Look for the Helpers

Hello Everyone, I am happy to report that I am feeling a bit more grounded this morning.  I'll share that a member of my extended family, my 16-year-old nephew, had a serious medical event on Tuesday afternoon, (which was not Covid related).  While he is not out of the woods yet, he is being well cared for at the hospital and has shown some good improvements over the past 24 hours.  Needless to say, my family is breathing a bit easier this morning, and I thank anyone who is reading this for sending positive vibes my family's way!  Generally, my blog posts each day are born out of my musings, things I see or read, and my wish to convey messages of peace, calm, and clarity during this otherwise difficult time.  So it's funny that I ran across this photo on Sunday and had planned to post it at some point.  I think it fits for all of you, and it certainly is clear to me that I needed this message this week.      To say my last couple of ...

Good Morning Students, Because we're all in this together, school counselors and other employees are keeping an eye on what different school districts are doing to support kids.  Where necessary we borrow resources or ideas to create supports for our own kids.  Today I am grateful for a little support and am borrowing from Wayzata Public schools in Minnesota.  The staff there have created a beautiful virtual calming room for their students to enjoy.  Please feel free to check it out here .  My thoughts are very scattered today, and I am feeling that I don't have a lot to give this morning, so I am grateful for my unknown colleagues around the country and those that I do know in our own building that offered a little support at just the right time.    As I teach you all, it's best for us as humans to recognize our emotions, figure out the best way to address it with a tool, and give ourselves time and space to care for ourselves.  Today I a...

Happy Tuesday Everyone, Today's question of the day in my Google classroom was what are some of your favorite movies of all time?  This got me thinking about some of my favorites movies.  I decided to search out some clips from a couple of favorites to share with you.    I love this clip from Remember the Titans . It gives me goose flesh every time I watch it.  I remember visiting this same battlefield when I was a sophomore in high school and my older sister was looking at colleges.  I love the coach's insistence that the players will learn to respect each other regardless of whether they like each other.  His deeper belief is that with respect, comes understanding, and with understanding, comes compassion.  This is an idea that comes up in my office a lot, and it is certainly still an issue in our communities and our country today.  We have to learn to put our differences aside, listen to folks that we disagree with, and f...

Sometimes Mondays are hard.  Especially after being on break for a week and being out of our routines.  Sometimes there is a lot of stuff cluttering our brains, and sometimes you don't accomplish tasks in the time and space you think you should (for example this blog post - I generally like to do them first thing in the morning). I listened to an interview with Julie Andrews this past Sunday and she mentioned this idea about standing still.  Sometimes, it's as simple as that.  Stand still, ground yourself, breathe, listen, and take the next right step.    Happy Monday Everyone! Be Well, Mrs. Hempey

Happy Friday Everyone! Of course, I've had a little extra time on my hands this week, so you've all likely noticed that I've been watching documentaries and TV series that examine people and their unique lifestyles.  Yesterday was no different.  I started the six episodes series, Win the Wilderness , on Netflix.  I thought it sounded somewhat entertaining, and I needed something to watch as I ran on the elliptical in my basement.  This show was billed as a reality TV series where six couples from the UK came to Alaska to try to win a homestead on Ose Mountain.  The real reality was that this was a beautiful story of an older couple who together had dreams of living off the land and a passion for the Alaskan wilderness.  They followed their hearts, living off the grid while building a life and a home on Ose Mountain for 30 years.   The show chronicles their history and their desire to leave their legacy in new and capable hands, to a worthy ...

And we will dance, and never let go... Happy Thursday all! Be Well, Mrs. Hempey

Happy Wednesday! One of my daily routines that helps me stay pretty grounded is some time to exercise in the morning, and then a cup of vanilla caramel tea with sugar-free French vanilla creamer in it!  It's like candy in a cup!  Yummmmm!  As I sipped my tea and sat down to work for a bit...yes I know it's school break, but I just have a little bit to do...I realized that the quote on my tea mug connected to something a read yesterday.  I'll get to that bit later, but first, here is my mug... A student gave me this mug at the end of the school year last year, and it's often on my shelf at school because I love the quote and the sentiment, and feel that it is an important one to share.  However, in the summer (or during a pandemic) I bring it home and use it interchangeably with this one: I love that both of these mugs remind us that we are capable of managing tough things.  They remind me that when we believe in ourselves, we can come out ...