I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, whether it was at Fair Days, betting on the ponies, working in the yard, or just relaxing at your favorite hiding spot. Just a reminder as we head into our final two weeks that this can be a stressful time for students, not only the kids writing finals, but for those who may lose touch with friends as they head off to camp or travel with their families. I also know it is a stressful time for all of us as well as we look towards final assessments and progress reports. If you are “full” and need a place to vent, you know where the office is 🙂

Last week I was having a nice chat with Meredith about her upcoming performance in The Wizard of Oz at The Barn Playhouse and we came around to the topic of learning lines. She indicated there still a couple of performers who were not quite spot on, close, but not where they should be. It was interesting to hear her talk about the support that each performer has for one another, how they realize that they all need to be in sync for an optimal performance. I was thinking about those performers and wondering what would happen if they never did master their lines. The show would still go on, and the audience might notice missed cues or mixed up lines, however the overall message of the play would still come through. I noticed a parallel between this situation and our work with MPSC this year. We all play a role in our school, and just like the actors strive to provide the audience with a tremendous experience, we strive to provide our students with optimal learning experiences. But what do we do if one of our colleagues is struggling with their “lines” of MPSC? How do we support each other just as the actors in Meredith’s play support one another? This year we were working with a new script, and 2015-16 was a chance to practice our “lines” and work on picking up on cues from the audience, our students. I hope that everything you learned this year serves as the beginning of your foundation for years to come and through practice, practice, practice you begin to master the statements in a seamless fashion.

I have really enjoyed working alongside each and everyone of you for the past four years as we continued to strive for excellence in our students and in ourselves. I truly believe there is great potential at Hepburn School and that great things are in store for years to come. One of the many reasons I believe this is the leadership that is present on staff, from K through 12, there are tremendous leaders. I am only attaching one learning link this week because I think it is so important for all of you to watch. It’s only a 6 minute video, but it is one of my all time favorites. As I watched it I reflected on all the ways I saw everyone on staff lead in the four years I’ve been with you. In one form or another you all have your “lollipop story”, which I guess takes us full circle and makes us all part of the lollipop guild! Take a look, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Here is what lies ahead this week:

Monday:

• Grade 6’s swimming (Martensville)

Tuesday:

• Grade 4’s gone to Batoche

Wednesday:

• Final exams begin
• Bruce gone all day (daughter’s field trip to Pike Lake)

Thursday:

• Grade 8’s leave for Redberry
• Bruce gone~am only (specialist appointment)
• Staff Social~Barn Playhouse

Friday:

• Ron gone all day (chaperone field trip)
• Grade 1, 3 gymnastics / swimming trip (Saskatoon)
• Grade 5 swimming trip (Saskatoon)
• Grade 7, 9 swimming trip (PA)
• Grade 8 Redberry~Day 2

As always, create a great week!