Stepping forward into the social media age.

Every dilemma, problem or roadblock offers the opportunity to find a solution. The school year at NSS started with our school's website http://www.sd10.bc.ca/nss/ being inaccessible to Ken Barisoff, our teacher who volunteers to update the site each month. While the IT manager for the district has been finding the solution to this problem,  myself (Natasha Miles, principal) and Nicol Suhr (vice principal) have been looking for our own solutions. After reading 'Why Social Media Matters- School Communication in the Digital Age' by Porterfield and Carnes and 'Social Media for School Leaders' by Dixon (both good old paperbacks) we agreed to challenge ourselves to step further into the world of social media and enter the domains of Facebook and Blogs.

Facebook is ideal for getting information out to our students and community on a daily basis: When is volleyball practice? Did parents get to see their child's report card? What soup is at lunchtime today? So many teenagers do not email at all, rather they text or use Facebook to interact with their peers. Facebook offers followers a route to respond to information; is volleyball for juniors or seniors? No I didn't get the report card, can it be mailed? Can I volunteer to serve soup next week? Facebook offers followers the additional opportunity to respond and offer their own insights: NSS Cougars rock -well done to the senior girls in Nelson! I'd loved to meet with teachers more rather than receive report cards! This week's soup was the best yet! Visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nakusp-Secondary-School/344398359038222 or just search for Nakusp Secondary School.

Blogging is an opportunity for the school leadership team to share thoughts, research and reflections on events an on educational change and practice. It works if responses are encouraged and dialogue is sustained. Do join our blog:  theviewfromnss.blogspot.com

'Stepping forward' implies change and 'The View From NSS' sees the opportunity that social media offers to engage our stakeholders in the life of the school further. There will be some hiccups but as our students experience every day, our school is a place where we are on the learning curve together.