JMMS Weekly Update
April 23, 2021
Principal's Message
In light of the current atmosphere here in Alpine and across America, I would like to share a story and some resources that you might find helpful. I grew up in a rural community outside of Denver without a great deal of exposure to anyone who was significantly different from my family. My one exception was my best friend, Marty Labadie. He is an African American, the only one at a small private church school. We were in the same grade, we were neighbors and that meant we were friends. He knew my story and I knew his story.
After high school, I joined the Marine Corps, and it was my opportunity to see the world and meet people from around the globe. It was also my first experience in seeing groups of people segregate based on race, religion, and many other reasons. Being a young, naive Marine from a small town in Colorado I didn't want to make waves, so I stayed in my lane.
As October of 1990 rolled around, and our platoon had a shake-up, and I was assigned a new spotter, a young African American lance corporal from Houston, Texas named Sam Bass. The year prior in the 1st Tank Battalion, I developed a story of Sam. Getting to spend the next six months with Sam in some extremely stressful places, I learned Sam's story. It turns out the story I created was far from the truth. It also turns out, Sam’s story of me was also false. We had both been duped by developing a single story of each other.
What did I take from that experience? A lifetime of wanting to learn the story of the people who surround me. It reminds me of the anonymous quote, "You can't understand someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes."
Moving forward, please encourage your child to not assign stories to individuals based on race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, ethnic group identification, ancestry, religion, gender, gender identification, mental or physical disability. Learn the individual's story and judge people by the quality of their character and actions.
In the same light, social media can be a great way to bring people together it can also divide by creating single stories around people, events, and situations. I encourage everyone to take social media with a grain of salt. We often don’t have the full story and we can be emotional with our responses and we continue to widen our divide. Before you react to this message, do you know my story?
Link to a phenomenal Ted Talk on this same topic.
It is time to start having conversations.
Sincerely,
Casey Currigan, Principal
Joan MacQueen Middle School
In the edition of the Weekly Update
- Year Book
- California Healthy Kids Survey
- State Testing
- 8th Grade End of the Year Activities
- Luau
- Promotion
- Promotion Speakers Needed
- Dress Code
Poetry Contest
Aiden Rhinehart, Alexis Shepard, Amaya Thomas, Ariana Parent, Benjamin Martinez, Brooklynn Cross, Buddy Wilkerson, Caitlyn Eagle, Cole Klingshirn, Daionna Blaylock, Dawn Destache, Ethan Hiebing, Ian Zuniga Medina, Jacques de Bruin, Jesse Morales, Josephine Knapp, Kali Sabin, Liam Deegan, Mikayla Hiland, Mikayla McGhen, Payton Henry, Ronin Tomeldan, Savannah Ransom, Sophia Mayoral, and Trinity Herrin
Order Your Yearbook Now
State Testing
California Healthy Kids Survey
Speakers Needed for Promotion
Students should turn their speeches into Mrs. Wetton ASAP. Mrs. Wetton will work with students to refine their papers. Then they will record themselves giving the speech. The 8th Grade team will select two students to give their speech during the promotion. Students should see Mrs. Wetton for more details.
8th Grade Luau
8th Grade Promotion
Promotion Dress Code
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