Keep Walking

 

This week, I was helping my son, Justin, with his English assignment and I came across an inspiring story that he and his fellow classmates were reading called, "A Long Walk to Water" by Linda Sue Park. Their assignment this week was to watch a TED Talk from Sylva, the main character in the story. Salva was one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan”.  At 11 years old he was forced out of his village by the civil war between north and south in Sudan. He and thousands of other boys walked thousands of miles across the desert, facing attacks by lions, crocodiles and soldiers, and death by starvation and lack of water. Salva found his way to refugee camps where he lived for ten years.

Sylva made it through this tough time, eventually resettling in the US, where he started the nonprofit organization Water for South Sudan, drilling water wells in South Sudan for over 10 years. Salva shares how with faith, hope and persistence he kept walking throughout his life. This allowed him to accomplish a great deal, even in the face of great challenges. 

Salva's message on TED Talk was clear: “keep walking”.  Hardships will come and go and even when it seems unbearable, putting one step forward and focusing on our hope, growth mindset, and resilience is necessary.  Just like Sylva, I encourage you to keep walking.  Some days, the steps may be small, but being able to move forward, even a little bit, is so important.  Also, remember you don’t have to walk alone - your friends and family at Perry Central are here to walk with you when you need that love and support.  Together we can be strong and continue to make a difference in our own community.  

It has been another tough week in Commodore Nation.  I am so grateful for our Commodore Family.  We will continue to get through this together.  Please know that all of you are loved and an important part of this community.  

Keep Walking!

(Here is a link to the YouTube Video if you are interested in Sylva’s story.  I am sure Abbie would be very interested in sharing a copy of the book too!)

Important Information:

Support for Students and Staff -  We were all very sadden to hear about the passing of Aiden Alvey. Losing a student is never easy. Please know that we are here for you this week (and always) if you need extra support:

For Students: If you have students that appear to be upset in your classes, please contact the high school office or help the student find the teacher’s lounge.  We will have counselors and support staff in place to meet with students on Monday.  

For Teachers: This can be a very tough time for all of you, as well.  Please know if you need a break from your classroom we can help!  You can contact the office and we will provide coverage for your classes.  There is a quiet location for staff in the room next to Kelly Cash’s office if you need it. 

* Suicide Prevention Tips Indiana Youth Institute:

                

• Prevent. Create a physically and emotionally safe environment for your teens. When teens and those around them have the necessary skills to regulate their emotions, and have opportunities to practice these skills and connect with others through positive relationships, we create a safer environment. Through suicide prevention efforts, we can reduce risk and promote resilience and coping.
• Recognize. Be aware of the warning signs of youth suicide (increase anger, loss of interest, increase irritability, depression, poor academic performance, etc.) . Learning the signs and taking part in mental health awareness campaigns is important, as is ensuring that teens have open channels for talking about their emotions. Actions such as these will help us recognize when something is off, while reducing any stigma around seeking help for mental health issues. Every young person needs someone to confide in about their thoughts and feelings.
• Respond. Learn to be comfortable supporting those who appear emotionally distressed. #BeThe1To offers five action steps for communicating with someone who may be considering suicide: (1) ask in a non-judgmental and supportive way; (2) be there so they feel connected; (3) keep them safe; (4) help them connect to supports; and (5) follow up to see how they are doing. Respond is also about putting additional strategies in place, such as increased regular mental health check-ins, during times of increased stress and reduced coping.

 

**  All of you do a FANTASTIC job of building relationships and creating safe space for your students.   Keep up the great work and know you are helping so many students.  Our students love and adore you and so do Phil and I!

Special Education Accommodation/Modification Resource:  Thanks to all of our teachers and assistants that attended our meetings about special education on Friday.  I think all of you picked out one student to really focus on in the next three weeks, thinking about modifications/accommodations you can do for students with special needs.  Remember, your special education teacher is a GREAT resource and we look forward to hearing about your results in a couple of weeks.  

       HERE is a copy of the resource that Kim Waninger built for us.  It gives MANY ideas about what appropriate changes could look like.  Please let us know how we can support you through this challenging work!

Junior Scheduling - Dana will be scheduling Juniors after the ISTEP test on Monday.  Please find the link to the schedule HERE.  She is doing scheduling differently this year, scheduling students by career pathway interest.  Thanks to Dana for all of her hard work.  Thanks to all of our teachers for your flexibility and understanding.  Remember, teachers have a lot of influence in your student scheduling decisions, so please do not hesitate to help students with these important choices!

FFA WEEK - This is National FFA Week and our FFA Chapter has some exciting activities planned to help promote their cause.  The FFA Mottos is: Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live and Living to Serve.  Thanks to all of our FFA members for their service to our PC community!  Also, thank you to Carrie Guillaume for her leadership.  

Valentine’s Day Treats - The snow wouldn’t allow us to celebrate Valentines Day in a timely manner, so we are going to celebrate this week!  Morgan Judy made some sweet treats for all of you!  Please visit the High School Office Monday morning and enjoy some goodies!  

ISTEP Testing - We will be testing this Monday and Tuesday for ISTEP.  Please find the schedule HERE.  

7th Grade Mini Rotation: Monday will be the last day in this 7th grade Mini-Rotation. Please help your students know where they should report to on Tuesday!

Surprise and Delight Highlights:    On Friday, several of you met about Surprise and Delight opportunities with our students.  Here are some of the highlights: 

* Shamrock Scavenger Hunt - Lauren Blake will hide Shamrocks in the building for students to find for treats 

* Virtual Pep Session - Student Council is working on Pep Session.   We are looking for teachers to do Tik Tock Videos to surprise the students with.  Phil and Heidi will be getting us more information soon - so keep a look out for it and get your dance moves ready!  Students will have dress up days as well as we get closer to sectional.

* Flash Mob - Jennifer Ball will be leading a surprise Flash Mob very soon!  Check with her about details.

* Commodore Pride: Vanessa Johnson will be leading us to a Commodore Pride Celebration this spring that will be outdoors.  She will be asking for help soon to help coordinate the event.  

    * Junior High Teachers - we will have a Ron Clark brainstorm on Friday, February 26th at 7:30 to figure out what is best for this group.  We would love your input!  Hope you can make it! We will meet in the high school library.

Have a great last week of February!