A Very Happy Friday

 My first real week of classes (after last week's overnight retreat) included standardized testing and my students had extra choir practice in advance of the first all school mass of the year. Suffice it to say that as of yet, we have not had our normal schedule. Even so, in many ways it was a typical first week - I was exhausted each night, my throat hurt as a result of using my voice much more than usual, and we ended it with a well-attended staff happy hour at a local restaurant.

Some of my favorite lessons of the school year come right at the beginning. I was able to run my version of Dave Burgess' crash survivor lesson in the auditorium with both seventh-grade classes at the same time. Although there was a technical hiccup once they were broken into groups to begin discussing who should be rescued and who should remain on the island, I was able to begin by asking the students to sit in two rows of two on the floor. They became part of a simulated crash which was likely instrumental to their ability to sustain their attention through the technical glitch and ensuing transition back to the classroom. 

At first it was difficult for some of them to believe that there was not a right or wrong answer, just solid reasoning and less solid reasoning. But once they understood, passionate discussion ensued. It was fantastic. Most small groups decided that the survivor list contained many pairs of people with the same basic role. For example, they thought the priest and comedian were interchangeable on the island: both able to maintain the mental health of those left behind. But while everyone agreed that getting the priest to his destination in order to donate a kidney to his niece was of time sensitive importance, several saw the comedian's lack of experience "roughing it" would amount to dead weight on the island, becoming a problem for those left behind. They saw the priest as better able to cope with all of the challenges involved, his niece's urgent health crisis included. It was fascinating to listen to the debate, which could have gone on much longer than time allowed. I hope they can bring this same level of critical thinking to all the tasks and assignments they encounter this year.

The middle of the week brought a couple of compliments from former parents that really stuck with me. One came across me in the hallway, and rather than a typical greeting, she said, "You have glorious hair!" It would have made my week, except today I responded to a request from another former parent for a letter by asking who to address it to and where to send it. The response I received began, "Have I told you lately how much I love you?! Honestly, your heart is one of my favorites." I hope there are many more moments like these throughout the year, but even if that does not materialize, these two moments will easily sustain me for some time to come.

This afternoon my principal came in during the last few moments of the day to take the eighth graders to the upper field to be the first students to view and walk on the brand-new turf. Turf that has been much anticipated for many years. The principal was grinning from ear to ear. It was awesome.

It is going to be a fantastic year!