Principal's Letter
August 22, 2016
Dear All Saints Families,
A sincere thank you for an amazing first week. We had some hiccups and I hope our issues can be clarified this week. We work very hard at helping our students make the transition back to school a pleasant one. We have several new families joining us this year and we hope the move to All Saints is joyous. Please let us know if there is anything that we may help you with now or throughout the year. Thank you to the countless people who helped during the first week from faculty to the many volunteers. The car line continues to improve each day. However, I do encourage families to leave home five to ten minutes earlier in the morning. We are getting very backed up during drop off in the morning as we approach the first and second bells. We hope to post a fantastic animation, created by one of our fathers, to depict the flow of traffic. This animation should clarify and lessen the confusion.
Last week I had the proud and emotional opportunity that we all journey through as a parent...I took my daughter to college. When the tearful goodbyes were said and I was travelling home, I took the time to reflect on life. I asked myself had I done everything to help my child, now an adult in the eyes of the law, to cope with this challenge and new found independence. Had I taught her to put Christ first and understand all would follow with His abounding love? Had I taught her to be strong, yet loving? Had I taught her to be resilient, but not careless? Had I taught her sufficiently the very important positive "self-talk" to be confident, creative, disciplined, and driven so as to set goals and accomplish them? These are all questions parents dwell on during this very difficult transition.
As my role as principal, I realized these virtues and skills can only be taught through a lifetime of love, support, and encouragement. Life skills are taught during failures, corrections, and through difficult times. As parents, we so desire to raise our children, who we love unconditionally, in a bubble where nothing harms them and hurts are not felt. Sadly, this is not reality. Too often I see parents who attempt to create this bubble and fight for their child regardless of what is done. No child is perfect. No parent is perfect. We are all simple human beings trying to get through life. As a parent, I encourage you to let your child fail or have a disagreement with another child, and then let him/her determine how to fix things. You can help your child in the problem solving, but do not fix the issues. A letter B or C in a class is not the end of the world in elementary school. However, a lower grade than expected may spur a child to do better. A parent who fights for undeserved grades breeds mediocracy in his/her child. A parent who fixes everything for his or her child does not allow the child to learn problem solving or the ability to speak up for oneself. A parent who does all the school work for his/her child, does not develop a thinker or creator. We have all encountered difficulties, struggles, heartbreak, and tears and have lived through it. It is through these times, we build self-talk and value within ourselves to help us determine who we are and what we value. Help your child become the person Christ so wants him/her to be by being the guider and nurturer. I wish you the same joyous knowledge I recognized while driving home from college.......although I have not been a perfect parent, I so proudly felt my beautiful daughter was ready for her next journey in life and I had played a significant part in helping her be this amazing, hard working, creative, resilient, and strong person! May God bless us all in this pivotal vocation as a parent.
Yours in Christ,
Mrs. Jill Broz
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