R-E-L-A-X

No, I'm not referring to Aaron Rodgers famous quote.  I'm referring to what we should all do over Winter Break.  We made it!  Winter Break is just a day away.  My hope is that you find time over our break to detach from school altogether.  Unless it's an emergency, you'll get no emails from me until maybe Sunday, January 3rd.  If you need something from me, email or text me or send me a direct message on a social media platform.  Above all, make sure that you find ways to relax over break.  You deserve it!

Calendar

Friday, December 18th    Polar Express Pajama Day/Raffle drawing/ Material pickup

Saturday, December 19th-Sunday, January 3rd    Winter Break

Monday, January 4th    School resumes

Wednesday, January 6th    Intermediate School staff meeting in the gym/ Wear Merton gear

Friday, January 8th    Materials pickup

Tweets, quotes, and blogs

"Failures are infinitely more instructive than successes."

George Clooney, actor, director, producer, screenwriter

(from George Couros' blog)

"If you try desperately to hang on to something that used to be a success for you, it's going to go away.  You have to change."

George Clooney, actor, director, producer, screenwriter

Say I Won't (by Todd Nesloney)

"It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams."

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, writer, journalist, Nobel Prize winner

"What's in front of you is a whole world of experiences beyond your imagination."

Phylicia Rashad, actor, singer, stage director

This is from an email from A.J. Juliani (@ajjuliani on the Twitters).  Please take this to heart.

In a recent article, author Thomas Oppong wrote:

According to research, the brain gradually stops registering a sight, sound or feeling if that stimulus remains constant over time. You lose your focus and your performance on the task declines.

When faced with a long creative problem, it is best to impose brief breaks on yourself. Brief mental breaks will actually help you stay focused on your task and improve your idea generation approach. A structured downtime can help you do your best work.

We tend to generate redundant ideas when we don't take regular breaks. If you're hesitant to break away because you feel that you're on a roll, be mindful that it might be a false impression. Your brain needs downtime to remain industrious and generate better ideas.

So, please, don't forget about rest this break.

(Just wondering if any of you feel this way after this week.)

"The fact that you can only do a little is no excuse for doing nothing."

John le Carre, writer

Growing from What We Know During Times of Uncertainty (from George Couros)

A reminder from Ron...

I know every larger break our Buildings and Grounds crew begins a deeper clean over the few days we have no students.  We need your help with a few things:

• Classrooms - Please push the furniture to the sides of the classrooms. We will be shampooing carpets, placing new blue dots, etc...
• Desks/tables - Please have the student areas clear if at all possible. Staff desks/tables, if you could clear off what can be placed away as we will be disinfecting and cleaning over break as well.
• Primary School - If kids can clean out their cubbies as best as possible. Things that can be taken home: Art Smocks (could be washed at home), lunchboxes, papers not needed, etc... Anything kept, please have it in the "second/big" section of the cubby. We will be cleaning the bottoms and the tops of all cubbies.
• Holiday lights - please take them down before you leave.

Not sure if staff plan on coming in over break, but if we do happen to get winter precipitation, please understand that lots will not be cleaned at the same pace/speed as we would during student contact days.  If we do get snow, please be very careful coming onto campus.  Our buildings will be completely closed with no snow removal for sure on December 24, 25, 26, 27, 31, and January 1, 2, and 3.  

Thank you everyone for your help in our cleaning preparations! 

Any questions, please let me know!

Ron

I'm not planning on sending any emails during break, but I will be checking emails.  If you need me for anything, you can send me an email or a text and I'll get back to you as soon as I am able.  I'm going to be taking some time away from school work to spend with Jen, Lauren, my parents, and other family, and you should, too. (Yes, I know this is an almost exact repeat from the opening paragraph, but it's worth saying more than once.)

Enjoy your Winter Break!

Jay

Take care of the kids.  Take care of each other.  Take care of yourself.- John Gunnell