Middle School Newsletter - February 22nd, 2021
Last week a friend sent me a motivational video. If you are familiar with YouTube you know that after you finish a video it preselects similar videos for you to watch. So, I finish the video that was sent to me and next up is a video of Denzel Washington speaking about “falling forward”. The title piqued my interest so I clicked play and sat back, unsure about what I would be watching.
12 minutes later I was extremely thankful I clicked play. Denzel describes “falling forward” when we fail in striving for a dream and we learn from the fall. Then when we get up again we are even stronger than before. We need to accept failure. We will lose. It means not to be afraid of failure.
I often describe life’s journey as a roller coaster of circumstances. A journey that is full of both peaks and valleys. The peaks include moments of sheer bliss while the valleys have times of perceived rejection or failure. Denzel says that, "first, you will fail at some point in your life. Accept it, you will lose. You will embarrass yourself. You will suck at something. There’s no doubt about it." This may come off as abrasive but he is absolutely right. My wonder is this...do our children have the resiliency to withstand these falls?
A couple weeks ago I wrote about how our children are faced with different challenges due to current circumstances. Teachers and staff continue to share stories about how their students are overcoming these challenges with grit and determination. However, when they do inevitably fail what message do we share with them after their fall?
Denzel shares, “if you don’t ever fail you aren’t even trying. To get something you never had you have to do something you never did”. He took what is typically viewed in a negative light and states how we should actually be learning and growing from our failures. What if we reframe what failure means for our children? I believe this could lead to growth in their ability to “fall forward” so that they get back up and continue to fight for what they want.
Denzel goes on to say, "...anything you want, you can have. So claim it. Work hard to get it." We have to help our children understand that along with failure comes success. They need to choose to move forward! This is going to take hard work and there will be setbacks, but when they fall, they need to fall forward. This means that they have the wherewithal to pick themselves up and keep on going. As adults we must never forget that our children are always watching our reactions to life’s experiences. So, today, and every day that we feel like we have failed, we need to fall forward. When faced with setbacks we must remember to get up again.
Together let's help our children look at where they’ve been and the potential that lies within them. Help them see that the road leading to the peaks isn't straight, and it isn't easy. But once they get there their view will be beautiful. And together we will celebrate this beauty!
If you have 12 minutes, I urge you to listen to Denzel’s speech. I promise you won’t regret it.
As always, don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.
Kindly,
Kim
314.645.9600 (607)~kwright@premiercharterschool.org
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Attention PCS Families:
You are invited to participate in a Virtual Learner forum. The purpose of this forum is to gather
information about the experiences of students and families who participate in virtual learning.
We will be asking about what is going well, what areas can be improved, and the effectiveness
of some of our online systems. This meeting will occur on Monday February 22, 2021 from
4:00pm-5:00pm.
If you are interested in attending or have any questions, please email Tyson Strickler at
tstrickler@premiercharterschool.org to get the Zoom link.
Follet Books E-Fair coming soon!
The PCS Library is helping to support student reading by offering an online Follett Book Fair from March 1st to March 15th. Every purchase made will benefit our school! Follett Book Fairs offer more profits for our school, free shipping on any purchase (delivered to the school), and have a larger selection of award-winning and popular titles.
The Book Fair will coincide with “Read Across America” on March 2nd. Look out for reading challenges and activities to celebrate in the next week!
Everyone is welcome to participate! Simply visit our online fair page to purchase books for your child, yourself, school or help build classroom libraries. Once our online fair has ended, all books will be shipped to the school for pick up after Spring Break.
Would you like to support a child who may not be able to participate? We encourage you to purchase a gift card which can be emailed to vramsey@premiercharterschool.org. We will then use your donated gift card to help a child in our school community.