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 successAnd 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.
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 ... 






2 comments

  1. So thankful for you Barbara! You are like the frosting on my cupcake!!! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving break.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Elizabeth. I am so eager to come home to Wisconsin one day and meet you in person! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

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