Top of the World

All educators know that this is the busiest time of the year.  Evaluations are looming, state assessments are being given, school improvement reports are due and about a hundred other things are going on.  This is also the time of the year when the students are the most "active".  Ready for summer, ready for the next grade or school, and ready for anything but focusing on lessons.

As I was reflecting on last month, I thought, that was a rough one!  There were the usual things that come up in the spring and few unusual things that came up. In short, it was one wild ride. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself.  Then I saw on the news the earthquake that struck Nepal.  I followed the news closely as the death toll rose from an initial 2,000 to over 5,000 in a matter of days.  As horrible as it was, it still felt like a far away news story.  And then I received a tweet that stopped me in my tracks.

A teacher I had come into contact with on Twitter last year, Sunny Thakral, sent out a message asking people to send good thoughts toward his school.  Then it hit me.  Sunny's school was in Nepal, right in Kathmandu.  I had a knot in my stomach.  I hadn't even thought of the schools and students that were there and how they must be dealing with this.  I quickly sent a tweet of support.  Throughout the day I followed his account and saw pictures of his students holding classes outside and putting up tents for community members who needed shelter.  I saw his students reading letters and tweets of support from around the world.  At that point, I sent Sunny some messages asking about his situation and said that I would be gathering messages from my students and staff to send them much needed moral support.

I always liked Sunny's positive attitude (even though we've never met in person) and I always liked that he called his post, "The Top of the World" and the inspirational chat session that he co-founded called INZpirED.  Now, he was inspiring me again with his positive posts and pictures of students doing their best with what they had.  More importantly, he made me realize that my "bad month" was nothing of the sort.  In fact, I was starting to feel like the luckiest principal in the world to be at my building and with my wonderful staff and students.  Sometimes when we are feeling low, we need a reminder that with a positive attitude we can be sitting at the top of the world.

Keep up with Sunny and his school at:
 Sunny Thakral Twitter account
Posts from the Top of the World

Click on these links to see Tweets from Sunny and his school

School is Open     Supporting one another     Reading messages of support 


PEARLS OF WISDOM

"Everyone is handed adversity in life. No one's journey is easy. It's how they handle it that makes people unique." - Kevin Conroy

"Always seek out the seed of triumph in every adversity." - Og Mandino

"Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears us away from us all but the things that can't be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are." - Arthur Golden

SAVED: The baby boy, who emerged emerged from the wreckage covered in dust, was miraculously found amid the devastation by rescue workers who heard the infant's faint cries. 

photo credit: dailymail.com

UPCOMING EVENTS

May 4: M-Step Berrelez
May 5: No Students/Building Based PD 8:00-11:00 and 12:30-3:30
May 6: Parent Meeting (Berrelez/Wennstrom) 8:30 am
            M-Step Casucci
             Arts,Beats,Eats & Books (Ice Cream Social) 6:00-8:00 pm
May 7: No Staff Meeting :)
             M-Step Berrelez
            PTA Meeting 6:30 pm (Election of officers)
May 8: Administrative Title I Meeting at C.O. 8:00-11:30 am
             M-Step Casucci
            Skate Night at Riverside 6:00-8:00 pm

May 11: Data Dive 9:00-2:30 in the LMC
              M-Step Berrelez
May 12: M-Step Casucci
May 13: IEP Benson 8:00 am
May 14: Staff Meeting 8:00 am (Time Dedicated to Grouping Cards)
              Kindergarten Round Up 9:00-12:00
May 15: Elementary Principals Meeting 1:00-4:30 pm