November 29, 2017
November 30, 2017
Newsletter – Volume: 17/18 Issue 3
December 1, 2017

Giving Thanks

The great Roman political figure Cicero once said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”  How true is that?  This holiday season I hope that we can all slow things down and take the time to give thanks to the people in our lives.  So many other good things (like patience, forgiveness, tolerance, understanding…) come from the act of giving thanks and I think we would all agree that our world could use more good.

So, right now, I will stop everything and share with you those things on my heart that I am grateful for:

  1. I am grateful for my staff.  You all have no idea how many extra things the staff members at Grant School do each day.  Over time these little extras add up to make a huge impact.  Maybe it is the Office staff helping to decorate the MUR for the Thanksgiving feast (651 meals were served by the way-a new record!).  It could be the staff members giving of their time before school, after school, during prep/break times to help kids learn.  It might be the teachers going the extra mile to make the lesson more engaging to the kids or attending training to help them perfect their craft.  Maybe it is the School Counselor who works to provide parents support at home to help a student having a hard time.  I see our Special Education staff members spend hours to provide educational services designed to meet individual student’s specific learning needs.  Classroom aides, maintenance, preschool, D.O., kitchen, Library, IT, bus drivers…I could go on and on.  If you watch everyone around here closely, you will see that they all do so many things above and beyond the call of duty to ensure the very best for our students.  Thank you Grant School staff!
  2. I am grateful for our Grant School community partners.  Stop and think for a second how many partners Grant School has to support the mission of the district to prepare students for the future.  PTO, Sports Boosters, CEF, Music Boosters, Grant Garden, Musical volunteers, Odyssey of the Mind, School Site Council, law enforcement agencies, athletic coaches, classroom volunteers, business and career folks that come and talk to our students, guest speakers…that’s crazy when you think about how lucky we are.  These people give of their time and their means to move the work of the district forward.  I can honestly say there is no way that we would be able to provide the same level of services to students without these partners.  Thank you for making a tremendous difference to Grant School.
  3. I am so grateful for the parents at Grant School.  You love, lead, tutor, feed, clothe, transport, clean, protect, inspire, console, heal, tuck in, wake up, encourage, and so many other things that no one can else can do.  You do the things that we cannot do and make no mistake about it, if you did not do the things you do, Grant School would be a drastically different place.  You all are tremendous examples to me as a parent and I have learned so much from you in the interactions that we have had.  There are a couple of special ingredients to the success that Grant School has enjoyed over the last 130 years, but it all starts at home.  Thank you so much for your support of our school.  You all are an integral part of the Grant School family and we are extremely grateful that you chose Grant School for your children.
  4. Last, but certainly not least, on my short list are the 656 students that call Grant “their school”.  I am honored to know you and I take the responsibility to keep you safe and help you learn very seriously.  I love your energy, creativity, enthusiasm, sense of humor, imperfections, strengths, weaknesses, mindset, perspective, sense of right and wrong, innocence…so many things your bring to school each day.  You continue to teach me so much.  Thank you for choosing well and remember, in a world where you can choose to be anything, PLEASE choose to be kind.

‘Tis the season to give thanks for the blessings that we enjoy and so many of those blessings are the people around us.  The old saying that it takes a village to raise a child is truer now than it ever has been.  We need each other for this place to work and oh what a village we have at Grant School.  I hope you all have a great holiday season.  Let’s look around and make sure that we always remember how much we have to be grateful for.  Here’s to expecting the best.

GO COUGARS!

 

Mike Freeman

Page Reader Press Enter to Read Page Content Out Loud Press Enter to Pause or Restart Reading Page Content Out Loud Press Enter to Stop Reading Page Content Out Loud Screen Reader Support