On your feet!

     At the beginning of each school year I regularly share my major goals for the year with our School Board for their feedback and approval.  This year I attempted to portray each goal graphically (albeit informally . . . I'm an artist more in hope than in actuality) to provide a simple visual as I discussed the goals with them.  One of my depictions looked like this . . . 

    and in case that drawing doesn't make it perfectly clear, I will explain that it represents my hope that our students are always able to apply what they're learning in the classroom (scene depicted on the left) to the world beyond the classroom (student engaging with globe) and that they are able to assert and explain what they know actively "on their feet" with confidence (student with exclamation point).

    A far clearer--and certainly more powerful--"depiction" of what I'm talking about came from one of our students who spoke at a public meeting of the NC Department of Environmental Quality on December 17th in Raleigh.

     I hope we are always able to graduate students who still love the world enough to engage with it.  I hope we are always able to graduate students who are inspired to take on our toughest problems and find creative solutions.  I hope we graduate students who are bold.  Thank you, Caroline, for being bold!

     Here are my other drawings I used to present my goals to the Board.  In case they're not immediately self evident (and I can't imagine that they would be!), you can always look back to my September 21st post.

Take a Book, Return a Book

     I wonder how many of you have a Little Free Library in your neighborhood?  For some, I imagine that phrase Little Free Library is very familiar, while for others it probably comes across as new.  It's a grassroots movement whose mission is . . .

To promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide and to build a sense of community as we share skills, creativity and wisdom across generations.

To find an official Little Free Library near you, you can visit their map.

    Well, at Woods we definitely share the mission of wanting to promote literacy and the love of reading.  We also believe in building a sense of community and in sharing skills, creativity, and wisdom across generations.  That's what inspired us to build and install our own book exchange on the first floor hallway.

     This bookcase was custom built for us by our own Amy Dowden, who, in addition to being a dynamic and dedicated teacher of chemistry, math, computer science, and physics, is also a very skilled and experienced woodworker with her own woodworking business.