A look back at the first half of the year

There is so much joy in watching children learning as they grow.

I’m happy to report after reviewing our mid-year data, that our students are learning. The teachers and staff, supported by our families and volunteers, continue with their strong practices, always looking for ways to improve learning opportunities.

We all know that our students learn more at school than the academic standards. As a Leader in Me school, we use the Habits to ensure that we have a structure to support this learning. Much of the evidence to show student growth in these areas is anecdotal, but it is inspiring nonetheless. It is a joy to discover through conversations that they understand what it means to be proactive and that they are in charge of their decisions. It is even more fun to see how pleased they are when those decisions lead to achievement.

When watching students work together to plan a community service activity, we see evidence of synergizing and thinking win-win.

When they listen to a classmate, congratulate a friend, offer empathy in a conversation, and apologize when they’ve made a mistake, they are showing they know what it means to listen first to understand. Recently, we were asking students if they would have been friends with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer when he didn’t have any friends. Everyone said yes. When asked what advice they would give him, without prompting, students replied with the name of a habit, such as Synergize or Think Win-Win.

Given the opportunity to participate in a spirit day or activity, our students will gleefully accept the opportunity to sharpen the saw. These moments and conversations are joyful insights for educators because they confirm that we are helping to grow kind leaders who will be able take responsibility and work well with others.

As we celebrate during this holiday season, I hope we all can all enjoy a moment of awe as we think of our children. They are precious to us exactly as they are and it is a joy to see all that they can become as they continue to learn.