Hello TCS Families!
I can not believe this was a "short" week! We have done so much this week! I want to send a big congratulations to the Cross Country team! Our Swamp Rabbits ran their hearts out and beat out many local (and bigger!) schools! The ESports Chess team (Evan, Noah J, and Gabe) Won again!!!!
Mark your calendars:
1) The next PTO meeting is OCT 16 at the school at 6PM
2) No classes next week Wednesday/Thursday/Friday for Parent teacher conferences.
Reminders:
1) Middle school students MUST turn their phones into the teacher's lounge in the mornings (or leave them home!)
2) SAT/ACT Friday Students: Please bring your own device- not a Chromebook- with the "Blue Book" application downloaded on it. We have 2 spares if you absolutely do not have a non-chromebook device.
Some of you may have heard that we had some trouble here last week.
Some of you may know that we have had several suspensions this year.
I want to be clear- this is NOT about having bad kids. This is about having kids. Kids of all ages do dumb things. I’ve been working with teenagers for over 20 years. I’ve seen a LOT of dumb behavior. Most of the time, students get caught, see where they went wrong, ask for forgiveness, take measurable steps to ensure they don’t repeat the same mistake, and live to grow into wiser adults who have learned from their experiences. Wisdom comes from going through those actions.
I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve met a student who was, for all intents and purposes, incapable of seeing their part and incapable of apologizing. Without asking for forgiveness, there can’t be any recognition of wrongdoing. Without recognition of wrongdoing, there can’t be any restitution made. Without restitution, there can’t be any freedom earned in knowing you have cleaned your mess to the best of your ability. Through my experience I have learned that I can not help someone who does not want to do better. TCS is not for students who need it. TCS is for students who want it. We have so many students that go out of their way everyday to show they want to be a part of the TCS family- and students like that will always have a home at TCS.
Behavior occurred last week that I feel was dangerous for the safety of the greater TCS community. As one of the students involved showed no remorse, never apologized, nor took measurable steps to ensure that their behavior would change, that student is, for now, not welcome at TCS. The other students involved have apologized and made restitutions to those and are back to having great days at TCS.
When I meet a student that does not want to change or grow I have to choose to preserve my energy to pour on the students who want to grow. Saving the magic that exists at TCS for students who want it is how we respect just how rare and wonderful the magic is that lives at TCS.
Mistakes are part of growing up. Many of your children will find themselves making mistakes. Mistakes are the first part of learning. As learning is our ultimate goal, none of us at TCS fear children making mistakes. But, mistakes are a waste of time if they aren’t used as an opportunity to learn new lessons.
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