Short week...

 

Hello Amazing Elementary Parents,

We have a three – day weekend coming up. Remember, there is no school tomorrow. We ask for prayers as we have the girls’ and boys’ middle and high school teams, as well as parents and coaches, heading to Knoxville first thing in the morning. Over 100 people connected with our school will be traveling! It's going to be a big day for all the players!

Some upcoming activities for our elementary friends are listed below:

*Candy-grams and information coming home soon...

*February 15 – 4th grade play "School Daze"

*February 18 – No school (in-service for teachers)

*February 28 – Kindergartners lead elementary chapel

Click here to see the fall calendar: 2013-2014 School Calendar

The following security information was sent out earlier this week from President Beecher Frasier:

NEW SECURITY GUIDELINES:

While our security committee continues to review and improve our procedures, these are some things we are reinforcing with our whole school community, beginning this week. They are not meant to hinder our family friendly atmosphere, and you are still encouraged to come and have lunch with your child or run that forgotten item back to school. These policies are fairly simple things we can do to better ensure the safety of our children, parents, and teachers.

On Campus:

Once the bell has rung, all adults on campus must sign in at one of the school offices. As a general rule, we do not allow parents to wait in the halls during school hours unless you have stopped by an office and received a visitor tag.

Visitor Check-in:

In the offices, you will receive a visitor badge when you submit a current form of ID (driver's license.) The ID will be held until you return to the office to check-out. Please feel free to share this policy with any family member who comes to have lunch with a child, especially in the elementary school.

As stated in the handbook, "High School Students will not be permitted to have students from other schools or outside friends to visit during lunch or school hours." Pg. 26

"Parents and supporters are encouraged to visit the school. However, all classroom visits should be by appointment only. Visitors should go directly to the office, sign in and discuss their visit to the school with the principal or school secretary. Drop-in visits are discouraged because they take time from the planned schedule of the teachers and students. Appointments with teachers should be scheduled before school, after school, or during the teacher's planning period."Pg. 26

Entrances:

During school hours-including morning drop-off, only the main entrance doors are accessible. Please do not try to gain access along the ends of corridors. These remain locked throughout the day and are for faculty use or emergency exit only. We are making efforts to train our students to not allow someone in at the end doors, even if they are asking to be let in. Students arriving late must also use the main entrance.

The High School senior hall and Commons entrances will remain unlocked until 8:00am. After that, students and visitors must walk around to the front entrance.

Here is my thought for this week (it's about judging others). As always, I am saying what is on my heart, and I shared this with my fellow teachers earlier this week. I feel at times we seem to only focus on the negative aspects of a person or a situation, and that is all we see. While we focus on the negative, we cannot see the good things about others or about situations at hand. This mostly occurs because we usually do not know the whole story or see the big picture. This is why it is dangerous to talk negatively about a person to others, especially without knowing ALL THE FACTS. This ends up forming a wrongful negative opinion of that person in the minds of others or makes a situation seem way worse than it really is, so I will share with you a story that came to me this week through an e-mail. It was a timely e-mail and gave me clear perspective. I know it is something I can work on not doing, and maybe it can help you this week...

Judging Others? A very short story.

A doctor entered the hospital in hurry after being called in for an urgent surgery. He answered the call ASAP, changed his clothes, and went directly to the surgery block. He found the father of the injured boy pacing in the hall, waiting for the doctor. Upon seeing him, the dad yelled:

“Why did you take all this time to come? Don’t you know that my son’s life is in danger? Don’t you have a sense of responsibility?”

The doctor smiled and said:

“I am sorry; I wasn’t in the hospital and I came as fast as I could after receiving the call… And now, I wish you’d calm down so that I can do my work.”

“Calm down?! What if your son was in this room right now – would you calm down? If your own son were dying now, what would you do?” said the father angrily.

The doctor smiled again and replied: “I would say what Job said in the Holy Book: “From dust we came, and to dust we return; blessed be the name of God.” Doctors cannot prolong lives. Go and intercede for your son, we will do our best by God’s grace.”

“Giving advice when you’re not concerned is so easy,” murmured the father.

The surgery took some hours, after which the doctor came out happy with good news.

“Thank goodness! Your son is saved!” he said. Without waiting for the father’s reply, he hurried out the door saying, “If you have any questions, ask the nurse!”

Minutes after the doctor left, the father said to the nurse, “Why is he so arrogant? He couldn’t wait a few minutes for me to ask about my son’s state.”

The nurse answered, tears coming down her face, “His son died yesterday in a road accident. He was attending the burial when we called him for your son’s surgery. And now that he saved your son’s life, he left running to finish his son’s burial.”

Moral: Never judge anyone, because you never know what their situation is or what they’re going through.

http://inspireyourliving.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/never-judge-anyonea-must-read-story/

Matthew 7:1-5 (The Message)

“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor."