I'm not a fan of the "everyone is great" school of recognition. Once the fundamentals are learned and you reach a certain age of awareness and accountability, it's time to learn the stark real-life lesson that not everyone wins every time. Life doesn't award participation trophies.
This time though, it's different. If you participated in gym night, then the reality that one team will win and another will lose was clear. However, all of the participants won, and here's why.
Those sixth through twelfth graders learned real life lessons like:
** Just because I worked hard does not mean I or my team will win. I and my team may not have won, but my hard work is still meaningful.
** A team together is stronger than the individual alone, but the team fails without the individual contribution.
** I am an individual, but my contribution toward the team goal raised all of us up. I may not necessarily be good performing a cheer, acting in the skit, or playing the sports, but I do know where I can contribute, and I did.
** I can be a good winner, because the next time I could be the loser. I can be a good loser, because I could be the winner the next time.
Were you there? What other life lessons do you think our kids learned last night?
The next time someone tells you that Morrisville produces lower quality students, point to gym night and tell them that you were there and saw the high quality of our students. Ask if they saw this alleged low quality themselves. The answer will probably be "NO", because they were not there to see the reality of the schools, and the good students that are the products of the Morrisville school system. Sadly, that probably includes the school board members and their sycophants who are bent upon the destruction and eradication of this little school system. I know I did not see any of them there. If this is wrong, please feel free to send word of your school board member sighting. Take a look at that "Citizenship" theme that was included in the programs last night. The next time you hear them talking, ask yourself if they are demonstrating "good citizenship" or "poor citizenship."Thank you to the MHS administration, teachers, staff, and especially the students, who worked together to make this a success. You deserve a lot more than a mention here for your hard work and dedication. Also, a special thank you to everyone who participated in the "Locks of Love" donations. I know the hair will grow back, but I hear several Bulldogs had a rather close shave.
5 comments:
I think all of the students who participated in the gym night leared that success in anything takes determination, hard work, sacrifice and time spent.
Below is the public meeting wrap from yesterday's Courier Times. Wasn't there also a 4-2 vote to spend taxpayer dollars to hire someone to write board meeting minutes because absent Marlys Mihok can't seem to get the job done in a timely manner, despite keeping her $2,500 stipend?
Public meeting wrap for March 8
Bucks County Courier Times
Morrisville School Board
215-736-2681
When: Wednesday, Feb. 27
Issue: Agreement to renew the United Parcel Service-Morrisville Internship/Cooperative Education Program. It will be offered to four students entering their senior year at a cost of $800 per student.
Vote: Approved 6-0 by William Hellmann, Joseph Kemp, William M. Farrell, Edward Frankenfield, Robin M. Reithmeyer and Brenda Worob. Alfred A. Radosti, Gloria Heater, Marlys Mihok were absent.
Issue: Acceptance of book donation from Morrisville Education Association
Vote: Approved 6-0
Issue: Acceptance of 21st century overnight trip to Harrisburg for Promising Practices Conference on March 4. No cost to district.
Vote: Approved 6-0
Issue: Acceptance of audited school district financial statements as prepared by Maillie, Falconiero & Company LLP, the district's local auditing firm
Vote: Approved 6-0
Issue: Agreement to refund $262.53 tax, effective March 1. Change in assessment was not corrected by the county until July 2007, and taxpayers paid 2007-08 tax on the prior assessment.
Vote: Approved 6-0
Issue: Acceptance of 2008-09 Intermediate Unit operating budget of $11,741, a decrease of $338 from the 2007-08 budget
Vote: Approved 6-0
Vote: Denied 3-3, with Kemp, Frankenfield and Reithmeyer opposed
Issue: Decision not to allow Wick Fisher White to do an engineering study for the two elementary schools, M. R. Reiter and Grandview. The cost would be about $8,000.
Vote: Denied 3-3, with Kemp, Frankenfield and Reithmeyer opposed
Issue: Decision not to remove remaining bond proceeds from the Pennsylvania School District Liquid Asset Fund to another financial institution
Vote: Denied 5-1, with Hellmann supporting the transfer of remaining bond proceeds
Issue: Agreement to allow Red Cross to use Morrisivlle Middle/Senior High School as shelter in case of emergency
Vote: Approved 6-0
Issue: Agreement to dispose of excess items as presented by the administration: outdated texts and broken chairs
Vote: Approved 6-0
And a big thumbs up to the board in yesterday's Courier Times. It's pretty generous when you get a thumbs up just for planning to do something. Actually doing it, actually learning something from it, and actually changing your wayward behavior accordingly are something else entirely. It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks, and you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink, and....
Thumbs up
* To school board members in Morrisville for planning to take classes on the basics of being a board member.
The Pennsylvania School Boards Association offers classes such as “Budget Basics for School Boards,” “The Board's Role in Promoting Student Growth and Achievement,” and “It's the Law!” about the powers and duties of being a school board member.
The whole point of a school board is to keep the public schools in the hands of the public. The downside to that is that much of the general public doesn't have a clear idea as to everything involved in being a school board member, which is why the PSBA offers these classes. It makes a lot of sense. How can a board member fully serve the public if he or she doesn't fully understand the rights and responsibilities involved?
We hope other districts follow Morrisville's lead and send members to some of these classes. And while we appreciate that some of the classes are held a considerable distance from here, making them difficult to attend, there's a two-day event coming up in Philadelphia titled, “PSBA's 2008 School Design and Construction Conference.”
With new schools going up and old ones undergoing renovations, this sounds like a conference that could benefit many of our area school board members — and their constituents.
The opinion at the bottom is from the March 4th Courier Times. I think it's as true in Morrisville as it is in Neshaminy: party affiliation has very little to do with informed decision-making.
In my opinion, Republicans Hellmann, Radosti, Worob, and Heater on the Morrisville board don't care much for informed decision-making. Neither does Democrat Mihok.
Republican Frankenfield and Democrats Kemp and Reithmeyer do though. The jury is still out on Democrat Farrell, although he has said some encouraging things that hopefully show he's able to break away from the bobblehead groupthink of Hellmann, Radosti, Worob, Heater, and Mihok - when they show up.
Be an informed voter
Voters of the Neshaminy School district who live in Levittown: Please be sure you are in tune with what our school board is doing. That is the only way you will be truly informed when you vote for one of our board members.
I know I made a mistake for many years by voting like I always did —straight Republican. Once I started paying attention to the school board meetings I quickly started voting a different way — an informed way.
Karen Gatewood
Middletown
To give a thumbs up for attending classes they all should have taken is like Chris Rock's diatribe on folks taking credit for things they oughta do anyway. "I take care of my kids!" Like that says something meaningful.
Everyne needs to call out the board on money being spent for the minutes. That is an unbelievable disgrace. How can that woman show her face in public?
Finally, congrats to all the kids, teachers, staff and supporters on another successful community event in Gym Night. These events are the fabric of a community, and they go a long way toward keeping the dogs of destruction outside the gates.
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