West Madison, I want you to live every day as if what you do matters, because it does. Teachers matter, parents matter, even students matter. You matter, West Madison! Every choice you make matters. Every action you take, matters. It may not seem like it, but the choices you make matter to you and to all those around you and create the life and environment you live. We have decided this year to teach students to stop and think before they make the choices they make in life. Because the choices we make matter.
Very soon, Mrs. Miller and I will begin reading a couple of books to the students. The book I will read to the fifth and sixth graders is called Wonder by J.R. Palacio. It is about a boy who has never been to school because he has craniofacial condition. He has never been to school because he has had numerous surgeries. The story is about his struggles going to school (middle school) and his families struggles. I am looking forward to experiencing this book with our students.
The book Mrs. Miller will read is called Have you Filled Your Bucket today? She will read it to the lower grades. This book shares about how we all can go about filling our emotional buckets as well fill buckets of those around us by saying and doing positive things for ourselves and each other. On the flip side, we can empty our buckets by saying negative things about ourselves and each other.
What we wish by reading these books is for each student to gain an understanding of the importance of treating everyone with kindness and that we all matter. It doesn't matter whether we are boys or girls, tall or short, stout or slim, we matter. We want them to know that the choices we make in life, whether in Kindergarten, second grade or sixth grade will set our paths towards greatness, success or failure. Our choices matter whether at work, home, or even at school.
Parents, we would ask you to help us along this path to make better choices. Let your children know that they matter. Many of them question this every day. I know as a child, I always wondered whether I mattered. It took me into my adulthood (far into it, I might add) to realize that what I did matters. I want to instill this type of confidence in them now, today. Let's work together to encourage our kids and let them know they matter and launch them towards greatness. And always, I wish for you to know that you matter and you make a difference. We are partners in educating your children. As we lead our children in knowing and believing they make a difference, we will move our school forward, our school system forward, our community forward our state forward and ultimately the world forward. You matter.
