1st Birthday!

Today is a special day in our family!  It is my daughter’s first birthday.  It seems like yesterday that Renae and I were driving to the hospital for her birth. I do hear from a lot of our families about how time continues to go by quicker as our children get older.

As I reflected this morning about Aubrey’s first year of life, I kept coming back to the reoccurring theme of change in both her life and in the lives of students at Central Woodlands.
Aubrey’s first year of life was marked by so many developmental changes: rolling over, sitting up, crawling, solid foods, and walking.  Her life was marked by many external changes as well.  She moved out of the only house she knew, living in a total of three different houses during the year.  Despite all of this, she continues to be a healthy and thriving baby (as evident by the photo below). 

One constant in life is change.  It is inevitable.  Life happens.  At Central Woodlands, we see how students thrive with consistency in their school day.  It is comforting to know where to sit, how to navigate the lunch room, and to know teachers and staff are here every day to offer support.  However, we also realize that change happens and we work to provide students with the ability to cope and do well with change.  Much of that comes from our school-wide focus on creating a positive culture of “Standing Up” for yourself and others.  By learning how to be a self-advocate, our students are working at being able to thrive through any experience they may encounter.  They understand whether something is “big rock” or “little rock.” (Ask Mrs. Bouley about this!)  They know that if they stay true to who they are, they will be able to handle anything that comes their way.  This is a skill that will serve them well later in school and beyond!

On Wednesday during lunch, I did congratulate all of our students on their hard work during the 1^st semester and challenged them to have an even better 2^nd semester.  I so proud to be their Principal and to spend my days with such an amazing group of children.  I see nothing but GREAT things on the horizon for our students!