To be Grateful

In addition to scrumptious turkey, delectable mashed potatoes, and the crème de la crème of the meal - cranberry sauce, Thanksgiving is about gratitude.  It provides a checkpoint in the year for all of us to take stock of our lives. Family, friends, and the people with whom we interact everyday are enriching; they teach us to love, to laugh, to forgive. They show us examples of PRIDE in big ways and in small.

On this eve of Thanksgiving, I'd like share with you a few of things I am grateful for:

• Our new redesigned Reading Room! Ms. JoAnn, Mrs. Pringle, Mrs. Worthington, & Mrs. Doukakis have spent countless hours preparing a new fantastically comfortable space for our students

• Teachers who are willing to step out of their comfort zone and use Number Talks and Three Act Lessons to engage students in deep mathematical thinking.  Just recently, I've observed Mrs. Dougherty, Mrs. Costello, Mrs. Hansberry, and Mr. Grundel doing exactly that!

• Rori and Jahnesha - two 5th graders - who consistently perform their role as morning announcers with aplomb

• All of our staff who agreed to be Student Success Mentors and focus on improving student attendance this year; thank you!

• Students who do the right thing, even when no one is looking.  This type of integrity is on display in each of our classrooms everyday

• Classes that have worked hard reading as many books as possible to win Humphrey for a week.  Thank you to Mrs. Pringle, Ms. Savage, Mrs. Costello, Ms. Saeger, and Ms. Frazier's students!

• For our support staff who strive everyday to help our neediest students to fulfill their infinite potential

• The smiles and hugs of students I receive every day; it means the world to me!

Having numerous things to be thankful for, I could not possibly list them all in this post. Surely, many of you feel the same way.  However, in the comment section below, please share with me two or three things you are grateful for in your life.  I would love to hear about them!

Happy Thanksgiving!