Look for the Helpers

Happy Wednesday Everyone, This morning I saw a little lip sync video clip and it made me laugh and smile, so I decided to find a lip-syncing video to post to all of you guys.   What I found was this little trip down '80s memory lane and, wouldn't you know it, they even say at the end that laughter is the best medicine, so I figured that this was perfect for my post today and would be a fun way to share a smile on this gray day.   Speaking of good medicine, your teachers had the opportunity to be fully vaccinated today against COVID-19.  Yeah!!!  Woo hoo for science and life-saving medicines!  When you get back to school tomorrow, virtually, and on Friday, in person, don't forget to say thank you to all of your teachers for being on the front lines these last 7 months for you!   I think I can speak for all of them when I say they love what they do!  Your teachers love teaching kids, each in their own way, and it has been so good for all o...

Happy Tuesday everyone!   I am in danger of only achieving a one-day street here folks...it's 1:52 and the day has been busy...spring just does that to me.  So many things to do!  But I am determined and won't leave here today without some wise words of wisdom... ...but what wise words...hummmmm?  I think the reason I have been so slow with the blog today is I am not sure what to say today.  I have said a lot over the past year, and to be honest, I feel tapped out today...I've felt tapped out this week, and it's only Tuesday!  I think I an feeling a little bit (okay, maybe a lot) of COVID fatigue this past week.  With the weather so nice recently, I've really just wanted life to be normal, and it's so not.  I've been feeling like I wish we had the answers and the ability to make everything go back to the way it was.   So what to do..??  What have I advised you all to do?  One foot in front of the other...one step at a time...

Happy Monday Everyone, Well, I guess every streak is meant to be broken, right?  I would have to do a lot of work to go back and count how many consecutive school days I have posted to all of in this blog, but it was a lot...until Thursday.  I got to school on Thursday at about 6:30 and didn't finish up and leave until about 3:15 (which isn't super late, but...).  Despite writing, "blog post," on my to-do list, I never got to it - it was a good busy day, and after creating my to-do list, I never gave it a second thought until driving to school this morning.  I was reflecting on the day ahead today and realized I never jotted my thoughts down on Thursday.  I am hoping that I can start a new streak and continue to post each day until June 11th rolls around!       What kept me so busy on Thursday you ask?  Well, the best kind of stuff...spending time in the classroom with you all!  I got the privilege of hanging out with our lovely 8th...

 Happy Wednesday Everyone, A quote to start your day... "In between every action and reaction, there is a space.  Usually, the space is extremely small because we react so quickly, but take notice of that space and expand it.  Be aware in that space that you have a choice to make.  You can choose how to respond and choose wisely because the next step you take will either strengthen or damage your relationship[s]."   -Rebecca Eanes- This quote was taken from a larger quote about parenting, but I felt that this portion of it is so important to all relationships, not just ones between a parent and child, so I wanted to share it.  When we react to the actions that take place around us - at home, in school, in the community, or even in our own minds - we are either creating strong bonds, positive connections, and shared positive experiences, or we are creating barriers to personal connection, contributing to negative stereotyping, or participating in bullying ty...

Happy Tuesday Everyone! You know how some days you feel like you've got it all going on...and some days you feel like nothing you touch turns to gold?  Well, check out these cool cats... I appreciate how this little three-cat demonstration reminds us that sometimes it's just about getting through (the day, the week, the year) no matter how ungracefully it happens.  In the end, all three cats walk away unscathed, and seemingly unaffected.  Similarly, I know you all will walk away from this year having navigated the pitfalls and learned lots of valuable lessons about how strong you can be under pressure.   To my mind, you are all navigating beautifully, even if you are knocking down a few cups here and there!   Remember, even if you knock down all the cups, you can still find some rewards at the end, so keep plugging, and don't be afraid to just make it through in whatever way works for you.   Have a great day everyone! Mrs. Hempey   ...

Happy Monday Everyone!   I few reminders that it's all about connecting with people in all the fun and creative ways we can.     The more we connect, the more we find out common humanity.  And the more we share our common humanity the more we get to smile and laugh together!   I mean just try not to smile watching this...(which I am pretty sure I posted last year, but which is worth watching again and again!) or this... I hope you get to share some happiness, smiles and laughs today!   Be Well, Mrs. Hempey

Good Morning Everyone, We've made it to the end of another week, and we are ready to usher in spring tomorrow!  This is good news for all those folks ready to open the windows, get outside, and sweep out the cobwebs!  As we touched on yesterday, however, sometimes with the good comes the bad, and the bad I am referring to was an abhorrent national news story yesterday about an act of violence against Asian-American people in an American community.   I won't go into the details here, but I will say that it is a disturbing trend of violence and hate speech against Asian-Americans around the United States.  Many would attribute this rise in violence to the negative stereotypes perpetuated by some of our leaders during this past year managing the COVID-19 crisis. Not surprisingly, hate speech has unfortunately followed as a result of the tone set by our leadership's inaccurate stereotyping and microaggressions.   I don't want to focus too much on the speci...

Good Thursday Morning to you all, A couple stories of courage for you all today which are at the same time both sad and uplifting.   I hope you'll remember as you watch these that they are both reminders that with life comes sorrow, but that sorrow oftentimes reminds us how richly we live.  Please watch.   First, the story of Dick and Rick Hoyt , the father-son duo, Team Hoyt, who ran Boston Marathons and Iron Man triathlons together...lost its legs yesterday.   Dick Hoyt passed away at age 80 but not before inspiring, along with his son, millions of people with his belief that anything is possible.   Secondly, this story about Jaden Hayes... If these stories don't remind you that in life we have to take the bad with the good, I don't know what will.  When experiencing sadness we have to look for ways in which we can find little bits of joy that will carry us through.  When we can do this, we are teaching ourselves, not to gloss ove...

Happy Wednesday Everyone, I love to read Nathan Pyle comics...I have used a few here and there in my blog posts as inspiration.  You might remember them.  It's the aliens who are on earth that are constantly trying to interpret our world with their formalized language...you know the one???  The comics are called Strange Planet.   I often read them and chuckle to myself and then insist on reading them to my spouse who thinks they are funny, (but certainly doesn't appreciate them in the same way that I do).  Recently, he learned that Pyle had created two books of his Strange Planet Comics so he kindly purchased them for me.  I've been thumbing through them this morning thinking about inspiration for today's blog, and I found this one... Now maybe this is funnier to me than it will be for you, (because you haven't lived your life outside of your parents/guardians/caregivers home yet, and subsequently haven't come to the realization that your parents are a...

Happy Tuesday Everyone!   I had some good conversations yesterday about impact...about how our impact on others can be positive or negative depending on who you chose to be and how you choose to act in this world.  I really appreciate it when students are willing to take a hard look at themselves to determine if their impact on others makes this world better for those around them.  Jane Goodall, the author of this quote has had an impact on our environment.  She is passionate about the health of our planet, primates, in particular, animal habitat, and all living things.  Because of her impact in these original areas of interest, she has impacted people, cultures, policy, and global health.   This is Jane Goodall having an impact on kids when she Zoomed with my daughter's Kindergarten class two years ago!   Goodall's impact has been on education and our environment, but each of our individual impacts can have positive effects on many othe...

Happy Monday Everyone! This morning, I wanted to validate your dreams!!  A local artist and Harwood Graduate, Grace Potter was nominated recently for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album last night.  The Grammy's are a big dean and though Potter did not win, she was there -  in the category with other nationally recognized artists - for the success of her craft.    Best Rock Album "A Hero's Death," Fontaines D.C. "Kiwanuka," Michael Kiwanuka "Daylight," Grace Potter "Sound & Fury," Sturgill Simpson "The New Abnormal," The Strokes  *WINNER I read a short story by John Kerrigan, a former teacher and current coach at Harwood who taught Potter when she was a student there.  He reflected years later how he had often chastised her for frequently being late to his class.  She would give him a reason for being late... she had been in the music room working on her songs because she was going to be a rockstar!    I don't know Grace ...

 Happy Thursday Everyone, I am slow to post today but wanted to make sure to get something out to you today.  I thought I'd share a unique way that I cope with stress sometimes... I like to clean!   And more specifically I like to vacuum!   I like vacuuming because you can literally see the "filth" being removed, and in my mind, it sort of symbolizes the stress being removed from my day.   I also like organizing...as if organizing my space brings organization to my mind.  There are lots of tools you can use when you are stressed, but some tools don't come straight from a counselor's textbook.  Some tools are tools you discover that work especially well for you, just as rollsucking works for me!     Just remember that tools should be helpful and not harmful...think stacking wood vs. punching wood.  If you have a strategy that works particularly well for you, feel free to share it in the comments below.  Maybe othe...

Happy Wednesday, So I saw this last weekend and thought it might make a good project... I thought about how words meant to encourage, which could be generated from other kids in the same or similar positions, have the potential to be transformational and powerful.  So I have a little spring challenge for you... Take some time over the next few days, when you are in a positive frame of mind, to write down what you would want to hear from a friend or support person on a tough day.   Don't put your name or any identifying information on it.   Bring it to my office and put it in the marked bowl on my blue table.   Later, when a student comes to my office and needs words of encouragement, I'll read them some words from the bowl.  You never know, maybe it will be you someday benefiting from the encouraging words of others.   You can get creative and write your encouraging words on a card or picture, or you can simply scribble some thoughts on ...

Happy Tuesday Everyone! I wanted to send out a few important messages from my home office today...  ...don't forget that... ...and that even when the water is deep, I'm gonna keep preachin' self-care... ...and speaking of self-care...laughter is the best medicine... ...adults always think we know what we're doing don't we!?!  (Brittany...for real!)   Have a great day everyone!  Take care of yourself! Mrs. Hempey

Happy Monday Everyone, I was partway through today's post and unexpectedly had to go home due to my son being ill.  My post was going to have a "homework" component to it, which requires that I set up a little in-box in my office.  Now that I am not in the building today, and won't be tomorrow either, I can't get the things ready that I need to prepare before I publish the post.  So I am changing gears, saving my draft for a later date, and providing some different thoughts for the day.  Like Mr. Drake has said to the staff and teachers all year... Pivot !  Be ready to shift gears at a moment's notice and plan to stay flexible so that we can meet needs even it is from different spaces and platforms.  So here I am in my living-room workspace writing to you all about something I wasn't expecting to write about today.  Pivoting!   Now, I definitely haven't felt like telling Mr. Drake to "shut up,"  and I don't suggest you try it either, but...

Happy Friday Everyone!   So happy to have you all back in-house this short week.  Give yourself a little pat on the back for jumping back into the swing of things with gusto!   This morning I watched an Instagram clip of a conversation between Michelle Obama and Zaya Wade which was so cool.  They discussed how kids in their teens can approach life, change, and things that are hard.  The two of them touched on growth and challenge, and how the first doesn't happen without the second.   I hope you'll have a watch... Here is the link to their conversation! Obama says, "Give yourself space and time to learn and grow...that means you want to try a lot of things on..."  What a great sentiment!  So much of my time spent with students over the years has really boiled down to this simple solution of trying things on to figure out what fits you.   Over the last 20 years, the flow of students who have come to me with worries or frust...

Happy Thursday Everyone, I have a Pixar short for you today... I think this film perfectly epitomizes middle school.  Kids learning to venture out into the world by themselves a bit, maybe they find it scarry and hard sometimes, and would rather just stick to the nest.  But then their eyes are opened by something - a subject they feel passionate about, a club or group that inspires them, and artistic endevor that lights them up, or a sport that makes them feel strong and capable.  And then, once those eyes are opened, that kid - you - feel empowered to take on the world!!  That's what I love about middle school.  I love seeing your eyes get opened to all the possibilities and beautiful things that await you!   Amidst the sometimes chaos of life, there are many clams both big and small to find.  So keep getting out there Cougars...keep getting inspired, stay curious, and don't be afraid of those waves.  Remember that sometimes, the biggest str...

Welcome Back, Students!   I hope you've had a restful and relaxing break and are enjoying this day of easing back in gently before a couple of in-person days.   I didn't do a whole lot over break but my family did head up to the mountain for some skiing this week, and while I was there, I had a couple of mini moments that, put together, formed some thoughts for today's blog.   The first moment was when we were getting off of the Single Chair at Mad River.  If you don't know, once you get off the lift there, you have to kind of duck walk up a little hill.  My daughter was out in front of me as I was the last to get off the lift.   While duck walking up the little hill she popped right out of a ski but kept on walking.  I suppose she didn't stop because she knew I was behind her and would just scoop up the ski and get her back into it at the top of the rise.   On a subsequent run, we had ducked into the woods and this time I...