I've loved THIS Brandon Heath song since the first time I heard it.
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This is our theme this year at Holland Christian Schools.
ALL IN. Each year it takes me a few weeks to process what our theme of the year means to me. I've been thinking a lot about this one. Every time I begin to think about it I go back to one of my favorite Christian songs from my summer camp days. "I'm diving in, I'm going deep, In over my head I want to be, caught in the rush, lost in the flow, in over my head I want to go. The rivers deep, the rivers wide, the rivers water is alive, so sink or swim I'm diving in." That's how I feel about this year. That's my hope for my students, that they would dare to take the leap. That they would know that sometimes they might need a life vest or a hand to reach out and grab them when they are struggling, but that that we could celebrate diving in, trying, attempting, learning. I've seen a lot of videos recently of children taking swimming lessons. The "mean, horrible, hard-headed" swim instructor who tosses the children in the water and everyone waits in urgent expectation to see the child, often very young child, begin to flutter their arms and legs eventually making it safely to the ladder. I hold my breath every single time. I get so nervous. The reality is the instructor throws them towards the ladder and the child only has to swim a few feet, but they have to SWIM those few feet. The parent has to TRUST this crazy swim instructor, they have to TRUST that the things they have taught their child have made a different, and that their child is capable. This is HARD. I'm not yet a parent, but I can only imagine. Sending my child out to swim and hoping desperately that they are ready(ish). Ready enough that when they get tossed in the deep end they remember, they know, what they need to do. They go under, realize where they are and then one arm flails, the other arm follows, eventually a few leg kicks happen and they make it to the ladder. They have succeeded. They have survived. It might not be pretty, it might not be the way their parents would have done it, but the child has made it to the other side. This is all in for me. This is teaching and coaching and doing life with my students, friends, and family. This is what I want to be. I want my 'all in' to be me trusting everything that I am, everything that I have, and everything that my 'kids' will be to my Savior. He is our great Healer, Redeemer, Savior, Friend.
Considering our school theme this year is "life together" it's only fitting that sometimes school just feels like the biggest, happiest of families.
This week feels like this for me. I don't always know what brings this on, I don't always know why and how these feelings creep in, but some days (and weeks) I feel them more than others. I feel them because I watch these wonderful students and teachers doing life together in ways that are so wonderful. They are fun, full, busy, fast-paced, exciting days. ... but the moments. The moments between classes when you watch kids passing in the hall. The laughter that happens daily. When students take the time to help a classmate, and to love them well. When students offer to help a teacher with something that needs to get done. The passing questions of care and concern between teachers and students, but also from students to teachers. Middle schoolers have an incredible ability to care for people well. This is something I've noticed. They ask questions, they want to know what's going on, but they remember, and they ask. They take note of those around them and they are present in what is happening in their lives. I'm impressed by these middle school minds, hearts, and lives. It's FRIDAY! I love Fridays. As Dr. Fox would say "second wind Friday" and I'm feeling it. I feel it from students and teachers. It's wonderful. I makes it fun to be at school. Today we had our first installment of "eat with your friends Friday".Kids got to mix it up, eat with friends, and enjoy fellowship during lunch today. There was a buzz of excitement in the air, I am a fan. Following our "lunch time" we have 15 minutes of break. Typically these 15 minutes absolutely fly by, they just seem to disappear. Today time stood still. Today, time stood still as I watched my students running around the halls, doing everything in their power to put a sticky note on every single locker in this building. Middle school students decided "Hey- let's leave some notes of encouragement for our classmates" and that's exactly what they did. I watched Mrs. Smith grabbing pens and sticky notes, and kids filling them up faster than she could grab more stickies. Each locker was covered. Covered in love, covered in encouragement, and covered in grace. Today, love exploded. My favorite was "Guys- let's COVER his locker", as 8th grade students put a whole variety of sticky notes on the locker of a 7th grade boy. They filled his locker with personal notes, notes that matter. Where are my tissues? These sticky notes or even leaving notes is not a "new" concept. It's not a concept that is very familiar to all of us and it is a concept we LOVE here at Holland Christian. Why? It's simple. It's tangible. It communicates a clear message. How good does it feel? To feel acknowledged, to feel loved, to be encouraged and recognized. "You're great!" ,"You are loved!", "Be yourself", "Be strong and courageous" currently hang throughout our building. What a great reminder. You are great, you are loved, you matter. Some days we all just need that little reminder. Be encouraged today, dear friends, we serve an awesome God. ... but I'm going to try. As I sit down on this Friday morning to reflect on the week, I find myself in a doing the same thing I've done most weeks this year. I find myself sitting in my classroom, smile plastered across my face, just beaming. I love this place. I love these people. I love this 'job'. These days it feels much less like a job than I ever thought possible. It feels like hanging out with friends, young and old. It feels like learning and growing and experiencing life together. This is what school should be about. I love watching my students get excited about the big and the small things. I love watching my co-workers excel in their content areas, in their classrooms, and in the ways they interact with students. I love this place. I love these people. I have been brought to tears multiple times this week as I watch students interact, talk to students, and engage in conversation with co-workers. Most often it's the good kind of tears, but they tears none-the-less. The emotions I feel are spilling out. I can't hold them in. Being out the building for a training one day this week put that all in perspective for me. The twinge of sadness I felt when I wasn't here brought me back refreshed and renewed, it reminded me of why I love this place so much, why this place brings LIFE. There is so much good that happens here each and every day. People loving well. People sharing life, good and bad. People giving and sharing, learning and growing. Keep it up, HCMS. I'm so thankful for you! Life together is the best! We're a few weeks into school at this point, and I 'almost' feel the need to apologize. Let me explain. I'm a teacher who likes a little bit of a routine, and I think my students do as well. That's one of my favorite things about school. The way it ebbs and it flows. There are things that are consistent, and there are others that are not. I love teaching on block days because I get to spend 90 minutes, uninterrupted (most days) with each class. 90 minutes of fun and laughs. 90 minutes of learning Spanish. ...but 90 minutes is a long time. So we came up with a routine. Last year my students decided that block day is better when we sing + play games, and I wholeheartedly agreed. Each block day we pick a song (in Spanish), and we play a kahoot! In the middle of the hour, when our brains are tired and we need a pick me up, we sing our little hearts out and then we play one review game, and then we get right back to our work. So this week, as we started our block day routine, we were fully immersed in our "singing competition" each class wanting to be better singers than the last and I forgot that my door was open. I was so wrapped up in singing that I didn't know my door was open for the whole school to hear us. MY BAD. When a teacher comes over from the Media Center (behind closed doors, I might add) to tell you that they can hear you and they're trying to take a test, I feel a bit bad. I didn't mean to be a disruption, I really didn't. I wanted my students to sing, because after all... It's not about how good you sing, it's about how LOUD you sing. That's the life motto I'm trying to pass along. So we sang our hearts out and we disrupted some of our friends. I'll apologize for the disruption, but I won't apologize for middle school kids who were praising their Savior so loud that you could hear it in the other niche. I just won't. These lines are my favorite:
... and every time I hear my students sing those lines, I get a little teary. I think about what it looks like for my students to go wherever they've been called. I think about what it looks like for God to take us "deeper". I think about who we become each day as he makes our faith stronger. I think about trusting a Father who is so good, wholeheartedly. I think about each of my students stepping out, reaching out, following HIM. It's overwhelming. So overwhelming. So yes, I'll apologize for all the noise and the commotion. What I won't apologize for is my kids who are giving it their all. My students who believe and know these words to be true, and are singing them out, Next time we'll shut the door, maybe. ¡Feliz Viernes¡ This is what I want to yell as I walk up and down the halls these days. As I spend time teaching and hanging out with kids.
THIS IS SO FUN! I LOVE IT! There is something special about Middle School. There's something hilariously wonderful about this place. There's joy here. Lots of it. We get to live, learn and love here. It's glorious. As I left campus with the 8th graders to venture to Saugatuck Dunes yesterday I had plenty of my "THIS IS SO FUN!" moments. Spending time bonding together, playing games, exploring nature and even competing in classroom competitions. Everyone belongs. We all have a home. We have a home with our loving heavenly father, but we have a home here too. At school. We belong. There are sports teams, clubs, activities, and so much more, but yesterday I was aware of my homeroom family. I watched the lovely cherubs who eat lunch in my room compete together, and each and every one of them belonged. I had a moment when I thought about the fact that in some ways they "belong to me" (and Mrs. Lundy!). I was overwhelmed because that's a big task, but was then reminded that it's not about me. It's about HIM. God claims us. God calls us. We are HIS people. I was overwhelmed by the fact that he calls us HIS each and every day. I might call 30 eighth graders "mine" but they're not mine at all, they are HIS. I'm so thankful we get to be a part of a family so much greater than us. What a beautiful thing that is. We've made it to the end of week one.
What a GREAT WEEK! At the beginning of the week the nerves were felt, 7th graders needed guidance getting to the correct class during the correct hour, and sometimes 8th graders did too. By Thursday most students looked a little tired, because waking up for school is hard after a summer of sleeping in, and not following as detailed of a schedule. ... but we've made it. One week down and so many to go. .. and I'm excited for each one of them! From what I've seen so far we've got a great group of students here at HCMS, full of smiles, laughs, and positive attitudes - maybe it's due to the first week of school, maybe not... but I'm hoping it continues! Keep checking back for stories from the crazy lady in room 101! I love the beginning of the year and the excitement that it brings!
Check-in day is so fun! We have an opportunity to welcome all of our students whether they're coming back to school a foot taller than they left in the Spring or they are joining us at the MS for the first time. The energy in the building for those few hours are contageous and it's hard not to walk around laughing and smiling. That's what gets me excited for the new year. I feel ready after I see my students after they stop by and ask "What's our first unit?" they want to know what we're doing and how soon they can get started. Here we go! It's going to be a great year at HCMS. I hope you'll stop by from time to time to check out the happenings! ¡Que tengas un buen día! |
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November 2016
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