The Principal's Corner:
Families,
As many of you know, I coach soccer for the Michigan Jaguars soccer club and this past weekend I had a great conversation with a parent about his son and the year. For context, this parent has been with the club for several years and he is a principal of a middle school in another district. I asked him how the year was going, you know the typical banter when you haven’t seen someone in a while, and he said the year was going better than he could have hoped for. I followed up with, is he scoring lots of goals, the team winning a lot of games? There was a pause, and what he said next was truly one of the first times I have been caught off guard as a coach in the past 10 years.
He said no, the team has actually been struggling here a bit and my son is no longer playing forward. They moved him into the midfield which he was not used to. I was confused here a bit because normally when a parent says the year is going great, in terms of sports, they are talking about wins and losses but in this case, the father was over the moon excited that the team and his son was struggling. He continued to say, “Listen when we signed up for soccer years ago I wanted three things for my son. One to learn and get better at a sport, two to learn how to be a part of the team and everything that goes along with that, and three to learn how to deal with stuff he doesn’t really want to deal with. He said, “It doesn’t matter how many W’s the team gets if the kids don’t learn the teamwork and how to deal with the adversity part of the game at this age.”
That comment stuck with me this entire week. I remember when I was the youth director for the club I used to tell coaches that teams can win too much. Winning is fun, it shows great progress, but winning all the time at young ages doesn’t develop the mental aspects of the game that kids will have to learn in order to go the distance. When you lose, it naturally builds humility, self-reflection, and self-realization. I used to have my coaches teach kids how to deal with a loss or failure in a proactive way and to view failure as an opportunity to grow and get better. In soccer, as in school or life, we will all fail at something, we will struggle, and we will have to overcome. The number of stories you can tell about teams, students, athletes, and people failing before they succeeded are far too many to be a coincidence. Maybe a small lesson here is that you have to fail before you can succeed and that perhaps you can fail your way into success if you are able to learn from mistakes.
I always try to translate the field back into the school environment so when I reflect on that I always come back to maybe getting the A isn’t the end game. Maybe the endgame is what we’ve learned on our journey. Maybe if students haven’t lost or struggled in school we’ve missed a major part of elementary school, and perhaps getting a C could be the best learning opportunity for a child throughout the year. Or if I take the same soccer comment and change the W’s to A’s it would read, “It doesn’t matter how many A’s the student gets if he/she doesn’t learn the collaboration and how to deal with the adversity part of school at this age.”
Regardless of stance, I am glad this family is getting what they want out of youth sports at a young age. I know the lessons he learns this year will translate into his future and he will be a better student, player, son, and friend for learning those lessons as a 10-year-old.
All the best,
From The Teachers:
We Need Your Input: Parent Survey
Around this time each year we ask parents to respond to a survey which helps us know how we are doing from the parents' perspective. This survey is important to Hutchings, as it has an impact on the growth of staff which in turn has an impact on student achievement. Please take a moment of your time to let us know how we are doing. You may access the survey here: http://bit.ly/HPSImprove2018.
March Is Reading Month Notes:
Since we did not have school on Friday due to the snow day, Monday is going to be athletic day!
The Office Staff:
The Hutchings office is always happy to accept donations of clothing to be used when children become wet outside or when they have an accident during the day.
Following are examples of clothing needed.
Boys and girls stretch waist sweat pants.
Boys and girls short and long sleeved t-shirts.
Boys and girls underwear.
Socks, socks and more socks.
MacGregor's Message:
Register Your Kindergarten Student Online
This year, Howell Public Schools is offering online registration. This will allow parents to complete all of the required registration paperwork ahead of the Kindergarten Registration event on March 6. To register your child online, please visit the Kindergarten Registration webpage at https://goo.gl/k5pC8X. Parents who register their child online are encouraged to stop by KIndergarten Registration on March 6 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. for a tour of the school, to meet our kindergarten teachers and their principal. Additionally, all students registered on March 6, will receive a special stuffed animal with their graduation year on it.
Counselor’s Corner
As your school counselor, I am excited to bring you several exciting programs in the coming weeks and months! It is an honor to work with your child and with your school community. Here are some important events coming in the very near future!
2nd Grade Classes - Ability Awareness Day: Monday, March 5, 2018
Second grade students will participate in Ability Awareness Day: a program of activities designed to heighten sensitivity and appreciation for people who are perceived as “different.” Our second-grade teachers and I will help our students better understand how children with disabilities are just like other children through hands-on learning activities and an interactive puppet show! In the afternoon, students will meet and learn about some very special canine guests from Paws with a Cause!
Mobile Dentist: Tuesday, April 3, 2018
Health and wellness are both integral to success at school, and taking care of your child’s teeth is important to keep them healthy. Your child will be bringing home the Mobile Dentist permission slip in the coming weeks. If you wish for your child to receive this service, a state licensed dentist will check your child’s mouth and teeth and will provide a cleaning. If dental services are requested, please be sure to fill out that form and have your child return it to school as soon as possible. Also, please note that this spring, the Mobile Dentist will be at our school the day we return from Spring Break.
Weekend Survival Kits: Kits are delivered every other Friday throughout the school year
This year, Howell Public Schools has partnered with the Weekend Survival Kits (WSK) program. WSK is a supplemental food program that feeds children over the weekend when food can be uncertain. A typical kit will contain approximately two weekends worth of food servings that are discretely sent home with students every other Friday throughout the school year. There is no cost for your family to participate. A WSK flyer and application form was recently sent home with all students. If you are interested in participating in the WSK program, please complete the chart on the back of the letter that was sent home with your child and return it to school.
As always, feel free to reach out with any questions!
Your Partner in Education,
Jennifer Starkey, LPC
School Counselor