Author Archives: Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

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About Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

an educator in Independent Schools for over 38 years

Grief & Resilience

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

Starting the journey of grief after the recent illness and death of my mother, I saw a clip of Madonna Badger talking about loss. She lost her three daughters and her parents in a Christmas morning fire three years ago. … Continue reading →

Posted in education, grief, grit, parenting 2013, resilience | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

33 Great Ideas For Women In Leadership Positions

Posted on March 1, 2015 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

Originally posted on NAIS Annual Conference 2015:
I attended a great session today titled: Engendering Leadership: How Independent Schools Support Successful Female Leaders. Thank you to Lindsay Koss, Pearl Kane, Lucy Goldstein, Meera Ratnesar, Frances Fondren, Karen Whitaker and Katie Arjona…

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Gratitude Continued…

Posted on February 1, 2015 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

Welcome to the end of January and the start of February. In an effort to continue our Attitude of Gratitude for 2015, I want to acknowledge our very hard working Buildings and Grounds Staff, who spent countless hours over a … Continue reading →

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Why some teams are smarter than others? Listening, empathy and more women…

Posted on January 18, 2015 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

As we struggle in schools to quantify the very real needs and uses for social emotional learning and self regulation skills as part of an academic skill set, this Op Ed piece hits the right chords! Read on… Why Some … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, adult development, childhood development, gender studies | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

Last week, I had the opportunity to address a few topics with the Parents’ Association. We were slated to discuss the book Free to Learn by Peter Gray. I shared a few slides with quotes from the book and then … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, childhood development, education | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Je ne suis pas Charlie…

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

And David Brooks gives us cogent commentary as well… http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/09/opinion/david-brooks-i-am-not-charlie-hebdo.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=c-column-top-span-region&region=c-column-top-span-region&WT.nav=c-column-top-span-region

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Je suis Charlie…

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

I have had a pit in my stomach most of the day after learning about the terrible attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris today. How to make sense of it? How to talk about it with my children? How to … Continue reading →

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Resolutions for Parents

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

What I like about these is that you could say these are “meet your children (students) where they are” resolutions. Rather than trying to shut down online activities, we adults need to learn a little more about them… https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/7-new-years-resolutions-every-family-should-make-in-2015?utm_source=010115+Parent+Default&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly

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Common Sense Media resources for the Holidays

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

This is just a reminder that as we parents struggle with lots of down time over the holidays and some of the “new technology” our children will receive, do not sacrifice quality to time to read and be with your … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century Skills, childhood development, parenting in 2014 | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Reviewing Report Cards with our Children

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

Earlier this week I forwarded a post to our faculty and staff entitled:  Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions. Sometimes we forget that the part of the growth process that yields short and long term results is the process. Sometimes, … Continue reading →

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