In the Spirit of Thanksgiving- Steer Nation Message- 11-18-22

GOOD MORNING…HAPPY FRIDAY!

Smokin Steers- This Saturday the Smokin Steers BBQ Teams will be hosting and competing here in Graham in a 2022 High School BBQ Regional Competition. The event is being held on the square and the judging will begin at 10:00 am. 

Graham FFA Booster Club- Apparel Fundraiser- Please click on this link to order- Graham FFA Booster Club Fundraiser.

 

Lady Blues Basketball- The Lady Blues will be at Nocona this afternoon. Good Luck Lady Blues!

Graham Steer Basketball- The Steers are Sweetwater on Saturday for a 3:30 pm game. Go Steers!

GHS Theatre- The GHS Theatre is proud to present the 2022 GISD Musical, Willy Wonka Jr! Make plans to come to support GHS and GJHS students in this family-friendly adventure! Performances are Sunday, December 4th at 2:00 PM and Monday, December 5th at 7:00PM at the GHS Auditorium. All tickets are $5 and available on the GISD Website. 

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving...

There are a lot of myths about the first American Thanksgiving in 1621, but one thing is for sure. The Pilgrims were lucky to be alive, and they knew it. “Eleven months earlier the Pilgrims had arrived at the tip of Cape Cod, fearful and uninformed,” says Nathaniel Philbrick in his book, “Mayflower. By all rights, none of the Pilgrims should have emerged from the first winter alive. But they did. With the strength of their faith, and help from many Native Americans, they did more than survive.... they began to flourish… they were thankful!

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. Let’s 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!!!

HAVE A NICE DAY…TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND OTHERS! 

CORNY JOKE OF THE DAY:

What kind of key can’t open doors? (Scroll down for the answer.)

A Tur-Key!

Model What You Want- Steer Nation Message 11-11-12

GOOD MORNING…HAPPY FRIDAY!

Graham ISD Veteran’s Day Tribute- Due to impending cold and wet weather tomorrow morning, the 10:00 am GISD Veteran's Day Tribute is being relocated from Newton Field to the Graham High School gym. The event can be viewed on the Steers and Lady Blues Youtube Channel.

Graham Steer Football- The Steers will play Glen Rose tonight at Aledo in the Bi-District round of the playoffs. Kick-off is set for 7:00 pm. All tickets are $5.00 each and must be purchased using this ticket link- https://www.aledosportsnetwork.com/HTtickets. Accepting the Following Passes- Sr Citizen Passes, District Passes, Coaches Assn. NO CASH SALES AT THE GATE. GO STEERS!

4-Day School Calendar Survey Results- Below are links to the survey results. Just so you know, the calendar committee team members are still working on completing the data summary for the qualitative questions. Once that is completed, I will be sharing the complete results.

This topic was a discussion item on the November 9th school board meeting agenda. Per that discussion, we continue gathering information regarding the 4-Day Instruction Week. We will be working to develop draft calendars for the 5-Day and 4-Day Instructional Week.

Graham Chamber of Commerce Teachers of the Month- Congratulations to our Graham Chamber of Commerce Teachers of the Month for October 2022! The Elementary Teacher of the Month is Pioneer Elementary's, Maranda Roberts! The Secondary Teacher of the Month is GJHS's, Tony Lipscomb! Thanks a ton to the Graham Chamber of Commerce and Ciera Bank for sponsoring the awards!!! The form to nominate for November is https://forms.gle/ZUYjKVCNKPqqPLcy6.

Graham Stock Show Buyers Committee Annual Fish Fry and Auction- 6:00 pm on Saturday, November 12 at the Young County Arena.

GHS FFA- Graham FFA took nearly 50 students to compete at the District Leadership Development Events (LDEs). Our chapter will be receiving nine banners from this competition. We are very pleased to announce that three teams, possibly four, will be advancing to area competition. Here are the results: Greenhand Creed - 1st place, Spanish Creed - 1st place, Senior Creed - 1st place. All 1st places are advancing to the Area Contest in Abilene!  Greenhand Creed - 2nd place, Ag Issues - 3rd place, Senior Skills - 3rd place, Public Relations - 4th place, Senior quiz - 5th place, Greenhand skills - 5th place, Greenhand Quiz -6th place, Agriculture Advocacy- 6th place. Spanish Creed - 6th place, Greenhand quiz - 8th, Job interview - 10th place, Radio Broadcasting - 10th place, Greenhand Radio - 11th place. Student Competitors: Greenhand Creed - Hallie Williams, Spanish Creed - Lizabeth Castillo, Senior Creed - Brailey Brooks, Greenhand Creed - Kimber Pratt, Ag Issues - Creed Jordan, Erica Popplewell, Hailey Fuentes, Haylee Diehl, McKaylee Metcalf, Reagan Birdwell, Emma Herpeche, Senior Skills - Brazier Joy, Brailey Brooks, Bowen Boenisch, Reagan Birdwell, Steven Vaughn, Mason Clayton, Public Relations - Creed Jordan, Erica Popplewell, Hannah Hollingsworth, Lela Chisholm, Senior Quiz - Lemuel Bell, Jamie Smith, Porter Robinson, Lela Allen, Scott Grimes, Lorenzo Simental, Kanyon Crawford, Briley Reeves, Greenhand Skills - Kimber Pratt, McCrea Menard, Kaden McClendon, Nikolas Wankowicz, Rylee Moore, Agriculture Advocacy- Lance Browning, Laney Dundon, Haylee Diehl, Cody Epperson, Spanish Creed - Pamela Mendoza, Greenhand Quiz - Case Etling, Addison Aaron, Hallie Williams, Job Interview - KayCee Mixon, Radio Broadcasting - Zoe Russel, Ozzy Trejo, Hayden Horn, Greenhand Radio - Emma Jobe, Mylee Lattimore, Briley Randall.

GHS Theatre- The GHS theatre department will be presenting Willy Wonka Jr. on December 4th and 5th at Graham High School.

 

Model What You Want…

A mom just accidentally put a laundry basket down on the LEGO ship that her 7-year-old spent the morning building.  She brought it to him and said, “Buddy, I broke your ship; I didn’t see it and I sat the basket on it.  I’m sorry.”

His eyes widened in shock, and he said, “Oh man, that took me a really long time to build.  I just finished it!”

After a moment, the mom softly asked, “Are you mad?” – His response brought her to tears.

He took a deep breath and said, “I want to be mad, but yesterday when I broke your favorite plate, you didn’t get mad at me.  You said it was just a plate and you didn’t make me feel bad.  I know that you liked the plate as much as I liked the LEGO ship.  It is okay, mom.  I can rebuild it.”

That mom just realized that she could tell her kids all day long what kinds of people she hoped they would be.  She can ask them to be loving and kind, but in the end, they will be what she shows them to be not what she told them to be! 

HAVE A NICE DAY…TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND OTHERS! 

CORNY JOKE OF THE DAY:

What do cats like to eat for breakfast? (Scroll down for the answer.)

Mice Crispies!

Never Forget Who Helped You- Steer Nation Message 11-4-22

GOOD MORNING…HAPPY FRIDAY!

GHS Cross-Country State Meet - Mary Lyndell Graham will be competing this morning at the UIL Cross Country State Meet in Round Rock. Wishing Mary Lyndell the best of luck!

Graham Incentive for Teacher Awards Coming Soon- As a result of our STAAR Scores this past year Graham ISD will be awarding approximately $115,600.00 in GIFT Awards. The STAAR/EOC Progress Award Amounts are approximately $32,500.00 and the Distinction Designation Awards are approximately $83,000.00. We look forward to delivering these awards as soon as the calculations are finalized by early December.

4-Day School Calendar Surveys- Graham ISD is exploring a 4-day school week for the 2023-2024 school year. Please complete the survey to provide the district input regarding a 4-day school week for Graham ISD by 4:00 pm on Sunday, November 6, 2022.

• Staff Survey- Please see the survey link that was sent to your district email address on Wednesday, November 2, 2022.

• Parent Survey- Please see the link that was sent via ParentSquare on Wednesday, November 2, 2022.

• Community Survey- https://forms.gle/hkmumBw7gS7djaSc9 

 

Never Forget Who Helped You…

This picture touches me every time I see it, and, in some way signifies to me the circle of life. In the first picture, a middle-aged Coach John Wooden is helping a young Lew Alcindor understand the complexities of big-time college basketball. In the second, some 40+ years later, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is seen helping Coach Wooden as he leaves a basketball court.

The pictures demonstrate that the two had a special relationship, but they don’t explain how a young, self-described cocky black athlete from New York City could become such a close friend to a white, conservative midwesterner. As Abdul-Jabbar explains it, on his recruiting trip to UCLA he became aware of how unique Wooden was as a coach. In their first meeting on campus, they only briefly talked about basketball. This is how he describes that first meeting with the coach: “He gave me a long look through his nerdy black-frame glasses. ‘I’m impressed with your grades, Lewis. For most students, basketball is temporary, but knowledge is forever.   You can only play basketball for so long, then you’ve got to get on with the rest of your life.’ It was essential to him (Wooden) that his players keep good grades in school.”

Abdul-Jabbar found this conversation to be unexpected. He was a highly recruited young man, and all of the other college visits had been about the same with lots of flattery, a hard sell of their schools’ basketball programs, and visions of the national attention he could receive on their campuses. Coach Wooden was the only big-time coach to even mention academics on his recruiting trips.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar admits that he learned many things from his coach. For his professional basketball life, none was more important than the development of his signature sky hook. Coach Wooden had supported the outlawing of the dunk during Abdul-Jabbar’s time at UCLA.   Wooden favored the beauty of basketball, the gracefulness, and the intellectual complexity of the sport rather than allowing it to deteriorate into a bunch of brutes jamming a ball through a hoop.

Because of his relationship with Kareem, Coach Wooden was forced to rethink some things. As the Bruins traveled the country playing in almost every city in the U.S., Jabbar was slammed with every racial slur known. Coach Wooden was embarrassed for and ashamed for those who looked like him and who were about his age. He could not understand their intolerance. Abdul Jabbar later said, “It really bothered him. It really affected his worldview. For someone like him, that felt like he had his hands on the reins of everything, that must’ve been humbling.”

After Coach Wooden’s passing in 2010 Abdul-Jabbar says his understanding of the strength of their bond has only grown deeper. He has come to realize that it centered on basketball but included a passion for literature, history, music, and mutual respect for the differences of their backgrounds. In fact, Kareem says because of the coach, he developed an appreciation of the coach’s favorite music, 1940s swing, and Coach Wooden developed an appreciation for Jabbar’s favorite, jazz.

I’ll encourage you to take some time to reflect on Kareem’s words, in your life never forget who helps you!

HAVE A NICE DAY…TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND OTHERS! 

CORNY JOKE OF THE DAY:

Why is a bee’s hair sticky? (Scroll down for the answer.)

Because they brush it with a honeycomb!

Hitting the Links- Steer Nation Message 10-28-22

GOOD MORNING…HAPPY FRIDAY!

GHS Cross-Country State Qualifier- Congratulations to GHS Junior,  Mary Lyndell Graham on qualifying for the Texas State Cross Country Meet!

RSB3-  Graham High School's Rompin' Stompin' Big Blue Band will compete at noon on Saturday in UIL Area Marching Contest to be held at C.H. Collins Stadium in Denton. Good Luck RSB3!

Lady Blues and Graham Steer Tennis- Congratulations GHS Tennis on your Fall Season Honors: Boys Singles- Second Team All-District- Luke Qualls, Scott Grimes, and Jaden Noyola. Girls Doubles- Second Team All-District- Sydney Jensen/Jayden Martin. Mixed Doubles- Second Team All-District- Luke Qualls/Reagan Birdwell. Freshman of the Year- Jade Dospapas. Academic All-District- Jade Dospapas, Josh Gipson, John Upton, Lucas Qualls, Denys Klymenko, Sydney Jensen, and Rebekah McCord.

Lady Blues Volleyball- The Lady Blues have qualified for the playoff and will play a warm-up game at 4:00 pm this afternoon vs Tom Bean at Saint Jo. GO LADY BLUES! The Lady Blues will begin the playoffs next Tuesday vs San Angelo Lake View @ Clyde or vs Levelland @ Merkel.

Graham Steer Football- The Steers will be on the road at Midland Greenwood this evening for a 7:00 pm kickoff. GO STEERS!

Graham Incentive for Teacher Awards Coming Soon- As a result of our STAAR Scores this past year Graham ISD will be awarding approximately $115,600.00 in GIFT Awards. The STAAR/EOC Progress Award Amounts are approximately $32,500.00 and the Distinction Designation Awards are approximately $83,000.00. We look forward to delivering these awards as soon as the calculations are finalized by early December. 

Hitting the Links…

I once read an article by Roger Knapp titled, “Golf Lesson With My Daughter”. In the article, Mr. Knapp said that there was a year that he couldn’t wait for golf season to start because this was the year his eight-year-old daughter was old enough to be his playing partner.

He mentioned that the girl’s love of golf began when she was two years old. That was when he bought her a child-sized seven iron. It was, of course, too big for her, but she dragged it around the house for three years. When she was five, Roger began taking the child to the driving range and putting greens with him. After work, they would chip a ball in the back yard…until she began to hit the ball with some authority. The day a Titleist went through the bathroom window, daddy and daughter golf was relegated to the driving range. Mother’s orders!

Finally, the day came when Mr. Knapp invited his daughter to play a round of “real” golf on a “real” golf course. The little girl was so excited! She could hardly wait for Saturday morning. The pair traveled a short way to a “family-friendly” par three-course with slow greens. There was no crowd, and the twosome could take their time. It was the perfect place for a “real” golf game.

On that first day with his daughter, Mr. Knapp learned that golf is a wonderful game for teaching life’s little lessons to a child. For instance, “You must count all strokes, even if you accidentally bump the ball and it rolls an inch.” After the first hole, he was surprised when he told his daughter that she took five strokes. She replied, “Oh no, Daddy. Remember I accidentally hit the ball once. I got a six.” He loved his daughter’s honesty! Check that box, lesson 1 learned!

Later she asked Roger, “Daddy, my ball is behind a bush. Can I move it?” When he told her that a player cannot move the ball; that it has to be played where it lays, he was able to teach another lesson.

As he repaired a divot on the tee, Roger explained that in golf one always leaves the course better than it was found. For the rest of the game, the daughter wanted to repair every divot on every green. Eventually when she was taking too long repairing divots, and they were holding up the play of the group behind them, he taught another lesson about slow play and how your actions can affect others.

For the little girl golf was just fun. Hit the ball as hard as you can, go find it, and hit it again. Who cares what the score is? However, the time his daughter put her ball closer to the pin than Roger, was a red-letter day. Mom heard about that shot!

As I think about it, these lessons are pretty timely. While all of them are good to remember on a golf course, they are good life lessons for all of us. Be honest, deal with life’s events as they come, leave things better than you find them, and be considerate of others. Maybe we should post these “rules” as a reminder for everyone.

Roger writes that after the round, while drinking lemonade and eating candy in the clubhouse, his daughter pushed back her visor and said to her dad, “That was a lot of fun. Let’s do it again soon!”

I pray at the end of each day that you can echo the little girl, “That was fun. Let’s do it again soon!”

HAVE A NICE DAY…TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND OTHERS! 

CORNY JOKE OF THE DAY:

What do you call a bear with no teeth? (Scroll down for the answer.)

A Gummy Bear!

Fable: Don't Argue With Donkeys- Steer Nation Message 10-21-22

GOOD MORNING…HAPPY FRIDAY!

Graham Chamber of Commerce Students of the Month- The Graham Chamber of Commerce will be sponsoring monthly awards for two Graham High School students. Each month a female and male student from this year's senior class will be selected as students of the month. The students of the month will have lunch with the GHS principal, Joe Gordy, and superintendent, Sonny Cruse. At the end of the year, each of the names of the Students of the Month will be placed into a drawing for lunch sponsored by Campbell Farm & Ranch at Potter’s Pizza for themselves and 20 friends/classmates.

Graham Chamber of Commerce Teachers of the Month Awards- The Graham Chamber of Commerce will be sponsoring Teacher of the Month awards for two Graham ISD teachers. Each month one elementary and one secondary teacher will be selected. The Chamber of Commerce and Ciera Bank are partnering to provide the Teachers of the Month $100 in Chamber Bucks and a $100 Gift Card. At the end of the school year, each of the names of the Teachers of the Month will be placed into a drawing for a $1000 Prize.  Nominations can be made by using this form- CHAMBER OF COMMERCE GISD TEACHERS OF THE MONTH

RSB3-  Graham High School's Rompin' Stompin' Big Blue Band competed this past Saturday at the UIL Region 7 Marching Contest in Mineral Wells. The band was awarded 1st Division (Superior) ratings from each of the judges and will advance to the UIL Area Marching Contest to be held at C.H. Collins Stadium in Denton on October 29th. Performance time will be announced once a schedule is set by UIL. Congratulations RSB3!

Lady Blues Volleyball- The Lady Blues will host Christ Academy at 4:30 pm this afternoon. GO LADY BLUES!

Graham Steer Football- The Steers will be at Newton Field this evening for a 7:00 pm kickoff vs the Sweetwater Mustangs. During the pregame, our Seniors will be honored. GO STEERS!

Early Voting Begins on Monday, October 24th- Every single Texas voter has a say in who gets elected to statewide positions- Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller, Land Commissioner, Agriculture Commissioner, and Railroad Commissioner. Almost all these statewide offices have some impact on what happens in public schools. Here are a few interesting examples:

• The Governor appoints the Commissioner of Education who makes many important decisions about public education.

• The Lieutenant Governor is the head of the Texas Senate and chooses committee chairs and determines which legislation will come up for a vote.

• The Attorney General issues non-binding opinions including those that affect what happens in schools.

This Texas Tribune article explains what these statewide offices do. You may be surprised to find that sometimes their titles don’t even align with their jobs. For example, the Land Commissioner doesn’t just manage state land, he or she also oversees investment in the Permanent School Fund that is used to fund public education. The Railroad Commission oversees oil, gas, coal, and pipelines, not just railroads!

Please make sure you are registered to vote because the deadline is today, October 11, 2022. The TEV website has tools and resources that make it easy to research candidates. Additionally, ATPE provides resources to search for candidates and their position on education-related issues. Click on Teach The Vote to learn more. 

Fable: Don’t Argue With Donkeys…

The donkey said to the tiger, "The grass is blue.” The tiger replied, "No, the grass is green."

The discussion heated up, and the two decided to submit this issue to arbitration, and for this, they went before the lion, the King of the Jungle.

Already before reaching the forest clearing, where the lion was sitting on his throne, the donkey began to shout, "His Highness, is it true that the grass is blue?"

The lion replied, "True, the grass is blue."

The donkey hurried and continued, "The tiger disagrees with me and contradicts and annoys me, please punish him."

The king then declared, "The tiger will be punished with 5 years of silence."

The donkey jumped cheerfully and went on his way, content and repeating, "The Grass Is Blue!”

The tiger accepted his punishment, but he asked the lion, "Your Majesty, why have you punished me?  After all, the grass is green."

The lion replied, "In fact, the grass is green."

The tiger asked, "So why are you punishing me?"

The lion replied, "That has nothing to do with the question of whether the grass is blue or green. The punishment is because it is not wise for a brave and intelligent creature like you to waste time arguing with a donkey, and on top of that come and bother me with that question."

The worst waste of time is arguing with the fool and fanatic who does not care about truth or reality, but only the victory of his beliefs and illusions. Never waste time on arguments that don't make sense...

There are people who, no matter how much evidence is presented to them, that do not have the capacity to understand. Others are blinded by ego, hatred, and resentment, and all they want is to be right even if they are not.

When ignorance screams, intelligence is silent. Your peace and quiet are worth more

HAVE A NICE DAY…TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND OTHERS! 

CORNY JOKE OF THE DAY:

What do you call James Bond in a bubble bath? (Scroll down for the answer.) (Go to www.thecruseline.com for the answer.)

Bubble 07!

The Honor Code- Steer Nation Message 10-14-22

GOOD MORNING…HAPPY FRIDAY!

RSB3-  Congratulations to the RSB3 on being awarded 1st Division Superior ratings from all 4 of the contest judges at the Seymour Marching Festival. Additionally, the RSB3 Visual Ensemble, comprised of the Bella Blues and RSB3 Colorguard, was awarded Outstanding Auxiliary.  The RSB3 will be competing tomorrow in UIL Region 7 Marching Contest at Mineral Wells. The RSB3 will take the field for their performance at 4:00 pm. Good Luck RSB3!

Lady Blues Volleyball- The Lady Blues will travel this afternoon to play Brownwood. GO LADY BLUES!

Graham Steer Football- The Steers will be on the road this evening for a 7:00 pm kickoff vs the Snyder Tigers. GO STEERS!

Community Advisory Board- The district is currently working with a citizen Community Advisory Board for the purpose of reviewing the elementary facility and capacity study and providing input to the GISD Board of Trustees regarding future plans for the improvement of our elementary school facilities and the realignment of how we may serve our elementary grade levels. Ultimately, the Community Advisory Board will assist with determining if it is in the best interest of the district to consider calling a bond election in May of 2023 for these purposes.

Early Voting Begins on October 24th- Every single Texas voter has a say in who gets elected to statewide positions- Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller, Land Commissioner, Agriculture Commissioner, and Railroad Commissioner. Almost all these statewide offices have some impact on what happens in public schools. Here are a few interesting examples:

• The Governor appoints the Commissioner of Education who makes many important decisions about public education.
• The Lieutenant Governor is the head of the Texas Senate and chooses committee chairs and determines which legislation will come up for a vote.
• The Attorney General issues non-binding opinions including those that affect what happens in schools.

This Texas Tribune article explains what these statewide offices do. You may be surprised to find that sometimes their titles don’t even align with their jobs. For example, the Land Commissioner doesn’t just manage state land, he or she also oversees investment in the Permanent School Fund that is used to fund public education. The Railroad Commission oversees oil, gas, coal, and pipelines, not just railroads!

Please make sure you are registered to vote because the deadline is today, October 11, 2022. The TEV website has tools and resources that make it easy to research candidates. Additionally, ATPE provides resources to search for candidates and their position on education-related issues. Click on Teach The Vote to learn more. 

The Honor Code…

As you may imagine, this week has been challenging to say the least. One of the simple principles I attempt to live by is that I have little to no control to what happens to me but I have complete control and responsibility for how I react to it. I hope I have represented you, the district, and the community well with my actions since last Friday evening.

The graphic below was shared with Mr. Gordy by GHS PTLW teacher Stan Burnett. This is a timely reminder of how simple expectations can be communicated. 

HAVE A NICE DAY…TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND OTHERS!