As I was reflecting on the events of this morning, two seemingly unrelated thoughts suddenly coalesced into a single idea. I spent a few minutes thinking about the district staff member who passed away and the impact he has had on my professional life. In my current position, I have had no contact with this person, but we were closely linked in one of my former positions. Several years ago, he stopped me at an Institute Day to tell me that he thought my decision to teach A Prayer for Owen Meany was great. We talked for several minutes and he especially focused on the depth of feeling that defines the main characters' friendship and the sacrifices made to protect that friend. I ended up teaching this novel for six years to nearly 800 students. I hope that this novel gave us the opportunity to discuss the importance of giving of ourselves to our friends and creating bonds that link us to our community.
This led me to thoughts of our school community and hopes that I can help facilitate that bonding and willingness to sacrifice that define friendship for our students. This sentiment has already been seen in the many efforts to support local families who face unforeseen and mighty obstacles. The generosity of our community also will be on public display as the Giving Tree collection is delivered to the residents of Lepertown tomorrow. I'd like to also encourage continued development in fostering friendships and good choices.
All of this was swirling around my head this morning as I was simultaneously reading the email request for Snowflurry volunteers. Bobbi Laffin, health teacher at Waubonsie, was asking for teachers to help with the Snowflurry dates at Granger and Crone Middle Schools for 4th and 5th Grade students. These events are designed to give information to students, allow for large and small group discussion about choices and fostering positive relationships between students. As a high school teacher, the students who went on Snowball trips always highlighted the close ties created by these events. I think this is another way to help our students develop those supportive and nurturing friendships that will make a difference in their lives. I will make another comment about this topic when the information to sign up is available.