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...