Taking Chances

One of my favorite quotes for students is when Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus says, “Take chances, make mistakes.” This is a quote that applies to so many aspects of growing up.

It is important to St. Paul’s that our students are well-rounded individuals. However, in order to be exposed to many different situations, it also means they must push themselves out of their comfort zones. Each year for Winter Fitness the Lower School picks one fitness activity to try. We are going ice skating this year. For some this is old hat and for others it is an opportunity to try something new.

Learning a new skill set like ice skating can be scary for some students. We are not looking for anyone to become the next Michelle Kwan or Wayne Gretzky. We are instead hoping they will “take chances, make mistakes” and learn the important skill of perseverance when things may be new or difficult, whether it's a new sport, or the pursuit of a new concept in the classroom.

 

MLK Celebration

This week students at the Lower School celebrated the life and lessons of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Grades K-4 engaged in a variety of projects, presentations, and research. Our Chaplin Matt McCoy used Dr. King's life to teach about bringing peace in conflict.

Helping students learn about Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life and his impact on the Civil Rights Movement not only teaches an important part of American history, but it also teaches someone how to be a good person.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day inspires and reminds all of us to reflect on inclusion, equality, and acceptance. These are traits we should encourage our students to exhibit not only on MLK day, but throughout the entire year.

Happy New Year!

Once all the delicious Christmas candies and cookies have been devoured, our minds turn toward heath and fitness. Lucky for us, the Lower School has a fabulous gym teacher (Delica Van Harmelen) who helps our students stay active all year.

Recently, students and teachers competed to see “who could walk farther than a 4th grader." The first day I had to ask why all the teachers were stomping while they made copies. Luckily they were not angry, they were just trying to win the challenge by making sure their pedometers recorded steps. The first class to "walk" the amount of steps it would take to go from our school to Olympia won. When I asked one third grader about the competition she said, "Turns out we can't walk farther than a 4th grader because they won!"

This week, fourth grade held the Golden Sneaker high in the air to celebrate their victory of being the first to walk to Olympia!

The true victory is that our students and teachers learned that being active is a fun and important part of life.