BEeautiful Beginnings

Happy Friday; have you gone back to school yet? 

We finished day three today; what a jolt of joy it was

to savor those last seconds of summer and then

get back to the business of beautiful new beginnings at Bales.

Today one of my students brought this light box to me,

the perfect message for the entrance of our learning space.

Life is good as I start year number 34. 

Lots of laughter and joy-filled hugs

as we reunited and reconnected.

Today at lunch, some of my fifth-grade superheroes saved me a spot and taught me how to take a selfie. Isn't that super fun?

We got a starburst version of Susan Fuller's BE board idea up. 

I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

I led six growth mindset learning sessions in the last six days and my favorite part was that my dad and his wife, who were in town for Jacob's graduation, got to attend four of them, leaving my heart so SO happy. 

What a beautiful experience, to spend time with other school families encouraging their calling to build relationships. 

To help them communicate to students how much they matter. 

To help them make school a safe and cheerful place 

that their students can call home.

A place where students feel without a doubt that they belong. 

Belonging. 

What a BEautifully powerful concept. 

I'm so grateful to my friends in Angleton ISD and Clear Creek ISD for the opportunity to supercharge their school families and get them ready for their own beautiful beginning.

So tonight, as I lay my head on the pillow,

I'm exhausted but energized.

And I'm ready for an emotionally-loaded weekend

as we take the boys to Texas A & M for the next step

in each of their journeys, Joshua for his undergrad studies

and Jacob to work on his graduate degree.

Need some ideas for engaging parents as partners in your character building? Click {here} for my Free Spirit guest post from this week. I also blogged for School Leaders Now if you'd like to check out my reflections on Restorative Practices. The Spot It! game was a huge success with our staff. 
You might also connect with this list of picture Books That Inspire Hope.

Happy new year.