Highlights of the first few days

Several Irving highlights of the first few days of 2019

So this week we listed some of our goals for the remainder of the school year.   A common theme emerged – we need to take care of ourselves. “be present”, “exercise”, and “find balance”.
We wear many hats to the 500 plus students who walk into Irving each and every day.  We are educators, nurses, parental figures, data managers, friends, advocates, buffers, negotiators, servants, gatekeepers, comforters, and on and on. We give and we give and we give – and because of all the giving we need to replenish ourselves.  And, we have a wonderful resource in our midst to help us – Nancy Healy.



Nancy shared a YouTube resource she is using – the work of Mel Robbins “Mindset Reset”.  Ms. Robbins works on developing habits that develop a positive mindset and emphasizes that positivity isn’t an event but a process.

Who isn’t drawn to a person who has a positive mindset – and one who wants to share how she got there and share what is working for her?  So thanks, Nancy – for caring for our hearts and minds on Mondays of every week.  You are a gift and we are better for your care.  Keep it coming!

We also looked at data from a group of our fifth-grade students whose MAP results indicated they were reading on grade level for two years.  One startling observation came from Julie who had seven of these students; one student came to Irving as a preschooler without any verbal language!  If ever there is a case for the need for early childhood education, this fifth grader could be a poster child for it.  I’m just going there with this political statement: We need lawmakers to address the really pressing issues of our day.  Here’s one - the need for early childhood education for all – especially for kids of poverty. Amen. Amen. Amen.

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