on my first read!

Book #3 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson. Another quick journey into the Cosmere. An intriguing main character and cool magic system made this a cozy novella.

Book #2 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! The Entitlement Cure: Finding Success in a Culture of Entitlement by John Townsend. Reread for a possible book study. A fantastic and important read that's great for personal growth but don’t think it would work well for a whole team study.

Book #1 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton. My first book of the summer and first Crichton book since Jurassic Park in the 90s. A fun pirate romp!

Next weekend will kickoff the official beginning of Summer, which means it's almost time for my annual #30BookSummer Reading Challenge! Read 30 books between #MemorialDay and #LaborDay. Feel free to join along and post your progress throughout the summer. Open to all ages.

One of my favorite new things I started at school this year was Kindergarten Lunch Bunch. I made it my goal, second semester, to have lunch with EVERY one of my Kindergartener students. Today I met with the last group. #KnightsofNewell

Just got the perfect delivery on #StarWarsDay

Excited to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith tonight with Rachel! #RevengeoftheSith

Friday night and #RedSox on the big screen. Great way to start the weekend!