The Principal's Corner:
As many of you know in addition to being the principal, I also coach soccer for the Michigan Jaguars, and this year I have a group of 5th-grade girls who are amazing. In my 11 years of coaching, this is the first team I’ve had where I did not have a single behavioral problem, a problem with a parent, a moment where someone was acting immature or unsportsmanlike, or a player not complete her soccer work (journal, extra practice, draw the corner kicks out, define the jobs of each player on the field). In fact, we decided as a team that since we had such a strong bond with each other and wanted an extra challenge, we were going to take this season and play in the Director’s Academy, which would increase the competition and give us more opportunity to grow.
We knew it was going to be tough, and we knew we were going to have to change roles of players as we promoted one girl to our top team at tryouts. As the season ended this weekend we reflected on all we had learned. We play out of the back better than any team we faced, we were a defensive wall as stated by six other coaches we played against, every girl got to experience every position, and every girl grew technically and tactically as demonstrated by their decisions in the game. The parents, the kids, my assistant coach, and I were blown away at how well we play the game, and now these girls are getting looked at for our additional training and extra games by multiple coaches in our club even playing a year up. Oh, I forgot to mention - we lost or tied every game. Didn’t win a single one. If you were to grade us on our record alone, we would have gotten an F. But if you rank us on our knowledge gained, which our club does, we got an A.
I wanted to share this story because the community is going to get report cards and have conferences here pretty soon. There is going to be a little box with a letter in it and the vast majority of us have grown up where that little letter or number defines the year. Now do not get me wrong, I think getting good grades is important, but I also know that grades themselves do not tell the entire story.
There were two men who went to skydiving school to become instructors for skydiving. One of the men lived on an army base with his father and knew all the lingo for flight and parachute work. The other man was looking for work and was a thrill-seeker, but he did not have any prior knowledge of skydiving outside of doing it a few times.
The first man passed all the pre-course work with flying colors, he knew the proper words, he knew some basics, he completed everything they threw his way with 100%. The second man struggled a bit but worked hard to learn the basics, the lingo and ended up moving on with an 80%. Then came the day they were going to learn about packing a parachute. The first man slacked off because he thought he knew everything about packing a parachute and did not perform well on the task due to his lack of effort. The second man worked throughout the night studying, learning and practicing to make sure his parachute was perfect. They both took the test at the end, and the man who practiced ended up with 100% and the man who didn’t got an 80%, giving both students a 90% for the course, which was considered passing. So, they both got A’s. But who would you want to pack the parachute for you on your next jump?
As report cards come home and conferences kick off I hope our families view these two systems as tools to help students learn. I hope our conversations aren’t: “Why don’t you have straight (insert letter)” and more like: “What do you think we need to do to improve?” The best question my dad ever asked me on my report card was, “Are you proud of the grades you got?” (Spoiler - He wasn’t thrilled on all of them.) I was very proud of the B- I got in 6th-grade math because I worked tremendously hard for it and could verbalize it, but I was disappointed in the B+ I got in Social Studies because I knew I could have gotten a better grade. It worked because when he made me own my learning, I tried vastly harder in Social Studies the next time around. As the principal, I hope all of our students “get good grades,” but I hope even more that they “gain as much knowledge as possible” during their time here, regardless of the letter that shows up at the end. I hope they participate in clubs, I hope they develop a great work ethic, I hope they don’t make excuses, I hope they learn how to work with others, I hope they develop a love of reading, I hope they do the little things now that will make them successful in the long run.
My favorite part of the report card are the letters, next to the printed word NAME. I love those letters because those letters are the reason we are here, to help develop each student into the best possible person he or she can be.
MacGregor's Message:
HHS Presents “Peter and the Starcatcher”
The Howell High School Performing Arts Department will present “Peter and the Starcatcher,” November 8-10 in the Rod Bushey Performing Arts Center at Howell High School. Peter and the Starcatcher is the story of how an orphan becomes Peter Pan. In addition to the ticketed performances, there will be a special free sensory-friendly performance of “Peter and the Starcatcher” on Monday, November 4. To learn more about the sensory-friendly performance, please visit http://bit.ly/34iAawH. To read more about the show or to purchase tickets, please visit http://bit.ly/2IG1MUk.
Counselor’s Corner: Enjoying our Kids
As parents, the last thing we need is more pressure. There are so many things we feel obligated to do and provide for our kids: support with homework, access to healthy food, opportunities for exercise, books, playdates, mindful downtime. It’s tiring just thinking about it.
In our busy, saturated schedules, there are 9 minutes that have the greatest impact on a child: the first 3 minutes after they wake up, the first 3 minutes after they come home from school, and the last 3 minutes of the day before they go to bed.
Here are ten free and easy things we can do to make the most of those 9 minutes, and really connect with and bring joy to our kiddos:
- Make up silly goofy wake up songs
- Offer warm robe service
- Trace letters on their back and ask them to guess the word
- Write lunchbox notes
- Set up a gratitude jar or box right in the middle of the breakfast table - a great way to start the day
- Join your kids for lunch at their school if possible
- Stop at the park on the way home (even if for just 5-10 minutes)
- Designate one night of the week as dress-up dinner night (formally, or as characters)
- Create a family time capsule (each family member contributes one or two items)
Easiest one of all…
- Smile when you see your kids (they receive so much feedback and direction during the day, give them unconditional positive reinforcement and regard at home)
Your partner in education,
Sarah Boyd
School Counselor