Diversity Day

I spent the Storm Lake High School Diversity Day last week with goosebumps as I watched the photos being shared all over social media. This is who we are - a diverse family of individuals who have come together in this place at this time to learn. It is in our uniqueness that we find our strength. Although we come from all over the world, we are one now, and we all bleed green.

A huge thank you to all of you who shared your pictures with me!

Love one another

It's been a tough week, but some lessons remain universal and everlasting.

Hard Work, Whispers, and Giggles

I lost a treasured colleague to cancer yesterday. Pat Fisher and I spent years as the odd women out at administrative team meetings - Directors who appeared briefly at the table and then disappeared when our business was done - Quietly whispering and giggling in the entryway on our way back to our offices. I know that no one will ever eclipse the love Pat had for our community and our schools. She spent every moment she could advocating for the rights of all of our students and their families. While the rest of us were exhausted and sleeping, she and her family did the hard work that goes into making our community and our world a better place.

In a society full of controversy and vitriol, Pat lived a life of hard work, relationship building, and love. She was a role model for our children and ourselves. I am thankful that her legacy will live on in the quiet whispers and giggles of the children of Storm Lake.

We Bloom When It's Time

My Christmas cactus bloomed over the weekend!

Blooming on the window sill next to one of my flying pigs, it reminds me that our students are all unique with their own trajectories of learning. May we provide the supports for our students individually to bloom when it's their time, and may we celebrate that learning without time constraint judgements.

A blooming Christmas cactus in March? Patience and tender loving care have paid off.

May Our Hearts Leap

I was at a meeting at the hospital with our school nurses when I started hearing chimes that were quietly playing a lullaby. As I was wondering if it was a chiming clock in the maternity ward, one of the nurses leaned over to me and said, "They play that song when a baby is born."

 I am serious when I say that my heart leapt. I may have gasped. For some reason the joy that came over me was the same joy I felt when my own children were born. It was like going back in time.

As people who work with students every day, it's important to remember the joy families feel when their babies are born - The changes in day to day life that each new baby brings, the sense of love, and the dreams for the future. Let us never forget that every student is special and that it is in their uniqueness that they can change the world. May we develop relationships with each of our students - relationships that cause our hearts to leap with joy each time they walk through our doors.