This past Sunday, the sun was shining, it was 65 degrees, and I had a bit of a moment of clarity related to parenting in 2020 and beyond. My wife, two daughters, and I were playing in the backyard. We have a raised deck, and the bottom is open. Our two-year-old daughter and intrepid explorer, Claire, wandered under the deck to take a closer look at this brave, new world. Not even a minute later, I heard, "Come get me!" Claire was safe, but had wandered under the deck to some junk (for lack of a better term - I'll clean it out one of these days) and froze. I quickly ran to her in a crouch, scooped her up, and carried her out. This was when my epiphany struck me out of the clear blue sky: I do this a lot, and if I keep doing this, they'll never learn to avoid potentially risky situations. They'll learn that they can do as they please, and Mom and Dad will get them out of any tight spots they find themselves in. No resilience. No survival skills.

Certainly, it is our pleasure and duty to guide, help, and keep our kids safe; however, the temptation we face as parents is to rescue them quickly and hope for the best. We owe it to our kids to set them up for futures filled with independence, resilience, success, and happiness. To do that, we must equip our Eagles with the necessary skills and mindsets for these futures and empower them every step of the way with responsibility and relationship (Think Mufasa and Simba.). When we think it is necessary, we should always step in to intervene - they're kids. However, our kids become empowered when we let them find solutions to their problems themselves. They can always bounce these solutions off of us for our input; however, they gain true strength from generating and then implementing the solution - no matter how small the problem. In fact, the more we empower our kids in small matters the more we likely avoid larger ones down the road.

Speaking of empowering kids, tomorrow night is our annual variety show presented by the Norton Creek PTO. Come on out and be wowed by our Eagles and enjoy some popcorn and water on the house! Enjoy the weekend, Norton Creek!

VARIETY SHOW (K-5) vardalos6@gmail.com, danidemoon@comcast.net

We hope to see everyone at the show TOMORROW, Friday, March 13 at 6 PM. Your PTO will provide free popcorn and water for all those in attendance! DVDs of the show may be ordered HERE. The Norton Creek Bald Eagles team will be collecting donations for Cal’s Angels at the show, and all donations are greatly appreciated. Please see flyer below.

FIFTH GRADE YEARBOOK COVER CONTEST (5) ncyearbook.shelly@gmail.com

Designs are due TOMORROW, Friday, March 13. See flyer below.

CAL’S ANGELS (K-5) angie.miki@yahoo.com

Thank you to everyone who has helped the Norton Creek team raise funds to fight pediatric cancer. Donations are still being accepted HERE. The Cal’s Angels Just Shave It! event will take place THIS Saturday, March 14 at 5 PM at St. Charles North High School. Please see flyer below.

BUTTER BRAIDS FUNDRAISER (K-5) jennifersolare@hotmail.com

This PTO fundraiser was very popular last year! These delicious pastries are available in many flavors and will serve about 11 people per pastry. Order forms were sent home in backpacks and are due back at school on Thursday, March 19. Orders will be available for pickup in the Community Room on Thursday, March 26 from 3-5 PM. If you have any questions, please email Jen Solare at the address above.

EARTH SAVERS SKIP A STRAW DAY (K-5) angpigoni@gmail.com, mjwesner@ymail.com

The Earth Savers Club encourages all of us to reduce plastic waste, protect wildlife and help the environment by participating in Norton Creek Skip a Straw Day on Friday, March 20. See flyer below.

LUNCH SCHEDULES:

Kindergarten: 11:40 - 12:00

1st Grade: 12:00 - 12:20

2nd Grade: 12:20 - 12:40

3rd Grade: 12:40 -1:00

4th Grade: 11:00 - 11:20

5th Grade: 11:20 -11:40