Exeter-Milligan Update:View From the Front Office by Paul Sheffield

Smart choices – a small phrase that we, as a school, have stressed to our students.  This concept has been reinforced from each guest speaker we have hosted, whether it be Aaron Davis or Mike Smith, they have stressed the importance of smart choices.  Smart choices – a little phrase that takes so little time to say, but packs a big punch.

During the Christmas break, we all traveled to Phoenix to visit Karla’s family – her sister and brother have lived there for years, but her mom and dad recently retired there from Minnesota. We stayed with her sister’s family, which gave us some quality, family bonding time. Since they are NOT morning people, I had some time to take Libby (our dog) out for a walk and shower before anyone else was thinking of getting up.  One morning as I was enjoying a cup of coffee and the sunrise, it reminded me of an article I read on one of our previous trips to AZ.  In this article, the author, Tom Kuyper, wrote a letter to his coach, but from a kindergartner’s perspective. The letter was a New Year’s list of things for the coach to understand.  In it, he tried to impress that as kids, they just want to play.  Winning and losing didn’t matter as long as they got to play and be with their friends.  Please don’t bench “us” when we make mistakes or when we missed practice – they wanted to make it but mom and dad made them go to the class play instead.  This article made me think and wonder if we are sending the right message to our kids?  Are we stressing the importance of winning instead of teamwork and improvement?  Are we making the smart choices as coaches, sponsors, and parents?  Are we providing a positive example for others to follow?

Kids are not always going to make the smartest choices.  But as adults, we need to guide them along the way and help provide them the opportunities to learn and make informed choices.  In a recent leadership workshop, the idea of developing a purposeful community was discussed.  To develop this purposeful community, everyone must work together and make informed choices.  But not all choices should be made for the children (students).  If this is done, it leads to “learned helplessness.” If a student does not experience success or failure, they learn to be helpless and then nothing they do matters anyway.  We, as a community, need to provide opportunities for our students to make these smart choices and also to provide positive examples for them to emulate. 

Everyone makes mistakes – but if we learn from our mistakes, then we become winners in the end.  As a purposeful community, we need to provide opportunities for our students and show them the right thing to do.  Some of the smartest people can make the stupidest mistakes – but we must learn from them and move on.  Are we making smart choices?  Are we providing an opportunity for someone to learn?  Are we providing a positive example for others to emulate?  Think about how the choices we all make affect those around us. Mike Smith summed it up in his presentation to the students earlier this year by asking the question, “What will your legacy be when you leave? The choices you make know build this legacy.”

Thought for the month:

As simple as it sounds, we all must try to be the best person we can: by making the best choices, by making the most of the talents we've been given. - Mary Lou Retton

Portable Cell Phone Tower Comes Down

Workers were seen Friday collapsing the portable cell tower so that it can be transported.

Exeter-Milligan Girls CRC Champions

Congratulations to the Exeter-Milligan Lady Timberwolves who defeated Giltner 47-34.

Photos from Burress 4 : 1934

Exeter-Milligan Update: Psychology Class

Before the Winter break, Mr. Jordan Marr’s psychology class at Exeter-Milligan studied about the various senses humans experience.  For this lesson, the students learned about their sense of taste. In the picture, students are taste testing various foods to decide if the item is mostly bitter, sweet, sour, or salty.  The students continued their study of the senses by participating in a smell lab the next day. Pictured are L-R: Robbie Androyna, Jackie Luzum, Madeleine Ensrud, Jesper Anker, Ashley Miller, Meghan Miller, Megan Waldron and Jacob Kroll. 

Photos from Burress 3: Hauling in the grain

Note the cars pulling a trailer loaded with grain.  I guess you got it there whatever way you could. 

Greg's Market Collects Our Family Labels

Exeter-Milligan supporters have a new opportunity to help their school.  The Our Family brand has introduced Labels for Learning and Greg’s Market in Exeter has a box to accept them inside their store.  The program is valid through July 2014.  Labels can also be taken to either school office or also will be accepted in classrooms at both campuses.  Greg Yound is pictured next to the box at the downtown store.

 

Photos from Burress 2

Here is the second installment in the Photos from Burress series (it was standing when Tom wrote this but is no longer standing).

Exeter-Milligan Preschool Room Floods

Over the winter holiday break a radiator leak in the Exeter-Milligan Preschool room at the Exeter campus went undetected leaving a wet, moldy mess behind.

The Preschool rents a classroom from the school district and so much of the physical costs will be covered by the district, however, many of the damaged items include books and toys along with other classroom items which were not covered by the school.

Preschool teacher Jodi Pribyl was discouraged by the damage, “Hopefully this week  the Preschool board and I will be able to get in the classroom to see the extent of the damage and begin to clean up.  I have been in the classroom briefly and am confident that we will begin classes as scheduled on January 29^th.  After the board and I are able to start cleaning up we will know what we will need.”

The Exeter-Milligan Preschool rents space from the Exeter-Milligan school and is not part of the school district.  The program covers it’s costs on the tuition the students pay.  They have a very limited budget and so Preschool Board President Kendra Oldehoeft hopes “ the community might help with donations to replace some things that were damaged.”

Pribyl and Oldehoeft hope to have a list soon of items that will need to be replaced to help the program this semester, financial donations are also welcome.  The Exeter-Milligan Preschool meets two days a week, offering a morning program for younger children, ages three and up, and an afternoon program for children who will start school soon.

Exeter Cell Tower Project Nearing Completion

Construction was recently completed on the new Verizon cell tower on the east edge of Exeter.  Although the majority of the construction is finished, the tower is not online yet.  No dates have been published as to when it will be active.  The old temporary tower remains in place inside the Exeter-Milligan high school track fence and until the area dries out or freezes, removing the tower and transporting it to Milligan may be difficult.