Every October, for many years, I look forward to receiving a birthday card from a special teacher I had in my childhood - my elementary school principal, Sister Agnes.
As a child, from first through sixth grade, my parents would drive me thirty miles round trip every school day to St. Louis school in Dorchester, WI. They sacrificed their time, effort and money to make sure I had a Catholic education experience and that small, parochial school was the foundation of my education.
As I wrote about in my memoir, Leaning Into The Light, Sister Agnes taught me through example, the importance of service and dedicating your life to helping others, especially those in need.
I remember one time in particular, when I was in sixth grade and we had a long-term substitute teacher filling in for our regular classroom teacher who was on maternity leave. My classmates were giving this teacher a very rough time, and at times, the class was completely out of control. Whenever Sister walked into the room, however, that stopped immediately. She was respected by even the most naughty of children.
One day, she called me down to her office, and we had a discussion about the classroom. She was asking me what was going on and if I had any suggestions as to how the situation could be changed.
I was amazed at how she valued my comments, and I have never forgotten the feeling I had during that discussion.
Children want to be valued. Years later, as a teacher myself, I tried to make sure my students knew I valued what they thought. I would give them opportunities to let me know what books they liked to read and see added to our collection. I figured it was their school library, so they should have some ownership in it.
Now…back to the birthday card…
This week when I saw an envelope with Sister Agnes’s distinctly beautiful penmanship, I gladly opened it and, as always, was not disappointed by its contents.
“Your birthday occurs during the beauty of autumn. So you have a great appreciation for the works of creation and a love of nature.”
“Your birthday comes during harvest time. During your lifetime you have nurtured numerous students and they have brought forth good deeds.”
“Your birthday comes with changeable, unpredictable weather. You have survived endless challenges and shown such resilience, courage and deep rootedness.”
Needless to say, this card is cherished by its recipient.
Connections to our past are vital in reminding us of where we came from and, I believe they also show us where we are capable of going in the future.
As the saying goes, teachers encourage minds to think, hands to create and hearts to love.
Thank you Sister Agnes. Your words and your actions continue to inspire me…
What do you think?
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Tranquil Moments…
I asked my niece, Jennifer Malphy, if she could share some of her nature photos with my newsletter audience. Each week I will feature a new photo. Here is this week’s:
This week’s Smile Video
Steve Hartman and his kids are sharing stories built around themes of kindness and character and the people who have mastered both. His latest lesson is advocacy.
#believe #smilevideos #spreadkindnessandlove
What I am reading…
This week I am focusing on a picture book that is simple yet deep in its meaning…The Very Last Leaf by Stef Wade, illustrated by Jennifer Davison.
Here is the Amazon summary, “Young Lance Cottonwood is the best and brightest leaf on the tree. He’s a whiz at photosynthesis and the golden boy of color changing. But, as the autumn days grow shorter, his worries grow too. That’s because―unlike the other leaves his age―Lance is afraid to fall. He’ll do anything to avoid taking the leap, even if he’s the very last leaf on the tree. Can Lance face his fear, learn to let go, and embrace a whole new season of life? In this clever, encouraging picture book, award-winning author Stef Wade (A Place for Pluto, Moving to Mars) deftly addresses social and emotional struggles many kids encounter each day, including anxiety, perfectionism, and facing fears. Combined with illustrator Jennifer Davison's delightful characters and rich autumnal colors, The Very Last Leaf is the perfect book for the start of a new school year, the arrival of fall, or any period of transition in life.”
Mind/Body Connections
The DOZE OFF MEDUZA / STAV IT SKY relaxing music series Is original, calming simple and peaceful tunes composed by STAV IT SKY and uploaded to YouTube . This is relaxing piano music which is good for stress relief but also is great for relaxing, meditation, yoga, massage, studying, reading, working, and to help you to fall asleep .
https://www.youtube.com/live/GRoK3JlIl3w?si=sjdrZDe-1NyxZLn4
Children’s Corner
Back in 1999, when I was an elementary school librarian, I started a project where I wrote letters (old fashioned, printed letters) to a variety of famous people. This was prior to the daily use of email and text messages. My questions were simple…
1) From your own life experiences, how has reading affected your life in a positive manner?
2) Was there any particular person or experience in your life that made you aware of the value of literature and the importance of reading?
I am going to share these letters and let you experience the joy many of my students (and myself) have gotten from their touching words - Here is this week’s:
Music Moments
Music inspires me in many ways. Here’s a song that has great lyrics (sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug…) and a great beat…The Bug by Mary-Chapin Carpenter.
Quote of the week
Until next week. Please remember…Begin and end each day with a grateful heart…and always, always be kind….