Newsletter – December 9, 2015 – Calling on all parents…

HoldEarth

In past weeks, we have oft reflected on the “tone” of the world.  Coming out of recent events, I think we have done well in maintaining a calm and safe environment for students in an often chaotic environment with mixed messages.  While I think most students weave through their day relatively unaware of world events, there is always the chance that they become cognizant of the more challenging events, and, therefore, become confused and concerned.  I realize that, while we do our best to nurture and dialog with students about world events, it may be there is a lack of balance between the more sombre and troubling messages of violence and anger, and the messages of hope and peace that are so often associated with the season that is now upon us.  How terrible it is that we head into the Winter Holiday pondering terrorist attacks and rampant prejudice and intolerance.

Out of a desire to demonstrate to students how we can model for them a globally aware society of contributing citizens, I’d like to ask your help in developing messages of hope and possibility, rather than despair and frustration. I’d like to use the blog function of this newsletter (my Zimplicity Blog) to capture your thoughts and share them with students in upcoming assemblies.  It’s easy – just click on the link below and enter your message to our students in the comment box that appears.

The message is “advice to future generations” or “how to bring peace to the future.” I know that amongst our parent population there are articulate and powerful leaders – dads and moms who can powerfully share their beliefs about how we could make the world a better place.

So, I’m asking your help, parents. Write a message to the students of AAS regarding what you think it means to contribute as globally aware citizens.  Tell them what they should consider as they begin to plan their lives beyond their school years.  Take some time this weekend and post your comments to this blog entry and share with our students what you think needs to happen to bring peace in their time.  The challenge is given, and I look forward to your creativity and honesty for the children we all serve.

By the way, you are welcome to post in your own language if you prefer.  We can compile translations when we share with students at assemblies next week or in January.

Thank you in advance for your contributions!!

12 thoughts on “Newsletter – December 9, 2015 – Calling on all parents…

  1. “You must never feel badly about making mistakes … as long as you take the trouble to learn from them. For you often learn more by being wrong for the right reasons than you do by being right for the wrong reasons.”
    —The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

    This is one of my favorite books and Kaya (5th grade Mrs. Pellerin’s class) and I read it together last year. Elisa Ketter

  2. I would like to share a prayer frrom Mother Teresa whom I admire a lot :

    Life is an opportunity, take it.
    Life is beauty, admire it.
    Life is a dream, realize it.
    Life is a challenge, meet it.
    Life is a duty, complete it.
    Life is a game, play it.
    Life is a promise, fulfill it.
    Life is sorrow, overcome it.
    Life is a song, sing it.
    Life is a struggle, accept it.
    Life is a tragedy, confront it.
    Life is an adventure, dare it.
    Life is luck, make it.
    Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
    Life is life, fight for it.

  3. Here are a couple of quotes to promote hope and possibility:-

    “Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.”
    ― Mahatma Gandhi

    “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”
    ― Mark Twain

    Michelle Robson

  4. I have read a lot of amazing thoughts and comments and felt quite inspired to add mine. It is true that, we as parents, have an enormous responsibility to ensure our children are on the right path….but an equally powerful force are the teachers who provide guidance, motivation and open new worlds or new ways of thinking which mold and inspire our children. As such, I thought it prophetic to provide the following:

    The teacher who is indeed wise does not bind you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.

    Khalil Gibran

  5. “The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”
    ― Albert Einstein

  6. “In the middle of dificulty lies opportunity” Albert Einstein
    Take advantage of today’s situation to learn more, love more, be more aware, more compasionate and enjoy the world you live in, your family, friends and neighbors. Focus on growing and caring .Know that you are loved.

  7. Dear Students,

    Taking personal responsibility is a dwindling global resource; and without it, mankind is lost. So I offer these 2 quotes:

    “Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands.”
    ― Anne Frank

    “If not us, then who?
    If not now, then when?”
    ― John E. Lewis

    All the best!

  8. Participate in the world around you. Wherever you are, whatever your passion, you be the one to make the changes that you want to see around you. We often look to others and think how amazing they are and yet do not recognize our own unique gifts and talents. Each one of us has the capacity to be a force for good in a way that only we can. While that contribution may look very different from person to person, each of us changes the world around us. And don’t you dare tell yourself you are too young, or too unqualified, or too anything. Those things rarely matter as much as we think they do. I love the following quote because it applies to each of us, no matter our circumstance:
    “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
    ― Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles”

  9. A quote from Georges Bernanos, a French writer : “on ne subit pas l’avenir, on le crée” which more or less means that we do not endure the future, we create it. So if you want it, your future can be bright…

  10. James Thurber is better known for his humerous writings such as ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ but he was something of a philosopher as well. He said “Look not back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness”. Appropriate words for these times. Never lose hope!

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