use of adjectives and compound and complex sentences. So, he should
try to write like Hemingway. Keep sentences short and simple. Use bul-
lets instead of paragraphs. Be terse and to the point. Use short words: the
fewer syllables, the better. Appendix B is a sample of a weekly bulletin
from the second week of the school year. You can judge for yourself if
these stylistic rules were adhered to.
Let’s look more closely at the weekly bulletin, a common practice in
most schools. When Ms. Hildebrand first became a middle school princi-
pal, she continued the practice of her predecessor. The bulletin was a one-
page listing of the special events scheduled during each day of the week.
It consisted only of items like those at the top of page 1 in the sample
provided in appendix B. In addition to being a waste of paper, she realized
she was missing an opportunity to communicate important information
to staff on a weekly basis. She expanded the bulletin to include items of
policy, reminders to read pertinent items in the Teacher Handbook, kudos
for staff, and so forth.
For two years, Ms. Hildebrand spent an hour or so each Thursday com-
posing this bulletin for the next week before realizing that many items
were repeated year to year. The school year is cyclic. What is important
the first week of 2011 will be important the first week of 2012. By saving
each bulletin in a weekly bulletin document folder, going from week 1
to week 40, Ms. Hildebrand could revise and update the previous year’s
bulletins instead of totally rewriting them.
In her third year, she further refined this method: New items were
listed first with recurring items following, so that experienced teachers
could easily locate new policies and procedures. The content of the bul-
letins became a supplement to the Teacher Handbook previously issued
to all staff. Later, she added different types of items, such as nonfiction
books of interest. A staff expects the principal to be a scholar as well as
an administrator.
Ms. Hildebrand soon found that other administrators and teachers
wanted items included in the weekly bulletin. At first, she just added these.
Later, all such items had to be submitted to her secretary by Wednesday of
the previous week, allowing them to be reviewed for appropriateness be-
fore they were incorporated into this official school bulletin. Some, such
as those submitted by the supervisor of guidance services, were standard
and became part of the bulletin repeated every year. Some were frivolous
132 Chapter 10