May the 4th be With You!

 May 4 is also known as Star Wars Day in certain geeky circles. So I'm wearing my R2D2 dress and the picture above is my opening slide for my presentation for my students. A sampling of the various movie scores from YouTube plays on the click, today's music choice for our "soft start" caused by our rolling drop off that allows everyone to show their Jot Form clearance and have their temperature checked again prior to entering the building. Students trickle in for a full 45 minutes every morning to a study hall atmosphere. I have music playing during this time which helps keep most of my students focused.

The R2D2 dress a few years ago.

So far the week has been calmer than last week. But given that's it's only Tuesday morning, that's not really saying much. I read through my students' Recess Reflections this weekend and forwarded some of the information up the chain of administration. I'm hoping for the best, while continuing to reinforce and reiterate lessons on kindness and becoming the best versions of ourselves.

A few weeks ago I ran across a poem online about the Power of One. 

I used it as a jumping off point for an assignment for my students. It was wrapped into a lesson on nouns, the IB attribute of reflection, a social emotional reminder about growth mindset, and a prayer assignment. We talked about things - nouns - that were important to students and why they were important to them. I created a template for them and some of the results were amazing.

This has been a hard year. It doesn't matter who you are or where you are from, this year has been hard. But there are reasons to smile. Just look to the children in your life. Take some time to really listen to them. They will put a smile on your face if you let them.

May the Fourth be with you.