Author: Van Am Gram

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Celebrating readers and books…

CBW2May 12-16 is officially National Children’s Book Week and we always celebrate in big ways at LME!  Please join us next week in dressing for the daily theme and bring some wonderful reading material to share with others as we get ready for summer reading fun!  🙂

  • Monday: “We MUSTACHE You To Read!” Wear a mustache to school; prizes awarded for the top 3 most creative.
  • Tuesday: “Sneak Up On A Good Book.” Wear camouflage clothing.
  • Wednesday: “READ A Shirt Day!” Wear a shirt with words on it.
  • Thursday: “Reading With A Friend Is Twice As Nice!” It’s Twin Day so dress the same as a friend to read together.
  • Friday: “A Book Title In My Pocket…” Have a favorite book title written down in your pocket to pull out and share with a friend.
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Time flies…

TAW4How time flies…we waved a somewhat tearful goodbye to our 5th graders (and their teachers) for their big official tour of Frank Seale Middle School.  As I share everyday, the days of raising children are long but the years are too short.  As we get ready to send our first group of LME Kindergarteners (now almost 6th graders) to middle school, we are thankful for the 6 years of learning, traditions, and handprints they have each contributed to our LME legacy.  Likewise, we are grateful for their parents who partnered with us during their elementary journey.  We are sending strong learning leaders to Cub-land!; get ready, FSMS!  🙂

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Star Attractions…

Nurse AppreciationIn the midst of Teacher Appreciation Week, we also celebrate the awesomeness of our extraordinary school nurse, Mrs. Sullivan (or Nurse, for short).  She was blessed today with various expressions of love and appreciation including special poems, songs, notes, cards, and pictures.  You can see one of the favorites today…

Cue the 20th Century roaring lion and the brass TAW3overture to start the reel…Our amazing PTO has showered us with all manner of good wishes, treats, and surprises each day this week!  From prize drawings and announcements starting our day to favorite movie stars, the paparazzi, concession stand workers (popcorn or Milk Duds anyone?), and incognito gear, our parents have spoiled us TAW1dearly.  We truly walk-the-red-carpet each morning to the flash of the bulbs!  Yes, we feel like movie and rock stars with all this royal treatment!

The greatest blessing of all is just knowing how much our staff is appreciated for the important work we do each day with children.  Our work is truly a calling and we each choose to serve in our many unique capacities.  Thanks for sharing your most valuable treasures and “star attractions” with us each school day!  Rock on, Team LME!

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Who is a teacher?

NTD1On this National Teacher Day, it probably goes without saying we have extraordinarily talented, outstanding educators at LME…heart, mind, and soul!  Yes, I’m biased, but it’s my blog after all…  🙂

With this respectfully noted, I asked some older learning friends for their specific thoughts today about our teachers.  Please enJOY their comments:

Who Is A Teacher?

A teacher is someone who see of us as unique persons and encourages our talents and strengths.
A teacher is someone who looks beyond my face and sees inside my soul even with eyes in the back of her head (just like mom).
A teacher is someone with a special touch, a smile, someone who takes time to listen to all sides and is fair, even when I mess up.
A teacher is someone with a caring heart who respects and understands even when they don’t want to and even when I want him to only take my side.
A teacher is someone who looks past bad choices to see the hurt and pain in others even when she has a tough day herself.
A teacher is someone teaching all of me, not just certain parts of me.
A teacher is someone building my confidence and raising my worth in life.
A teacher makes a difference in my life, affects my family, and pushes me to my future!#thanks

Bless you, LME staff, for the work of teaching and learning you do every single day!  Happy National Teacher Day; Go Team Miller!

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Planting seeds…

Graduation is usually a time when we contemplate our future and purpose. It can be both a time of great excitement and, what I like to call, preventative worry.  I certainly remember the anxiousness I felt after each graduation.  Whether you or your child are graduating Kindergarten, middle school, high school, or college, or just know a graduate, take note of the 11 lessons author seed400Jon Gordon shares from his book, The Seed.  May they empower you and your child on the next steps of the journey forward:

1.  You are here for a reason and the most important thing you can do in life is to find, live, and share your purpose. It’s the one thing in life that truly matters; if you don’t pursue it, everything else is meaningless.

2.  Follow your passion; it often leads you to your purpose. You may not know what your passion is right now. That’s ok. To help find your passion, seek out learning experiences or jobs allowing you to use your strengths and gifts.

3. Beware of hobbies.  Just because you enJOY social media doesn’t mean you would enjoy working for Twitter.  Just because you love to cook doesn’t mean you would enjoy owning a restaurant.  What aspects of the hobby do you love and work from them.

4. When you quit, quit for the right reasons. Don’t quit because work is hard or you’re experiencing challenges. Quit because in your heart you know there is something else for you to do.

5. Learn from every experience. Every job, good or bad, prepares you for the work you were ultimately born to do.

6.Your current situation may not be your ultimate purpose but it can serve as a vehicle to live and share your purpose.

7. Whatever job(s) you take after graduation, decide to simply serve. When you serve in small ways you’ll get more opportunities to serve in bigger ways.

8. Your dream job is likely not the one you dreamed about.  So often we end up in amazing careers that have nothing to do with our college degree or childhood dreams.

9. The quest for your purpose is not a straight line. It is filled with mystery, signs, obstacles, victories, dead ends, delays and detours. Your job is to stay optimistic and faithful on your quest.

10. Don’t rush the future. There is a process all seeds must go through in order to become all they are destined to become, and you must go through this same process to become the person you are meant to be and do the work you are meant to do.

11. Be the Seed. Seeds surrender themselves to the ground so they can be used for a greater purpose. Wherever you are, decide to plant yourself where you are and allow yourself to be used for a greater purpose. When you plant yourself and make a difference, you grow into the person you were born to be and produce a harvest that will benefit others and change the world.

Here’s hoping our planted seeds of this school year truly change the world!  🙂

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Field Day 2014!

fieldday2When you add colored team shirts, eggs, bounce houses, hula-hoops, hockey sticks, slides, wiffle balls, and children (with a dash of great spring weather thrown in for good measure), what do you get?  Field Day 2014! 

It was truly rocking and rolling around inside and outside ourfieldday1 campus throughout day.  From morning Rally to the traveling music to 25 stations packed with physical activities, our 600+ learners, classroom leaders, and families joined in  the fun.  Special thanks to Coach Rogers, his dynamite team of “dream makers,” our HS3sponsors, and our parents for supporting this campus initiative today.  Thanks to our learners for actively practicing the concept of good sportsmanship and friendly competition throughout the day.  Thanks to our office staff who successfully checked in/out over 800 visitors today, including several MHS students who volunteered to assist us.  Thanks to our learning community for embracing a fun, engaging, meaningful tradition here at LME each year.  As Coach says, “Who are we?”  We are Miller!  EnJOY your weekend!  🙂

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Kinder Kamp Kuteness…

KKamp4Our annual “Kinder Kamp” was held last night at LME…what a JOYful experience!  Thirty-nine incoming Kinder friends and their families joined us stories, singing, dancing, and table activities while parents were given the “inside scoop” from our Kinder Team of experts about daily Kinder life on campus.  It’s bittersweet for KKamp3us really…we’re about to send our first LME Kinder friends (now 5th graders) on to middle school world…we remember the evening they joined us before we opened the doors six years ago.  As I looked across the gathered group last night, we have some families starting the middle school experience while they are starting the Kinder experience again too!  🙂

Our Kinder Teachers shared some fabulous tidbits, so here are a few to help you along the way…

Things to do to help your child prepare for Kinder learning:

  • Read together every single day–lots and lots of books together!
  • Share children’s poetry (for the rhyming words and patterns poems present).
  • Sing songs together.
  • Read and recite nursery rhymes (again, for the pattern and predictions).
  • Play with blocks, Legos, and other “building” materials.
  • Practice writing with a pencil.
  • Practice coloring shapes and designs.
  • Practice using scissors (great manipulative skill).
  • Practice on buttons, shoelaces, velcro, and zippers (clothing items in particular).

Helpful skills for your child to have for Kinder include:

  • Recognize and write first and last name.
  • Recognize and count from #s from 0 – 10.
  • Recognize colors and shapes.
  • Know letters and the sounds they make.
  • Take turns.
  • Sit quietly and listen to a story.
  • Good restroom habits and manners (washing hands, too!).
  • Good manners at recess.
  • How to introduce self to others.

Three particular websites our Kinder Team enJOYs include:

We hope these ideas help spark some fun learning opportunities in the days ahead as we all prepare for that first important step in the learning journey…Kindergarten Kuteness indeed!  🙂

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Kinder Time!

kinder1It’s time to welcome our incoming Kinder friends to LME this week!  Join us tomorrow evening, April 29th, at 6:30 p.m. in the LME Cafe as our outstanding Kinder Team shares informative tidbits with parents about the upcoming school year.  Our Kinder friends will experience an engaging learning experience with two of our Kinder teachers while parents learn about daily school activities and expectations.  Come meet our staff, ask those critical questions, and get a feel for our growing campus.  As one “experienced” Kinder friend shared with me today, “Oh Mrs. Van, Kinder friends and fun are the best…you know that!”  🙂  We look forward to seeing you there!

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5K4Kids!

It’s time for the annual Midlothian Education Foundation’s 5K4Kids Event!  Join us tomorrow morning at the MISD Multipurpose Stadium as the community celebrates spring by kicking off the day with a family-friendly fun run and 5K race.  The 5K starts @ 10:00 a.m.  All proceeds 5K-4Kids-Logobenefit the extraordinary work of our MEF through the awarding of innovative teaching grants, celebrating learning, and honoring top MISD graduates and educators each year.  Celebrate our community by joining other families in the downtown Spring Fling festivities following the race.  Get outside this weekend and enJOY the great weather (before the storms come our way).  We hope to see you there!  🙂

Note:  Again, many thanks for your patience and understanding this week as we completed mandatory state assessments.

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Eye on the ball…

I was reminded during a conversation today about playing tennis and my personal goal (at the time) of being the first unranked 18-yr.-old to win the U.S. Open…  🙂  In my pursuit of personal tennis greatness, my lessons consisted of repeating coach’s words of wisdom to me:keep-your-eye-on-the-ball

  • Keep the racket low.
  • Move your feet.
  • Bend your knees; both knees!
  • Rotate your hips…low to high.
  • Follow through.
  • Don’t pass out.

One day I thought I was doing everything right and still wasn’t hitting the ball well.  While contemplating my issue, I laughed as I realized the most important overlooked the obvious part:  keeping my eye on the ball.  I was so caught up in trying to do everything else that I forgot the most important part of the game.

Distractions in life cause us all to lose our focus.  We allow the trivial to get in the way of the meaningful.  BUSYness and stress keep us from developing the relationships crucial to being our personal best.  We fret about the past, worry about the future, and take our focus off the present.  Bombarded by information and daily distractions, we forget what is truly important, thus focusing on outcomes instead of process and wonder why we miss the target.

You are encouraged today to keep your eye on the ball; get back to basics and focus on the fundamentals.  Treasure what really matters…simplify, focus, execute.  Teach your little one to do this too; the future generation depends on us today to show them the way for tomorrow…keeping your eye on the ball each step of the way can take your game to the next level!  🙂

Note:  We are so grateful to our learners and their classroom leaders for completing another round of state assessment this week…just some makeups to go now.  Way to go, Team Miller!  🙂