Greetings Spectrum Families,
Impactful:
My sincere apologies for this edition of my blog coming out after the weekend. I had intentions of following through with what is described below on Friday, but didn’t have the opportunity to complete my task. My hope in sharing this quick story below would be that you are inspired to seek out someone in your life, educational journey, career, etc. that took a chance on you, or helped you succeed, and extend your gratitude to that person for the impact they’ve had on you.
Clair Olson is currently serving on a panel of judges for our senior capstone presentations at Spectrum High School. This is Clair’s fourth year of helping us out with this incredibly important task. Each year he has been asked to fulfill the role, he does so with enthusiasm and dignity, which is nothing less than expected if you know Clair. I was finally able to catch up with Clair this morning and do something I had been looking forward to for a long time. I was able to thank him!
Most folks here at Spectrum don’t know that Clair has played perhaps the biggest role of anyone in my own career journey. You see, Clair Olson was the principal at VandenBerge Middle School in Elk River, MN in 2006 when he took a chance on hiring me as a new Health and Physical Education teacher. It’s where I got my start in education. To have the opportunity to now thank Clair after nearly 17 years in the field was simply monumental for me.
Every person reading this right now has a story similar to mine. Now, I’m not sure the impact my gesture had on Clair this morning, but I hope it was profound. And so my encouragement to all of you is this:
1) Take a moment to reflect on who that person or those individuals are that have given you a chance or have supported you in your efforts to succeed.
2) Reach out to that person or persons to let them know about the positive impact they have had on your life.
After all, it is better to share this gratitude too early rather than too late.
Practical:
We’re here to help! As we prepare for the final push of our first semester, which will conclude on Friday, January 14th, I want to be sure to remind everyone of this message. Please reach out if you need support for your student(s). Our teachers, counselors, and administrators are willing to brainstorm with you and create a plan to help your child succeed.
You can help support our efforts here at school, and your student’s academic efforts, by staying connected and monitoring his/her progress via Infinite Campus Parent Portal. Again, if concerns arise, please feel free to contact individual teachers, counselors, or administrators.
Weeks At A Glance:
Monday, January 10th: C@SH day / Delayed start
Friday, January 14th: End of 1st semester
Monday, January 17th: No School - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Tuesday, January 18th: No School - Staff Development
Wednesday, January 19th: 2nd semester begins (8 period full day beginning at 7:40 am)
Thursday, January 20th: A block day / Information and Tour night @ 6:15 pm
Friday, January 21st: B block day