Week of November 30

This time of year seems to go by faster than any other as calendars start to fill up with family get-togethers, holiday parties, and Christmas shopping - for those who participate in the upcoming tradition. Wanting to take a moment to slow down before I get caught up in the holiday madness at school and at home, I'm taking advantage of this week's post by reflecting on the past week.

Thanksgiving, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is the fourth Thursday in November in the U.S celebrated as a legal holiday for people to be thankful for what they have. (An interesting fact: our Canadian neighbors celebrated their Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October.) "Thankful for what they have" - what exactly does that mean? For me, as the instructional leader at Lake Elementary, there is a lot to be thankful for. I'm thankful that we have an involved parent community. Not many schools have the volunteers we do in the classroom on a weekly basis. So much so that teachers can regularly depend on them for assisting with centers, grading, organizing, filing, and more. I've observed parents eating breakfast and lunch with their children, as well as making arrangements so students can attend various school activities - dances, after school tutoring, after school sports, and more. And if it's not a parent I see, it's an involved grandparent!

I'm thankful for the staff in which I commonly refer to as my Lake Family. I'm fortunate to work with caring and motivated people. So many great things happen at our school on a daily basis that go unnoticed; from little things like tying a shoe to bigger things like organizing support for families in need; checking in with one another to make sure they "had a good day"; celebrating birthdays and babies; and just being kind - in a world in which negativity is so commonly reported, all these acts of kindness mean so much.

Most importantly, I'm thankful to be greeted by bright and cheery faces every day, the young learners who have their entire lives before them, but for awhile, call Lake Elementary home. I am thankful to sometimes be the one who wipes away tears and brings out a smile; I'm thankful to hear the laughter of young people and see the seriousness of learning. I'm thankful to hopefully be making a positive difference in the lives of young people. So this Thanksgiving season, I gave thanks for being able to call Lake Elementary my "home".

As someone who is very proud of their "home", I want the Lake Community to know that we have applied for the Gold Ribbon Award.  The California Gold Ribbon Schools Award was created last year to honor schools while the California Distinguished Schools Program is on hiatus as California transitions to new assessment and accountability systems. We submitted our application a few weeks ago and should be notified in mid-January. Our application included a description of the positive and supportive culture that exists on our campus, a culture we describe as LAKE - Leading the Advancement of Knowledge Everyday. Regardless of the outcome of this application, Lake Elementary School is a gold ribbon school. Thank you for all you do to make LAKE possible.

Have a great week.