The Spirit of Thanksgiving... I challenge each of you to think of someone you consider to be really happy. Do they smile more than others you know? Do they laugh more than others you know? Does being in their presence make you happier? What makes this person different? In my opinion this occurs in large part due to one's ability to be grateful and express gratitude. Lets face it, bad things happen to all of us... it is not what happens to us that matters, it is our reaction to it. I hope you each take the time over this Thanksgiving Break to pause and consider what you are grateful for. May we all strive to have an attitude of gratitude!
I hope you each have a wonderful, safe, and Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Corny Thanksgiving Jokes:
What key won't open any door? A turkey!
Why did the turkey cross the road? It was the chicken's day off!
Why did the turkey cross the road twice? To prove he wasn't chicken!
What do you get when a turkey lays an egg on top of a barn? An egg roll!
What do you call it when it rains turkeys? Foul weather!
Why did the turkey sit on the tomahawk? To hatchet!
Why did the police arrest the turkey? They suspected foul play!
Which side of a turkey has the most feathers? The outside!
Why do turkeys lay eggs? If they dropped them, they'd break!
What's the most musical part of a turkey? The drumstick!
What happened when the turkey got into a fight? He got the stuffing knocked out of him!
What do you get if you divide the circumference of a pumpkin by its diameter? Pumpkin pi!
What always comes at the end of Thanksgiving? The letter "g"!
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Friday, November 20, 2015
I Thank You
Good Morning and
Happy Friday!
Per the district
calendar, it looks like we don’t have any athletic action going on this evening…
hope this allows everyone to have a relaxing weekend!
This coming week we
have a lot going on for a short (1.5 days) week. Good luck to our elementary and junior high
UIL groups that will be traveling to Abilene Wylie for competition on Monday. Also, best of luck to GHS FFA Issues Team as
they compete in the FFA Area contest on Tuesday, November 24th. Also on Tuesday, we have our junior high
girls and high school girls/boys basketball teams at home against
Breckenridge.
I Thank You
Sometime ago a
friend shared a speech with me called "Powerful Phrases for Positive
People." These are very simple -- but powerful -- phrases we all like to
hear: "I'm proud of you." "I believe in you." "I trust
you." "I love you." "You can do it."
With Thanksgiving
Day approaching, we all should be focused on another one of these powerful
phrases, in particular: "I thank you." We can never wear out that
phrase. It should always be on the tip of our tongue if we are truly grateful
to others who help us each day and to God who has richly blessed us with more
abundance and freedom than any country in history.
Despite God's
abundant blessings, we're often too slow to give thanks and too quick to
complain. Maybe we're so focused on ourselves and busy with our lives that we
forget to give thanks. Or maybe it's because many of us in America have become
complacent with a level of luxury and leisure beyond the imagination of much of
the world's population.
We tend to take our
blessings for granted, like the story about a homeowner who hired a real estate
agent to prepare an ad to sell his home. The homeowner was reading the ad in
the paper about his home's many attractive features. He called the real estate
agent to say he no longer wished to sell. When asked what changed his mind, the
homeowner said, "After reading your ad, I realized I already live in the
house I always wanted to live in."
In this season of
Thanksgiving in particular, it's time to count our blessings and pull out that
simple phrase, "I thank you."
I hope each of you
experience a blessed Thanksgiving holiday!
Corny Joke of the Day:
Which side of a
turkey has the most feathers?
The outside!
Friday, November 13, 2015
Storytelling
Good Morning and Happy Friday Steer Nation!
Congratulations,
Michelle Lowrey! On Wednesday,
Ms. Lowery received the message below from Samsung Solve for Tomorrow. Michelle
is a Project Lead the Way Engineering teacher at GHS.
You have
been selected as one of the five State Finalists for the state of Texas in the
Samsung Solve for Tomorrow contest! We were amazed by the quality of entries
that we received this year and applaud your dedication to inspiring your
students, improving your local communities and fostering STEM education in your
school. Out of the more than 4,100 applications, yours was chosen as one
of the five best in your state. To reward you for becoming a State
Finalist, we will be sending you two Samsung Galaxy Tabs for your
classroom!
As a State Finalists, you qualify to move to the second phase of the
contest. You will now compete against four other finalists from your state for
the title of State Winner.
Our Graham Steers footballers are in action this evening vs.
Brownwood. Good luck and safe travels
for all!
Basketball season has begun!
Tons of games on the calendar- http://www.grahamisd.com/page.cfm?p=213&start=11/11/2015&period=month.
Good luck to the boys at Rider this weekend. The Lady Blues will be in action at home this
coming Tuesday evening. Good luck!
Events on the official
campus/district calendar. Each week I look at the calendar to build
my schedule of events to attend and to provide “shout outs” in the weekly Steer
Nation Message. Please make sure your
events are being placed on the calendar.
If you have questions on how to make this happen, please talk with your
campus principal.
Storytelling
Without doubt good storytelling is a powerful skill. The best speakers, writers, leaders are good
storytellers. From personal experience,
my best teachers and coaches were good storytellers.
Stories spark emotions.
Mary Catherine Bateson states, “Storytelling is fundamental to the human
search for meaning.” Connecting with
others on a rational level does not usually change how people behave. Simple understanding, without emotional
engagement, leads to little action.
Storytelling provides a method to reach both the logical and emotional
sides of human character.
People learn from stories.
This has been true for thousands of years. Stories shape our beliefs,
our practices and our culture. They
serve as the individual threads that morph into the tapestry of our life. Stories bind us as a family unit.
Stories serve as a very powerful connection to our
listeners. When we share real life
experiences or the stories of others it allows our audience (students) to see
us as authentic people. People who have
lives outside of the school setting, people who have had challenges and learned
to overcome them. I have heard it said that people buy from people they know,
like and trust. I think they also learn
from people they know, like and trust.
One of my favorite television shows is CBS Sunday
Morning. Sometime ago (2012), they
produced a story on the topic of storytelling and it has resonated with me
since. Should you be interested, the
link below will lead you the segment:
http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/storytelling-festivals-keep-an-age-old-tradition-alive/
How might you jumpstart your storytelling? Consider these basics:
- What story would put “flesh and bone” on the point you want to make?
- Inspire with phrases such as “imagine if,” “an experience that taught me was,” “I knew this mattered when,” “John is a service hero because.”
- Ask your audience, your students this question: “Please describe a day in your life that will help me understand your knowledge about “X” and how you will use it.”
Corny Joke of the Day:
What do frogs wear on their feet? (scroll down for the answer)
OPEN TOAD SHOES!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)