Happy December!
How did that happen? On behalf of the administration I want to say thank you again for everything you do and thanks for celebrating with us on Friday. I have spent the weekend reflecting on how grateful I am to work for Ashland High School and with all of you. I am grateful to work with a community that is so committed to making sure Ashland students are ready to be young adults that make an impact on their world.
Thursday, as you know, we held our first ever Challenge Day. I spent the day with 70 students and 18 other faculty members having fun, dancing, laughing, getting serious, shedding tears, and making plans for how to make AHS a school community that does more to accept everyone for who they are. We talked about empathy, respect, kindness, and more. It was a powerful day for our students and I can't wait to see what they do to keep the ripples of kindness and caring moving forward.
Friday was filled with kids sharing their stories and excitement about the day with friends. I saw kids make sure others weren't sitting alone at lunch, stopping to say hi to teachers, and my favorite thing was the senior who stopped me to say.."Ms. St. Coeur, that was life-changing. I am a different person because of yesterday. Thank you." I heard about students who were disappointed to not be a part of the day and teachers who felt the participants were hand-picked. There were teachers who felt missing class for something like this was not appropriate. The facilitators started the day by reminding us that if students social-emotional learning was addressed first, everything else comes that much easier. I agree. When our students are emotionally healthy they are far more ready to learn.
On Friday Marybeth Gallant was inspired as an adult participant of Challenge Day to share this calendar. She and some students posted this calendar around the building. Join us in doing an act of kindness each day for the month of December and spread the kindness.
I hope your department conversations about the NEASC standards went well this week. I am looking forward to meeting with the liaisons on Tuesday to generate a plan for our Self-Reflection,
Have a wonderful week!
How did that happen? On behalf of the administration I want to say thank you again for everything you do and thanks for celebrating with us on Friday. I have spent the weekend reflecting on how grateful I am to work for Ashland High School and with all of you. I am grateful to work with a community that is so committed to making sure Ashland students are ready to be young adults that make an impact on their world.
Thursday, as you know, we held our first ever Challenge Day. I spent the day with 70 students and 18 other faculty members having fun, dancing, laughing, getting serious, shedding tears, and making plans for how to make AHS a school community that does more to accept everyone for who they are. We talked about empathy, respect, kindness, and more. It was a powerful day for our students and I can't wait to see what they do to keep the ripples of kindness and caring moving forward.
Friday was filled with kids sharing their stories and excitement about the day with friends. I saw kids make sure others weren't sitting alone at lunch, stopping to say hi to teachers, and my favorite thing was the senior who stopped me to say.."Ms. St. Coeur, that was life-changing. I am a different person because of yesterday. Thank you." I heard about students who were disappointed to not be a part of the day and teachers who felt the participants were hand-picked. There were teachers who felt missing class for something like this was not appropriate. The facilitators started the day by reminding us that if students social-emotional learning was addressed first, everything else comes that much easier. I agree. When our students are emotionally healthy they are far more ready to learn.
On Friday Marybeth Gallant was inspired as an adult participant of Challenge Day to share this calendar. She and some students posted this calendar around the building. Join us in doing an act of kindness each day for the month of December and spread the kindness.
I hope your department conversations about the NEASC standards went well this week. I am looking forward to meeting with the liaisons on Tuesday to generate a plan for our Self-Reflection,
Have a wonderful week!
Ashland Raises Healthy & Happy Kids: Eleven Ways to Spread Kindness With Your Family
1. Say thank you to your local fire-fighters or police officers by surprising them with homemade sweet treats or coffee.
2. In line at the drive-through? Pay for the person behind you before they reach the window (the worker taking your order should be able to tell you the amount).
3. Tape coupons to different products around the grocery store — what parent wouldn't love seeing a coupon for diapers?
4. Hand out rolls of quarters at the laundromat.
5. Write thank you notes to people that you don't say "thank you" to often enough — like your favorite barista who always gets your order right, or your favorite gym instructor for creating a workout you love.
6. Tape up inspiring notes inside of dressing rooms, because when it comes to trying on clothes with full body mirrors and fluorescent lights, everyone can use a vote of confidence.
7. Buy a bouquet of flowers for a friend, just because.
8. Pay the bill for someone sitting alone at a restaurant. Or anyone in the restaurant who inspires you in some way.
9. Feed the parking meters for strangers.
10. Create a diaper-change care package and leave it in a public bathroom. At some point, an unprepared mom in need of a diaper for her baby will love you for this!
11. Next time there's a sale on canned goods, buy extra and donate them to the Ashland Food Pantry.
Missing a day of class, gaining a lifetime of value.
ReplyDeleteFor as long as I can remember, school was the place you entered in order to learn the impact of historical events, and how to read and write about them with clear intent. It was the place to experiment with compounds and body parts. It was the place where learning and hopefully excitement about learning happened. End of story. That was then. Now we know this is not the end of the story.
More and more, we see a growing need in our population to better understand and manage their own emotions and place in the world. Whether it is the multi-edged sword of technology (from research to instant gratification to social media to interactive tools and beyond), the complexity of an ever-speedier society, the language and impact of national politics on real lives, or other factors we need to take notice of, the facts about students' stress, and their limited ability to cope and understand the world is real. It is not only impacting their lives, it is preventing us from being able to do what we all have loved doing for so long, imparting knowledge, helping students grow through daily experiences in our classrooms, being a rock for them, even when all they see is a stone.
Through Challenge Day, I felt something I had never felt as a teacher. I felt the trust of students who didn't know a thing about me. I felt the emotional pain and strain every single one of these students face. I've always seen and known it was there in individuals, but through Challenge Day I came to confirm what I've always believed: everyone has struggles, but not everyone knows how to handle them and knows who they can trust. I came to believe that Challenge Day was not only a singular important event, but it was a vital starting point to putting our money where our mouth is. We say we care about our students. How do we show them? All of them? Each and every kid deserves for us to find out how.
I realize some of my fellow teachers feel this was not what our students should be doing with their school day. I myself hemmed and hawed about participating. Not only was it the right call to participate, it is exactly the type of thing our students need to succeed at life, not just school. I hope the next time Challenge Day comes to Ashland, you will consider encouraging your students, not discouraging them, to participate, and I Challenge you to go find out what it is all about. You may never be the same.