JMMS Weekly Update
January 8, 2021
Principal's Message
Good Afternoon Alpine,
This past summer, I clipped a July 2020 New York Times piece written by Neha Chaundhary, entitled, "Rituals Keep These Athletes Grounded. They Can Help Parents, Too: With stress levels high during the pandemic, every day can feel like overtime. Here's how to take back control." The author's suggestion that rituals are anchors to help bring us "calm and focus" is a message we need today. She wrote, "In addition to calming nerves and focusing the mind; rituals play a big role in reminding people who they are and giving them back a sense of power over their world, both of which are critical during times of stress and uncertainty." (Chaundhary, 2020). One suggested ritual from the article used by Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who created a workout playlist called "Airplane Mode." He explained that he would "shut off" the outside while listening and focusing on exercising.
As we return from winter break, I cannot add new resolutions to my workload. My January is for doubling down on what is good. "What is good" means any action or activity we do that reminds us why we do what we do. I am interested in these questions, "What is working well to foster a sense of security for students that I want to continue?" and "What activities have been conducive for community building at Joan MacQueen?" Now, more than ever, it is a time to bolster our favorite rituals and continue them into 2021.
A positive mindset is crucial to doing good. Below, I shared a video by one of my favorite motivational speakers, Navy Seal, David Rutheford and I wish all of you a very, very POSITIVE NEW YEAR!
Sincerely,
Casey Currigan
Developing a Positive Attitude
January Action for Happiness Calendar
Click on the calendar to see a larger view.
End of Second Quarter is Jan. 22nd
The end of Quarter 2 is January 22nd. Report Cards will be available for viewing online on February 3rd.
January Virtual Fun Fridays
Join us every Friday in January for our Virtual Fun Fridays!
Change in Schedule for Upcoming Monday Holidays
Online Expectations
- Shut Down - Stop attending and stop doing work.
- Act Out - Behavior is complicated and students who act up will do so because they don't want people to know they are struggling.
- Step Up - Pull up their boots and work even harder.
We want all of our Dust Devils to fall in category number three but unfortunately, that isn't the case. We do have a team that is reaching out to families that fall under number one to support those students and for the students in category number two will identify those students requiring all students to follow these guidelines for distance learning. The most important guidelines are that we want students to log in with an AUSD device. When they login we want them to have their full name and a live picture up and running. Please assist us in supporting your child by reading this document and discuss the requirements.
Joan MacQueen Middle School
Email: ccurrigan@alpineschools.net
Website: https://www.alpineschools.net/o/jmms
Location: 2001 Tavern Road, Alpine, CA, USA
Phone: (619) 445-3245
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Joan.MacQueen