To encourage dialogue and reflection about the ways we approach what lies ahead, our question for the week is: Please complete this statement: This year (2024) I hope to… One's Approach (Week of 1/7/24) (This is an anonymous Google Form)
Blake's Guiding Lights
Our Students
Blake's Core Values: Respect, Responsibility, Resourcefulness, Reflection
Our Essential Question: How can we cultivate and curate the progression of student learning and growth?
Our Mission: Blake Middle School believes in a living mission statement, based on the concept that our community seeks and respects knowledge, integrity, character, wisdom, and the willingness to adapt to a continually evolving world.
The most important attitude that can be formed is that of desire to go on learning. - John Dewey
You cannot teach today the same way you did yesterday to prepare students for tomorrow. - John Dewey
I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe as we weathered (pun intended!) our first storms of the season this week - there has certainly been lots of hype since we have not really seen snow in a couple of years! Grayden and I were in CT for a basketball tournament this past weekend (Katie and I have to just acknowledge that we indeed are part of and contributing to the ‘craziness’ of youth sports, for sure), and we enjoyed a pretty drive home! Amidst all of the ‘new year posts’, earlier this week I came across this post from Yung Pueblo and it really resonated.
Going Deep with Aliza Pressman on Sane Parenting
(52 min) from Kelly Corrigan Wonders podcast
Living in an optimization culture is making parenting much more complicated than it need be. Or so says Dr. Aliza Pressman, author of The Five Principles of Parenting and the host of Raising Good Humans, who spends a lot of time with the latest research and a lot of time with parents in clinic. Today’s conversation is about exactly what does and does not protect us from the worst health outcomes and is to be shared with anyone who is looking for a parenting north star.
Kelly Corrigan’s takeaways…
- Aliza’s approach to parenting is based both on ancient wisdom and decades of science
- Relationships are free and they have deep protective power; for kids, toxic stress moves to tolerable stress simply by having one close relationship with an adult who really sees them
- Let it be known - all feelings are welcome here
- It’s a powerful and unforgettable moment every time a kid understands that their parent is an actual person
- May we all model that even the deepest ruptures are often repaired
- The game we are playing is to love and be loved
- I have a new friend
Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: When thinking back on 2023, what have you learned about yourself and how have you grown as a learner?
- I have found that I need specific organizational tools to help me get my work done faster. Taking the time to do those things helps me in the long run.
- I have grown as a learner by being more open to new ideas and not being set in my ways.
- I have learned that I just need to keep trying when I don't get something.
- I have grown as a learner by doing well in my studies, and I have learned that I do better when creating visual learning doodles or models.
- I have learned to be patient with myself and be proud of my good work.
- I have been able to learn how to balance friendship with school time and when I need to focus on school or myself.
- I have learned to keep on pushing even when life gets hard.
- I have learned about myself that I am very self-conscious, and I have grown as a learner by becoming less afraid to ask for help.
- During 2023, I learned a lot more math such as calculating the area of a circle.
- I am social and don’t like sitting in one stop for a long period of time.
- To celebrate the new year we are doing algebra which is the next level and I learned that sleep is the most important part of life.
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Take care.
Nat