Hello friends! Need a fun and easy way to bring smiles to your students’ and colleagues’ faces, especially on a Friday? How about starting “High Five Fridays?” Two of my #MomsAsPrincipals friends, Onica Mayers and Cathy Jacobs shared the “High Five Fridays” idea on our Voxer group some time ago. They ordered foam paw mitts for their school staff to wear on Fridays to greet students and colleagues with a “high five.” I knew this idea was something that would be simple and fun to start at our school, too, so I finally ordered some this year.
For under $200, I was able to order 100 personalized foam paw mitts. We ordered ours from PositivePromotions.com. This past Friday we greeted our students and colleagues with “High Fives” using our new, fun paws. It was a hit! It’s amazing how a simple thing like giving someone a “high five” with a foam paw mitt can bring a smile to a student and colleague’s face on a Friday. It was great! This will now be a Friday tradition at our school!
I encouraged our team to use the paws in other fun ways as well. One of our teachers captured a special moment between two students who used her foam paw to “high five” one another to celebrate their learning. Another teacher borrowed her colleague’s paw and put one on each hand to “high five” our students at dismissal! What a special way to send our students off on Friday afternoon!
Even if you don’t have the funds for the paws or want to get started on this simple culture-building idea right away, just start by giving out regular old “high fives” on Fridays! Maybe you can even have staff use a fun glove for “High Five Fridays.” It’s not about the paw; it’s about the relationship and connection that is built with students.
Please share your ideas for how you can use “High Five Fridays’ at your school site! Keep being amazing and building up your teams! And remember….KEEP IT SIMPLE!
Simple Ideas for Building Positive School Cultures 