Thursday, August 28, 2014

It's Great to Be Back at School!

Welcome Back! I can't believe we have just completed our first week of school. It went by so quickly!

It's been a treat to visit each classroom to read and talk about the book Only One You by Linda Kranz. This book reminds us how each individual is special, important and unique. This book makes us think about our role in making the world a better place. Each student is creatively decorating a fish to display throughout the hallways in our school to show everyone at Curriculum Night that Dryden is a diverse "School of Friends" made up of very special, unique individuals.


Two quotes in this book recently inspired me:

"Try. If you don't try, someday you might wonder what you missed."

and

"Enjoy every day."

Even though there is much about school and learning that needs to be taken seriously and requires our best effort, it's important to find joy in our work. So, at our back-to-school assembly, I took the plunge and took my friend Nolan up on the Ice Bucket Challenge. I challenged our students to not only always uphold our school expectations of being safe, respectful and responsible but to also take time to play and enjoy each and everyday.


Over the summer I read the book Creating Innovators by Tony Wagner and learned that it is often through play that children discover their talents and their passions. And through pursuing their passions they often find their purpose, which will ultimately will help make the world a better place.