What is fair?

“Safety" and "fairness" are the preoccupation of the wounded. "Being" and "joy" are the unconscious realities of the free and living.” ~Mea McMahon

How many times as parents do you hear the words “That’s not fair” in your house?  As we come upon the time of school report cards you may hear it more.  Are there times when things are presented to us and our children unfairly?  Of course there are, but any situation that helps children develop resiliency is inherently “not fair” to them.  There are always excuses for why they “failed” at something.  If we, as adults, want to help alleviate the victim mentality we can’t give credence to those excuses, but teach children how to use those setbacks to gain more than they lost. 

As I think back to our time at Feed My Starving Children and connect the words “It’s not fair,” I find myself turning it around.  It’s not fair my family has never had to worry about where they are going to live or what they are going to eat.  We never think of fairness in this way.  It has nothing to do with fairness.  It has more to do with hard work, virtues, and blessings in our family that we don’t have those worries.  Yes, as we often tell children life is not fair, but what about if we thought of fairness and felt gratitude as opposed to victimization.  It could be an entirely different world!

Mr. Anderson has graced the School of Grammar’s Office walls with some wonderful art work.  In keeping with the season, first grade students have been working on still life drawings of fall leaves.  Some of their finished painted products are on display in the pictures below.  Check them out the next time you are in the office.

Next Saturday (November 7^th) is the Eagle Ridge Academy Gala “A Night in New Orleans.”  It is not too late to get tickets to attend. You can register here: Gala.  It is a wonderful evening for parents and staff to come together in a social setting to support our school.  All proceeds from this event go directly to the library in the new building.  Every bit helps and there are many fantastic donated items and experiences you can bid on to help raise those funds for books and other library resources.  If you are unable to attend, please check out the online auction open now at https://www.32auctions.com/ERAGALA2015 to see the offerings. 

Have a fantastic week!

Mrs. Baier

Service

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”  ~Aesop

Last week was a time to celebrate service to self and others in the Eagle Ridge Academy School of Grammar.  It was the first Pillar ticket drawing of the school year.  All the students who earned Pillar stickers in September put the backs in the Pillar ticket jar in the School of Grammar office.  Mrs. Baier drew out five tickets for the September winners.  In order to get their Pillar stickers, students had to demonstrate the Pillars either for themselves or others.  Those acts of kindness or demonstrations of virtues are so important for children to learn and do.  Recognizing them for making the choices they know are right is key to cementing these key virtues.  Make sure you are recognizing that Pillar behavior at home to make the connection for your children that these virtues are important everywhere not just at school. 

The five September Pillar ticket winners went for a walk around the school and had a snack on the playground with Mrs. Baier.  The winners were Sam (1^st), Maximus (2^nd), Bhuvan (3^rd), Saanvi (3^rd), and Spencer (3^rd). 

After conferences, faculty and staff at Eagle Ridge Academy joined together for a team community service event at Feed My Starving Children.  It was a great way for the staff at Eagle Ridge Academy to model the community service we believe is core to teach to students.  It was truly moving to see everyone working together happily to benefit others.  If you have ideas for future community service for students and staff, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.  All grade levels in the School of Grammar are designing one internal (benefiting Eagle Ridge Academy) and one external community service project for students for the school year.  I look forward to sharing those projects with you, as they occur. 

Have a wonderful fall break!

Mrs. Baier

Making Amends...

“It is the highest form of self-respect to admit our errors and mistakes and make amends for them.  To make a mistake is only an error in judgment, but to adhere to it when it is discovered shows infirmity of character.” ~Dale Turner

Lunch at Eagle Ridge Academy is a social time for students, but as you can imagine (if you’ve never experienced it for yourself) lunch with 138 students can become quite an occasion.  Students can sometimes get a bit too loud in the Commons at lunch.  Our lunchroom monitors do a nice job of keeping the volume at an acceptable level, but some days the students make choices that are not the best regarding their voices and how they respond to the supervisors at lunch. 

Last week was one of those noisy days during fourth grade lunch.  It seems the students were not making choices to be the best versions of themselves and were not affording the lunchroom supervisors with respect.  When they were called on their non-Pillar behavior they were also asked to reflect and make amends with the lunch staff. After reflecting on their own behavior and the jobs of the lunchroom staff, many of the students wrote letters to the staff in apology for their behavior that particular day.  What impresses me most about these letters is that they just aren’t the usual “I’m sorry for what I did letters.”  They own up to their own behavior, yet they are also showing appreciation for the lunchroom staff and you can even see some personal relationships in them. Making mistakes is a normal part of life, but truly making amends is the most important part of any mistake.  I appreciate how the Eagle Ridge Academy staff is teaching our students ways to do just that! You can see a few of the letters below, and if you visit the Commons they are all posted on the bulletin board by the water fountains.

Speaking of lunch…if you come to have lunch with your chlld, please do not have other children come and sit with you.  Students should not have friends join them with their parents for lunch because it does create hurt feelings for those that cannot.  Teachers then have to deal with the aftermath of those hurt feelings in the classroom in the afternoon.  Having lunch with your child can be a special time just for you!

Next week are parent/teacher conferences.  Please make sure you are signed up before the conference scheduler closes at 11:00pm on October 8^th.  There will be a Scholastic Book Fair sponsored by the PTO in the Commons on both conference days (October 12^th and 13^th).  Funds raised will be saved to help supply books in our new library in 2016-17. 

Have a wonderful week and lovely fall break!

Mrs. Baier