A Tribute of JOY to Donna Fontenot
January 14th- January 18th 2019
Week of JOY to Celebrate the Life and Legacy of Donna Fontenot, Our Chief Energy Officer
On Friday, December 28th, Donna transitioned to The Energy Bus in the Sky leaving behind a legacy filled with joy, love, and positive energy.
We would like to invite you and your team to join us as we celebrate the life and legacy of Donna as well as all of our friends and/or family members that transitioned on their journey in 2018.
Although this is a very sad time for many of us, it is important that we not only grieve the loss of our loved ones, but that we celebrate the life and love that they brought into our lives.
Donna was and will always be an important part of our Energy Bus Family as she supported us with many of the day-to-day activities and operations. She was dedicated and passionate about ensuring that every person she encountered had a positive experience. While Donna is not with us physically, her spirit will forever remain a part of The Energy Bus as we continue to share JOY with others, just as she worked to bring joy to our students and staff.
One of her goals in life was to impact students in a special way and we observe that each day in all that you do to make our schools a more positive place to work and learn.
Our week-long Celebration of Life and JOY will include the following:
Monday, January 14th SMILE at someone you don't know.
Tuesday, January 15th Pass out Fuel-A-Ride Slips (*attached below) recognizing those people who make your school/office a better place.
Wednesday, January 16th Compliment the first three people you talk to today.
Thursday, January 17th Post inspirational sticky notes (kind messages or quotes) around your school, office, or neighborhood.
Friday, January 18th
Ballon Release - Fueling The Energy Bus in the Sky-- with Black and Yellow Balloons. We will release balloons at 1:30 pm CST.
Because we will be celebrating in different time zones, feel free to host your release at a time that works for you. **Please video your release and post to our Facebook Page at The Energy Bus for Schools Leadership Journey or on Twitter at @EnergyBusSchools using hashtag #WEWILLREMEMBER
You may choose to do your release with a small group of adults or you may invite students to be a part of your release. If students will be present for the release, you may modify the script below:
Balloon Release Speech (If Students are Present):
Before balloons are released say:
As we complete a week of Joyful Activities, we are standing with schools from all over the country as we celebrate life and positive energy! Our dream is to have a school that's safe and free of bullying . This means we have a school with positive teachers and staff, positive students, and positive families where we are all engaged learners and working together to create positive learning experiences.
Ask: What traits would we like to see in others in our school/community?
Example: kind, happy, nice, enthusiastic, loving etc. Have team members use black markers to write the words on a few of the yellow balloons prior to the release.
Say: Once we release these balloons, we also release these words into the universe along with many other schools, as we plan to create a more positive learning experience for students and educators. These words alone will not make our schools positive, but your positive actions will. So do you commit to helping create a school where every person feels valued, respected, and appreciated?
So do you pledge to (repeat the words that were written on the balloons)
Be Positive (Students Chant: Yes! Yes! Yes!)
Be Kind (Students Chant: Yes! Yes! Yes!)
Be Joyful (Students Chant: Yes! Yes! Yes!)
End Release with your school song or an upbeat song to signify the ceremony has ended.
Thank you for participating in our week long celebration of JOY as we remember Donna and others that have helped to shape our lives and our world.
"The best legacy you could leave is not some building that is named after you or a piece of jewelry but rather a world that has been impacted by your presence, your joy, and your positive actions." - The Energy Bus
With positive energy,
Niki Spears & The Energy Bus for Schools Family