Today is Calendar Awareness Day. No, you won’t find Calendar Awareness Day highlighted on your actual calendar. (Yes, that means we made it up.) But whatever day you’re reading this, we hope to make you more aware of four important calendar resources for school leaders.

Events & Recognitions Calendar in AWSP’s Principal Matters: If you scroll down to the end of our Principal Matters e-newsletter (published on the second and fourth Mondays of each month), you’ll see that we added a new “Events & Recognitions Calendar” section this year. Important dates, holidays, and recognitions are highlighted for the current month and the month ahead. Many of the calendar items link to an outside page with more information or ideas. Check your inbox for the latest issue, or access the archives on our website.

School Celebration Newsletter from Cindy Sholtys-Cromwell: Cindy Sholtys-Cromwell, Principal at Loowit High School and Kelso Virtual Academy (K-12) in Kelso School District, generously shares her monthly School Celebration newsletter with AWSP members. We turn her newsletter into blog posts each month that highlight fun holidays and celebrations such as National College Colors Day (Sept. 1), Read a Book Day (Sept. 6), and National Good Neighbor Day (Sept. 28). Her posts include quick, easy-to-implement ideas for school leaders. Subscribe to our blog so you don’t miss a post.

The AWSP Surthrival Guide: No, that’s not a typo. “Surthrival” is a cross between surviving and thriving, where school leaders tend to find themselves on most days. Our AWSP Member Handbook contains a Surthrival Guide (also known as a calendar of monthly suggestions for principals and assistant principals) divided into sections: Things to Consider, AWSP’s Great 8, Student Leadership (AWSL), and Calendar Items. For example, the September page suggests meeting with the ASB coordinator and student council for the beginning of school activities, and registering for fall student leadership events.

Chat GPT for writing and planning recognition activities. Did you know you can use Chat GPT to help you generate ideas or write content around school holidays and recognitions? Try typing in things like “write a message honoring the hard work of our custodian for National Custodian Day” or “make a list of ideas for celebrating Veterans Day at an elementary school.”

These calendar resources are just one small way we aim to grow, support, and sustain school leaders this year so you are better equipped to serve your students.

We hope your Calendar Awareness Day is a great one!