Platte River Elementary Knights: Snow Days

During our snow day on Friday, I was reminded of snow days when I was a kid. My brother Brandon and I would get board games out and play for hours. Almost every memory I have of game times with my family involves Brandon taking over the Monopoly board, one property deed at a time. He was constantly calculating odds and sticking to his strategies and principles. I was often the first player to run out of money.

After a while, and very slowly, I began to pick up on Brandon's tactics. Some time later, the day finally came where I was able to put it all together. A few moves went my way, one after another. I converted my eight houses on Boardwalk and Park Place to hotels and he landed there on his next turn. I accepted a few of his deeds as payment. I bought up the rest of his deeds with some spare change, and sat back counting my stack of leftover orange $500 bills. He was bankrupt before he was able to pass "Go" again. I did it. I won!

It was at that moment that I learned an important lesson. "Let's put it back in the box," he said. And that was that. It was over and done. My houses, hotels, deeds, and cash were gone. I couldn't take anything away from the table. As with life, when the game is over, it all goes back in the box.

Knowing that all the stuff goes back in the box at the end, teachers build their legacies on what will last long after we're gone. The meaningful life lessons we teach will live on in the lives of the students we impact along the way. Our work is about investing in the future. If the value of a life can be measured by the good that's poured into another life, the value of a teacher is immeasurable.

Great things I heard or saw at Betsie Valley this week:

During Boot Camp, the behavior expectations for our school were reviewed on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Kids from Kindergarten to 5th grade were respectful and responsible.

2nd graders were sprawled out on the floor in Mrs. Vanderlinde's room studying Benzie County maps during a Social Studies lesson.

5th graders in Mrs. McClaren's Art class created amazing pieces of art using fountain pens and bottles of ink.

2nd grader, Chance, enjoyed the time he spent learning using technology in Mr. Kelly and Mr. Cox's rooms this week.

After looking at several great examples on the web, 2nd graders in Mr. Kelly's room were writing books from the perspective of snowmen and snowgirls.

1st and 4th graders were rewarded on Monday with ice cream at lunch for winning the cafeteria behavior challenge. It's amazing what Mrs. Hathaway and Mrs. Couturier have been able to do by setting high expectations and rewarding positive behavior (and with a little frozen dairy motivation).

3rd, 4th, and 5th graders attended and participated in an inspiring Tom Thelen assembly where they were challenged to "Be the Change" they wanted to see in their school.

Video Worth Your Time:
Tom Thelen: Our 3rd-5th graders were able to spend some time with Tom on Thursday morning.