Tiger Tribute
Week of: June 3rd-7th
Perspective
Perspective. I have been thinking about perspective for the past three or four weeks and it has shown up in so many ways to me. We can look at exactly the same thing and we can come up with different answers. Those answers are shaped by our life experiences, our current situations, our hopes or our fears. Regardless of what shapes our views, I appreciate that EVERYONE at Fair Grove is there for one reason. They pour themselves out into the kids that they teach, the kids that they serve, the kids that they supervise, the kids that they make sure all of the money is correct for, or the kids that they make sure all of the paperwork is in order for....The adults at Fair Grove are there for the kids. Period. I appreciate that more than you will ever know. So as we move into summer and we reflect on the past year, there was more good than bad and in the bad I hope we learned something and we can come back even better and stronger next year.
I want to share an excerpt from Aaron's "Hive Happenings" newsletter that he shares at Hopewell. I am going to quote it directly because I won't do it justice otherwise.
For a bit of background, in case you aren't aware, a Randolph County Elementary School, Gray's Chapel, tragically lost a student recently when she ran into the path of a car while waiting for her bus to arrive.
"I have been debating about putting this in writing, but it will not get out of me, I fear, if I do not. A few weeks ago, we lost a student at Gray's Chapel. I was talking to Mr. Reeves about how they were doing and hoping that his school was ok after such a horrible loss. He told me one of the most sad things that I think I have ever heard. They did not know why the little girl had run across the road when she got hit. What they did know was typically, the mom was there at the bus stop with them. The day before, she had been late to work, and she felt like she really needed to get to work early that day, so she left a little early in order to get to work. The position she was in was to supervise her kid and ensure their safety or go to work and make sure that she was able to pay the bills and make sure that they had food to eat. She made a choice (both hard choices) and she will have to live with that choice for the rest of her life. She will undoubtably blame herself, though she shouldn't. That story tore me apart. It also got me thinking, we have no idea the choices that parents are having to make every day for their kids. We have no idea of the troubles that our parents are bringing to our conversations with them. We have no idea how much of those troubles are transferred to the kids. So this is a really stinky situation. There is no way around that. So perspective tells me this. Those things are there, they are living those things, and we still have to operate from a position of standards and a position of rules and procedures."
Perspective. Thank you for the way you handle these things. You hold students, parents, and each other to very high standards, but you do it in a way that involves grace and mercy. You teach students, not content (but you also teach content very well).
Enjoy your last week with this group. There will be more in the fall and they will all come with their own little nuances and issues. We have just the right thing for them though.
Have a great week!
5th Grade Graduation/Final Walk
On Friday morning, our 5th graders will participate in their awards ceremony/graduation. It begins at 9:00 am. Once complete, the 5th graders will do their final walk through the halls of Fair Grove. We will make an announcement when it is time for this to begin. Please bring your kiddos into the hall at this time to cheer for them.
Noise makers, posters, and any other embellishments you can use to make this an exciting time would be wonderful!
Weekly Events
Monday, June 3rd
- Grades Due
Tuesday, June 4th
- 3rd Grade Read to Achieve Test
- Kindergarten Awards, 10:30 AM, multi-purpose room
- PBIS EOY Celebrations, K-2 @ 1:00; 3-5 @ 1:45
- Barr, EOY Evaluation
Wednesday, June 5th
- 3rd/4th Grade Awards, 8:30 in multi-purpose room
- Benchmark Window Closes
- 2nd Grade Awards, 12:30 in classrooms
Thursday, June 6th
- Friendly Dental Van
- 5th Grade Graduation Practice @ 12:45, multi-purpose room
- 1st grade awards @ 1:00pm, classrooms
- SEL Team meeting, 3pm
Friday, June 7th
- 5th Grade Graduation, 9:00am, multi-purpose room
- early dismissal, 12:00pm
- PTO will be providing drinks and desserts for staff