8-11-2017

Mary’s Minute

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

                                                                      ~ Aesop

Welcome Back!

Kindness matters.  We kicked off the year at Perry Central with two events.  The day before students arrived, all staff members received training on “Trauma-Informed Care,” learning about brain research and specific strategies of why and how to create a caring community. 

Then on the first two days of school, Perry Central hosted Rachel’s Challenge.  This school assembly focused on the power of kindness to change people’s lives with the goal of creating a caring culture.  Rachel Scott was a student killed in the horrific tragedy at Columbine High School.  The tragedy is overshadowed by the power of Rachel’s kindness during her lifetime and of her family’s quest to spread Rachel’s message.  Rachel wanted to create a “chain reaction” of kindness.  Perry Central wants to be part of the chain reaction, treating each other with kindness. 

On the first day of school I walked down the high school hall way greeting students as a strolled.  As I said, “Hello and how are you?” to students, their response back to me was sincere.  Students said back to me, “I’m great.  How are you?”  It may seem small, but it really made me realize how kind and sincere our students are.  Our teachers genuinely care about each other and their students.  For example, one teacher noticed on the first day of school that a student was hungry and did not have shoes that fit.  That night shoes and food were dropped off at the student’s home.  Perry Central is a caring community, and we will continue to work hard to nurture this.  We are not perfect.  We as individuals and a culture can always be better.  We know that kindness matters, and we work to practice it every day.  Thank you for your kindness!

                                                                                          Have a great week!

                                                                                                           Mary

5-26-2017

Mary’s Minute

“Sometimes people come into your life for a moment, a day, or a lifetime.  It matters not the time they spent with you, but how they impacted your life at the time.”

                                                                                       ~ Unknown

We are fortunate to have many people come through our lives that change and refine us.  The older we get the more connections we make, which is a wonderful thing.  Although we can hold onto an endless amount of memories and keep love in our hearts, we do not have the physical capacity to maintain the many friendships and connections we have developed.  I think of it as stages in our lives.  I still hold a special place in my heart of friends I had in elementary school, and there are individuals in my adult life who at one time were very important to me but I have not seen of for years.  The same concept is partially true for places and things in our lives.  We cannot hold onto every home we have ever lived in or keep going back to the same places.  It would not be possible to maintain every hobby that we have had over our lifetimes at the same intensity that we once did.  What is important is that we take all of our experiences and the people who have impacted our lives and use them to make us who we are.  The tough part about continuing to have new experiences and to better ourselves is that that we have to let go.  As a school year ends we are left with thoughts of closing chapters and beginning new ones.  We need to remember that it is okay to let go of our past.  We cannot hold onto every experience or person at the same level we once did.  We can certainly hold onto the memories, but if we try to keep up every relationship at the same level we once did, we will be overwhelmed emotionally and physically.

Let go and let yourself live!

                                                                         Have a great summer!

                                                                                                    Mary

5-19-2017

Mary’s Minute

“If you love life, don't waste time, for time is what life is made up of.”

                                                                    ~ Bruce Lee

I say it all the time, and I know it is cliché, but wow, time really goes quickly!  How can it be that another school year is ending?  I think time may be the greatest gift we have and in contrast the thing that may be most taken for granted.  When we think about how limited time is we realize how very precious it is.  Whether we are talking about the minutes that make up a school day, the moments that make up our children’s lives, or our own precious time on this earth, we know that the minutes, days, and years are limited.  We get particularly aware of the how quickly time goes and how prized it is at milestones, like retirements and graduations.  As we say so-long to long-time friends who are retiring and watch graduates walk across the stage, we may shed a nostalgic tear, as we reflect upon how quickly time goes.  These are great times for us to reflect on how we spend our lives.  Sometimes it is hard to think about time passage when we are going through the motions of life.  Every single day is a gift.  We should be living the lives we imagine, every single day.  We can’t afford to wait for a milestone to turn things around for us.  The time is now.  Thank you to our retirees and graduates for reminding us about the precious gift of time that we are given every day.  Congratulations graduates and retirees!  We wish you all the best in how you spend the time that lies ahead and thank you for time you gave to Perry Central!

                         

                                             Now is your time!

                                                      Mary

5-12-2017

Mary’s Minute

“I think in a lot of ways unconditional love is a myth. My mom's the only reason I know it's a real thing.”

                                                               ~ Conner Oberst

All of us have or have had a mother, and many of us are mothers to our own children.  Thinking of the love our mothers have for us or how we feel for our children is a great lesson in unconditional love.  Mothers love their children no matter what.  They may feel disappointed at times, but their love never fails. 

I think that teachers can equate the care they give their students to the unconditional love of a mother.  Being a teacher is a very “motherly” act.  Teachers don’t have favorites and don’t give up on their students, which sounds a lot like what mothers do.  As we celebrate Mother’s Day on Sunday, I obviously think of my own mother and about the joy of being a mother, but I also think of the motherly love all teachers (male and female) give to our students.

I also think that Mother’s Day is a time to reflect on the act of unconditional love.  When I think of unconditional love, I am not sure if it is more difficult to give or receive it.  As a mother, it feels easy to give unconditional love, but to accept it means that we must open our hearts and become vulnerable.  Why would anyone love us for no real reason?  Accepting unconditional love requires us to accept without trying to rationalize and to open ourselves up to the possibility of being disappointed.  It requires trust!  Giving and receiving unconditional love is worth the risk.  Mothers are our inspiration to give and receive unconditional love!

                                                               Have a great week!

                                                                         Mary

5-5-2017

Mary’s Minute

“A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others.”

                                                       ~Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

“We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own.”

                                                                ~ Ben Sweetland

There is not a day that goes by that I do not admire the work of Perry Central employees.  I know that what you do is not easy.  I know that you work very hard – your jobs are mentally and physically draining.  You are constantly asked to do more with less.  Most of all, what you do has incredible potential to make a difference, and with that comes with a lot of pressure.  Our students count on you.  They know that you will get them to school safely, that you will give them honest answers, that you will prepare them for their future, and most of all, that you will always care about them! 

It worries me when I think of the first quote in that the work you do is consuming.  I don’t want anyone to burn out, and I know that you sacrifice yourself for our students. I draw encouragement from the second quote, knowing that by lifting your students up, you gain strength.  Your path is made bright because of the light you give to others. 

What you do matters!  Today and every day, I hope you know your efforts are appreciated.  It is not possible to show you the appreciation you deserve, so my hope is that by lighting the path of others, you feel the light within you that can give you strength. 

                                                                            Thank you for all you do!

                                                                                             Mary

4-28-2017

Mary’s Minute

“A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.” 

                                                               ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

We are surrounded by rock piles – that is, we are surrounded by normalcy.  Life is made up of the ordinary, and there is nothing wrong with rock piles if we are fine with living an ordinary life.  If we want to live an extraordinary life we cannot settle for rock piles; instead we must see the cathedral within the rock piles.  When we live life going through the motions everything around us is a rock pile.  It doesn’t feel wrong.  In fact, we can feel joy and satisfaction in living this kind of life.  Extraordinary is all around us, though, if we are open to see it.  If we settle for rock piles, we miss out on the cathedrals.  Whether it is a rock pile or a cathedral is determined simply by the way we choose to see the world and how we act upon it.  One person walks through a water puddle and thinks nothing, while a cathedral builder sees the beauty in the water droplets or ponders the scientific principles of water.  Some people wake up and choose to go through the motions of living, while others wake up with joy deep in their hearts.  Some people look at children as burdens, while cathedral builders see them our future!  Extraordinary really is all around us! 

                                                             Have a great week!

                                                                                Mary

4-7-2017

Mary’s Minute

“We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance.”

                                                                            ~ Harrison Ford

I am actually not crazy of the term “second chance” because it implies that there is one way to do something.  It suggests that if you don’t get it “right” the first time, you get another opportunity.  Although a second chance is a positive thing, and I like the Harrison Ford quote for inspiring change, I have a slightly different perspective.  Instead of looking at change as a second chance, it would be great if we could look at life as an evolution with change part of continuous growth, progress, and evolution.  Mistakes are how we learn and grow because they provide the road map for our life journey.  Everything we do: changes, opportunities, mistakes are all part of what makes us who we are.  Life and learning are about making choices, second chances, change, and moving on, but ultimately all of these things are just part of life’s journey.  We are who are because of our collective experiences.  This is true for our students’ learning, as well as our lives.  No regrets – all just part of the journey, journey that is not a super highway, but a beautiful broken road full of many twists, turns, and bumps along the way.

                                                             Have a great week!

                                                                             Mary