Give Back

  

As we close out the first semester I want to say "thank you" for all the generosity shown throughout this holiday season. As we reflect back it has been amazing to see our students, staff and families come together on so many occasions to demonstrate true Panther PRIDE and give back. 

Below are just a few examples of what we have accomplished so far together:

·      Halloween Costume Day (sponsored by Builders Club - Mrs. Garnett and Mrs. Nees) - Raised $200 for Unicef

·      Halloween Haunted Hayrides (sponsored by Mr. Gingerich and Mr. Byerly) - Raised $400 for American Cancer Society

·      Mrs. Roderick's Class making blankets for those in need. 

·      Novembeard Challenge - (sponsored by Daubs and the men of THE Heritage) - Raised $250 for students and families in need.

·      Thanksgiving Food Drive - Together we collected enough food to feed 110 Hilliard families for Thanksgiving. (the most collected out of all the schools in Hilliard)

·      Art Mosaic Community Project (Mrs. Boza and Mrs. Schaeffer)

·      Operation Winter Warmth - Collected over 1000 items (sponsored by FCA - Mrs. Dahs, Mr. Gingerich and Mr. Byerly). We were able to donate to 3 shelters throughout the Columbus area.

·      Staff vs. Student Basketball Game - Money collected goes toward the Heritage Faculty Scholarship Fund. (We give a $1000 scholarship each year to graduating Darby Senior/Heritage Alum). 

As a building we strive to pursue excellence in all we do. We believe our academic opportunities are exceptional. However, it is more than academics. As a school staff we want to instill a sense of growth, passion and purpose in each of our students. We are so proud of our school community as they continue to "step up" and give back to others in the community. We talk to our students about the importance of "starting a legacy, making the world a better place because we were here and being a good teammate". I can tell you without hesitation that this school, our Hilliard community and society is better because of our students. 

Please enjoy this video (created by Mr. Eric Gingerich) highlighting Operation Winter Warmth. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn495Oxr_H8

Thank you for partnering with us to make school a fun and welcoming place to learn and grow. I wish each of you a safe and happy winter break. I cannot wait to see what the second semester and 2016 brings for our school community. Together we will change the world!​

Culture Builder/Culture Protector

This summer I spent a lot of time reading, reflecting and trying to find my "purpose." It was quite a process, as it required me to really go beyond "surface" answers such as to be the best principal or best person I can be each day. I believe I am still reflecting today on this question, but I do believe I now know my true purpose. My true purpose is to be a culture builder and culture protector....let me explain. 

I firmly believe culture matters. Culture can inspire. Culture can promote kindness. Culture can change lives for the better. As a staff at THE Heritage Middle School, we spent time at our summer retreat talking about what matters to us as a school staff. It boiled down to 3 things.... Passion, Purpose and Partnerships. If we can share our passion for kids each day, if we can LIVE our purpose out each day in the classroom and if we can develop positive and meaningful partnerships with our school community, our kids will experience growth and success in all they do. 

At the beginning of each school year, as most schools do, we have class meetings. However, our class meetings do not center on what kids, "can and can not do"; We do not go over the "rules" rather we spend time talking about what it means to be a student at THE Heritage. We believe it is a tremendous privilege to be a part of this school. We share with the students that we have one "rule." When that one rule is followed not only will you have a great year, but you will leave THE Heritage better than you found it. That one rule comes from a book I read a few years ago from Duke University Men’s Basketball Coach K in his book Leading with Heart. It states, “Don't do anything that is detrimental to yourself, because if it's detrimental to you it is detrimental to our team." Now as you can imagine we had to explain this a bit further to our middle schoolers. We did this by talking about daily actions and behaviors. We do this through our PRIDE acronym (P-Perseverance, R-Respect, I- Integrity, D- Dependability, Enthusiasm), our Start a Legacy theme, our "21 Ways to be a Great Teammate" (Jon Gordon), and our work on a growth mindset. 

As we were sharing our passions and our beliefs with the students, a good friend and colleague stopped in and listened to our discussion. After the meeting was over, he approached me and said, "Would you consider yourself a culture builder or culture protector?" I paused and said, "Can I say both?"  It was at that moment that my summer reflections and my search for my true purpose were revealed so clearly. So thank you, Brian Lidle for helping me identify my true purpose. 

Culture is never accomplished, that is why I responded the way I did to Brian. I firmly believe it is a relentless pursuit to leave the world better than you found it. Recently we had the great fortune of working with two amazing people to continue our journey toward a growth mindset. Mark Tremayne and Sharon Esswein are two of the most genuine people I have ever known. They LIVE with purpose and passion. They spent 2 days working with our students on the power of the growth mindset. They shared that if students and adults will embrace this notion of a growth mindset, we can change the world. I believe that. We at THE Heritage MS believe that. Our passion and purpose, in the words of Will Smith are, "We want to do good. We want the world to be better because we were in it!" We want our students to know, these messages are not about school and they are not about sports. Rather, these messages are about life! If we can instill these values into our students, there is nothing they can't accomplish. We WILL change the world - TOGETHER. 

References:

Leading with Heart - http://www.amazon.com/Leading-Heart-Successful-Strategies-Basketball/dp/0446676780

Growth Mindset – Carol Dweck - http://www.mindsetonline.com/

Jon Gordon - http://hardhat21.com/

Will Smith – http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=will+smith+growth+mindset+clip+youtube&FORM=VIRE8 - view=detail&mid=18F1FACE7F1E9AB44FB318F1FACE7F1E9AB44FB3

One Word 2015

I'm not much of a writer and certainly never considered myself a "blogger". I mean, what do I have to say that is any different from the thousands that have already written about education, #oneword or the countless other topics being posted? I have pondered this for almost a year and I still do not have an answer, yet here I am "blogging" for the first time. I guess for me, this is about accomplishing my goal of attempting to write.  It’s about taking a risk and pushing myself beyond my comfort zone. So for those that so kindly are reading this, I hope you find pleasure in my simple and honest approach to writing.

Over winter break I was scrolling through my twitter feed and viewing all the posts about the hopes, goals and promises for the upcoming year of 2015. So much is invested in reinventing, rediscovering or renewing commitments to become better as individuals. One "tweet" caught my attention and kept my attention. It was challenging people to throw away the notion of "resolutions" and instead choose #oneword. As I learned more about this challenge, I quickly began to reflect on what my #oneword would be. What #oneword would represent all that I hope for in 2015? What #oneword would capture my reflections from 2014 and inspire me in 2015? After careful consideration I landed on my #oneword for 2015: FAITH. I chose this word as I felt it represented my commitment to myself for the upcoming year. Many hear this word and they automatically think "religion". Although I do believe in a higher power and I do desire to strengthen my faith in terms of my religious beliefs, religion was not the driving force behind my word choice. A quote I saw from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. truly confirmed "faith" would be my #oneword for 2015. It read, "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." This resonated with me in terms of my personal faith and my work as an educational leader. We so often have to take risks. We must also encourage others to take those risks with us and without trust and "faith" in one another, nothing changes; nothing gets accomplished. One more quote that I came across states, "Let your faith be stronger than your fears.” So many times we do not attempt, do not take that first step because of fear. Taking the first step, having the faith to overcome fears is vital to achieving our goals and pursuing our dreams.

Now many that know me are probably chuckling as they read this blog post. That is fine. This is a little sentimental for DSayre (as I am known by my close friends), but I truly feel that my lack of faith in the past few years has at times held me back from taking risks, trying new things and most importantly, being the best "me" that I can be. I hope that I can inspire others to find their #oneword and commit to being their best during 2015. Stronger Together, DSayre