My hope is that during this crazy time you have been able to, along with school work, find activities and projects to keep your child engaged. I am anxious for the summer break and the vibes are high in my own house and almost my own children. But I am already thinking about the fall and coming back together as a school community. It will be different for sure, but I can’t wait! I have missed the students. In the book, The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, the authors say “achieving your highest and most noble aspirations will take more than a lifetime.” This idea helped me to relax and both accept grace from others and also give grace to those around me in knowing that our work in schools are truly never really finished. Along the way, though, there are micro-interactions that make the journey very worthwhile. I have missed the small micro interactions of the everyday. I miss the small conversations when students share with me how they are feeling or the drawings on my wall.
I wish your families a summer filled with great health, peace and a big dose of fun! All of my fingers are crossed in hopefulness that we’ll be together again soon. Thank you for a wonderful year! Shaun Cornwall
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This past week we needed to do something with our hands. We have been having a problem with moles so we decided to try and attract some natural predators. "Barn owls will happily hunt moles and other rodents, at the rate of 10 per night. That sounds like a great thing, and it is. However, you will need someplace for the owls to nest and enough wild areas to provide habitat for lots of rodents because unless you keep supplying “your” owls with dinner, they will move on." So we decided to build our own owl box! It was not too difficult. There were so many elements of learning. Math and measurement. Rroblem solving and research. We had to learn a little about owls in the process. It was nice to just slow down and work with our hands. Harry was proud of the work and what he accomplished. Now we just have to wait and see if an owl moves in! As we move into the last couple weeks of school go back through my previous posts, find something that interests your child, build something, create something. There is nothing more satisfying then standing back and admiring ones hard work and effort! With all the issues going on right now it seemed of little or no consequence to post the things I am doing to stay engaged with my own children. It would have really displayed my white privilege. It is definitely something that we have talked about as a family – the fact that we don’t feel an urgency to go protest or the fact we can sit at home and build a garden or watch cartoons without any real worries. I have been trying to do a lot of listening this week and seeking for understanding. I certainly don't have all the answers, but I want to BE better and DO better about speaking out when I see injustices, as well as teaching my own children the same. As I have listened to perspectives and experiences that are drastically different than my own, I have had to be okay feeling uncomfortable and vulnerable. In terms of school, I am attaching the district message from school board president Marnie Maraldo and Superintendent Ron Thiele and I echo their words that “Now, more than ever we need our entire community to lean into the work of eliminating racism and injustice.” https://issaquah.wednet.edu/emergency-details/2020/06/01/an-important-message-to-the-community-from-the-isd If you or your child would like or need someone to talk to please feel free to reach out. I welcome the conversations. Please be safe and respectful towards each other. |
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September 2020
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