Attitude of Gratitude
13
"It only takes a spark to get a fire going, and soon all those around will
warm up to its glowing." -Kurt Kaiser (1969)
It started as a spark around Thanksgiving with a district wide email asking recipients to stop a moment and take an inventory of what they are grateful for. Gradually the "reply all" comments started popping up in everyone's inbox. Then more and more were coming. No one was bothered by the pile up of messages because it was beautiful. A glow of gratitude has sparked in the district as staff, volunteers, and others associated with NBAS participated in something extraordinary: a community of grateful hearts. The common theme throughout the responses was the gratitude for our teachers and support staff, including the retired personnel, who give so much to North Branch Area Schools. Here is a sampling of some of the responses:
* "As a parent of three kids in the district, I am so thankful for every teacher my kids have had. The love and dedication our teachers have for our students is unmatched by any other district. There is nowhere else I would rather educate my kids. As an employee, I am thankful for my coworkers, who are like family. They make me laugh and give me encouragement each and every day."
* "I love that there are opportunities for teachers to grow as learners and educators. There are so many PD opportunites offered by and introduced by the district. You can tell that we value educating everyone with the best staff around!"
* "We are committed to student achievement. Our entire staff has truly accepted the challenge of improving teaching and student learning!"
* "We care about our community and our students. Just one example (could list dozens) is Sarah Sieradzki's 4th Grade Class adopting a family for Christmas. The mother with four boys age 7, 5, 3, and 1 had this to say to the class "Truly, that has touched my heart that you guys have offered a lending hand out to me and my family during this time in our lives. This was something I have been stressing over, and I am honestly just so touched and grateful for all you have done and continue to do for me and my family."