O Give Thanks

Today I'm feeling thankful

for passion,

for provision,

for partnerships.

As I begin a week-long break away from school

and reflect on this past semester at my home away from home,

I'm thankful for the enthusiasm and motivation,

for the encouragement, support and care

that I see teachers, assistants, mentors and volunteers

lovingly bathe our students in every day. 

 So before break, our leadership team used this template we created to write notes of affirmation, to tell our faculty and staff how who they are and how what they do is key to our success. And to thank them.

Click on the graphic to download the template.

I got to write one for Fred, our amazing handyman,

whose office is right across the way from mine.

I taped it on his door Tuesday after he'd left, so this is what he found Wednesday morning when he got to school.

That was so much fun, to express our gratitude in that way.

It did my heart good to mine for greatness,

to not only appreciate but to affirm them, 

to reflect on something special and unique

about each and every one of them.

I'm feeling incredibly thankful to work in a place

where generosity isn't just an ideal, but an everyday virtue.

Check out this adorable visual that a third-grade leader made to help inspire a collection of nearly one thousand items for our local food pantry this week.

It was fun to watch students open and close the door

as they walked passed this Food Drive reminder up front.

On Friday, I decided to thank and uplift our students

in the form of a personalized song on my ukulele.

Using the tune He's Got The Whole World In His Hands, 

I re-wrote the words and sang it loud and proud 

as students entered our building and headed down the hallway.

It went something like this:

We've got a lot of kindness

in our school.

We've got a whole lot of kindness

in our school.

We've got so very much kindness

in our school.

We've got so many kind kids in our school.

We've got Luke and Lilly

in our school.

We've got Angel and Devrie,

Harley, too.

We've got Grant and Jeremiah

in our school.

We've got a lot of kind kids in our school.

And so on. I added new names as students walked in

and adjusted the lyrics and rhythm to make it all fit.

Later that afternoon, one of the girls came by my office

to thank me for writing a song for her.

And it touched my heart.

Gratitude is circular like that, 

creating a win-win,

touching both the giver and the receiver

in tangible and intangible ways. 

Today I'm feeling thankful ... for you, dear friends.

For your visits to the Corner,

and for your desire to plant, nourish,

grow and harvest seeds of character and strength.

O give thanks ...