Gator Run Friday Focus - April 22, 2016

This week on the whiteboard outside my office I posted the following: "The question is not "How many days are left until summer vacation?"  The right question is "How many days are left to make a difference?"  I really mean this.  We need to take advantage of each day with our students.  Don't miss this opportunity to change your students' lives.  There is no reason to coast through the rest of this year, dreaming of summer vacation.  Are we allowed to be excited for summer?  Of course!  But we cannot let our excitement diminish our time here at school.  Time goes by way too fast and we still have time to make a difference.  Thank you for always making sure that our students' have the best possible learning experiences at all times of the year.

Next Week at a Glance:

• Principal's Honor Roll on Monday at 8:15.
• 4th grade is taking the ELA portion of the FSA on Tuesday and Wednesday.  We will be using the alternate schedule those two days.
• Our next SAC meeting is Wednesday at 2:20 in the Media Center.
• Interim Reports go home on Thursday.
• Kindergarten Round-up is next Thursday at 8:30.  
• Volunteer Breakfast is on Friday at 8:30.  That is also our next Team Leader Day.

Quote of the Week: "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life." - Prince.  

I look at this phrase in two different ways.  One is personally, in how music can help us 'get through life', particularly when times are tough.  Music has always played a big part of my life and it's amazing how certain songs can help you make it through.  The other way I look at it is in what we do at school.  We are not here to prepare students to take a test.  We are not here to get them to conform to some image of a 'perfect' person.  We are here to help them get through life - to help make their lives better in some way and to provide them with the experiences so that they will be equipped to make the best decisions possible.  How many days are left to help make our students' lives better?