I've thought a lot about this last blog post over the past few months. I've prayed that I would be able to find the right words to say to people who mean so much to me. As I was driving home from school the other day, I was reminded of the saying "All good things must come to an end". But for me, this school isn't just a good thing, it's the BEST thing.
So today I will say-THE BEST THING HAS COME TO AN END. With that said, I'm so thankful for the memories and all I've learned from this place. Thank YOU for being on this journey with me.
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Yesterday, I was gifted the book "The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse" after meeting with the interim principal at Tremont Elementary School. I already have the book but she wanted me to take it anyway, when I got home, I opened the book to a random page and this is what it said.
"What do you think success is? " asked the boy "To love" said the mole. I smiled because, it's true and it's what we do here and what you will keep doing here at J.W. even after I go. My friend sent me a text a couple days ago with this video included. The words she wrote touched my heart-she said, "You need to watch this video because it reminder me of you and your staff!" So, I watched the video. PLEASE TAKE A LOOK---it's about 4 min and totally worth it. What I love most is that my friend (who does not have kids at JW) can tell by our posts and by the way I talk about this school and all of you that we all LOVE our kids, just the same way the teacher who the dad is referring to in the video. Each year in May, I find myself starting to reflect on the end of the school year. And, each year, I send the same message. Keep going until the very last day...our kids need us!
For many of our students, JW Reason is the best place! It's a fun place. It's a place full of friends and amazing adults who they love! So, while we are are VERY excited for our own summer breaks, let's remember that some of our students may not be. Let's remember that LOVE IS AN INTERVENTION now more than ever. So, keep loving them, helping them feel safe and letting them know that we love spending our days with them. I overheard the best conversation in the IDC on Tuesday.
Many of you know our first grade friend, Sophia (but if you don't, go visit her in Emily's room). I popped into the IDC to check on the ducks but Mrs. Plihall told me that Mr. Smalley (our librarian) had them visiting classrooms. Sophia overheard the conversation and began asking Mrs. Plihall some questions. This is how the conversation went: Sophia-"Where is the mother duck?" Mrs. Plihall-"On the farm!" Sophia, looking perplexed and after a brief pause to think-"You took her eggs?" Me, inside my head-(Uh oh!) Sue-"These are special ducks for school!" Sophia, now extremely suspicious just kind of stares at Sue as if Sue has committed a crime. I got the heck out of the IDC because I didn't want my name associated with stealing eggs from a mother duck. As you know by now, I truly value the power of words. But, yesterday your actions spoke louder than any words could have. I was trying to plan the perfect way to tell you that I was leaving while making sure you knew that my reason had nothing to do with not being at this place you all of you. When I walked out of the room and you clapped, it truly melted my heart. Thank you for supporting me and for being understanding. And, know that it is has been one of my greatest joys to be the principal here.
Now, don't worry, my blog posts for the rest of the year won't be this mushy! Thank you all for your support, kind words and actions and for all of your love. Love is an intervention. Saturday was skydiving day for Rocco and me. It was his 18th birthday present. I thought I was a really awesome mom because he wanted me to do it with him and I said yes. Then, I realized a few things about myself:
1-I'm older than I think I am. 2-I have a unique ability to not worry about things that are potentially very dangerous until I'm in the middle of doing them. 3-Once I set my mind to something you can't talk me out of it. I do not think that these are good qualities. Here is my skydiving story. Zero Stars—-DO NOT RECOMMEND! If someone said you have to go skydiving or give up all of your worldly possessions and live in the street for the rest of your life, I would pick the latter. Here’s what happened. I jumped out of a plane at 11,500 feet. I free fell at 120mph for about 40 seconds. That was scary but not the worst part. When the parachute opened there was about 5 seconds of thinking “WOW!” Then my instructor asked me to grab the handles to control the shoot. I reached up and grabbed them. Then he said, “do you want to make a 360 turn so you can see the view?” In my head I thought “no!” But before I could answer he said, “pull the right handle” and we start spinning. That’s when I started to feel nauseous. Then for the rest of the ride to earth I was desperately trying not to throw up on the poor man I was attached to. I had to close my eyes to help with the motion sickness and dry heaved all the way to the ground. After I landed, the people had to make me sit on the couch and attached me to a pulse ox machine. I couldn’t even drive home. Thank god Rococo can drive. When I got home I laid under a weighted blanket and took Xanax. The end. Not everyone can be a winner. And today a few teachers proved that. They dug deep all week finding peeps, hiding peeps and strategizing. They came to school early, they stayed late. They never gave up. They faced each day with grit and determination and...it paid off. They became PEEP WARS champions. And these teachers, in the picture below....well, they're the losers.... The only advice I can give to these losers is......START BEING MORE LIKE THE WINNERS.
Have a great spring break friends! Today I was beyond excited when I found out that Alex Beekman was presenting and the admin meeting! <insert "fan girl" gif> He definitely didn't disappoint! He started his presentation with this slide. Take a look and then I want you to pay close attention to the names of kids who may pop into your mind. This quote made me think about those kids who seem to be causing issues and events for others on a daily basis. But, then if made me start to think about why they may not feel "embraced by the village". As an adim team we were then able to hear some quotes from our very own middle school and high school students from all Hilliard six buildings. It was amazing to hear about what school is like from the perspective of kids who may be in trouble often, failing classes or having serious attendance issues.
In my small group we discussed how the SYSTEM of school may be setting some kids up to feel like they are not embraced by the village. But, then, I challenged my group to not use the SYSTEM as an excuse and to think about the small interactions with have with kids or the slight changes we CAN make in the system to help them feel like they belong here. Our team started talking about what our process is when kids are tardy, we discussed that they (or their parents) are asked "Why are you late?" We talked about the implications of this being the very first words spoken to a child as he or she enters school. We then realized that a simple shift could be that we instead greet the child with a happy "Hi! I'm so glad you're here!" What a different way to start the day! Our conversations that branched into other parts of the day that simple shifts in our own language or expectations could positive impact children. I challenge you to reflect on times that you may be causing a child to feel that he or she is not embraced by the village. What can you do to help with this? Is it simply changing they way you approach a seemingly negative situation? Is it pulling a small group of some of your kids who are "burning the village" and asking them what you can do to help; how they feel about school or just simply having a positive conversation with them? How many of our kids have only negative interactions with adults at school? This question is a hard one to ask ourselves, but it is crucial. Today's admin meeting came at the perfect time for me. It aligns with the thinking we are doing as we read Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain and it connects with the thinking we will be doing at our Friday staff meeting. I'm excited to continue the journey of Culturally Responsive Teaching with all of your and continue to live our motto LOVE IS AN INTERVENTION. On March 15, 2021, just two short years ago, we welcomed our entire student population back to school after a year of eLearning and then hybrid instruction. This day seems like forever ago and yesterday all at the same time. When I saw this picture pop up on my memories yesterday, I was reminded of so many emotions and thoughts we all had that day. While we were excited to get back to some sense of normal, we were all worried about what would come next. It's nice to know that we've made it to the other side of a Global Pandemic in one piece. We've all learned so much.
Today I reflect on the most important things I learned form March 2020-today: 1-We work really well as a team at JW. 2-Love is TRULY an intervention. 3-If we need to make something work, we will! 4-I never want to wear a mask again. 5-Thank goodness for grocery delivery. Have a great day, friends! |
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