A kind surprise

Last Thursday I was headed home. It had been a good day.

But it was late. It was raining. I was ready to be home.

I started my car, wipers turned on, and then I noticed it. A bag. Under my wiper.

I stepped back into the rain, grabbed the bag, mumbled to myself, and sat back down in the car.

That's when I noticed what was stapled to the bag.

It was a gift. Inside the bag was a simple note. It started like this:

And suddenly the night was not as dark, the rain not as noticeable.

It was a simple gesture. But someone had to make the effort. Create the bag. Write the note. Take the time to find my car.

It was deeply appreciated.

In the book "The Seventh Most Important Thing" by Shelley Pearsall, Mr. Hampton is "building heaven." Arthur is assigned to help. Arthur reluctantly, grumblingly is assigned to collect seven things Mr. Hampton needs to build heaven. (It's a great book for families to read with their children in grades 4-8.) 

I used that book as the jumping off spot for our "Welcome Back" meeting with staff in August. What seven things do I need to do my job? What seven things help me as I work to build a great school district?

One of my seven things was kindness.

And on a rainy night, I found a bag, with a note, and a spirit was brightened. All because someone was kind to me.

What about day two?

On the first day of the 2017-2018 school year, students eagerly entered our buildings.

My question is:

Did we give our students a reason to come back on day two?

I have confidence that our teachers gave our students a reason to look forward to day two. At times it is easy to forget that learning works best when we have a compelling reason to learn. Our students will be eager to learn if, every day, we can provide a compelling reason to invest their time and energy into the process of learning.