Word of day: Percieve

I learned from an early age that words are very powerful.  So the word of the day for me is perceive.  Since I am bilingual I am always very curious about how words work in other languages and I find it very interesting to me that this word has an origin in old french meaning and a connection to ‘seize’.

Perception is a never ending story for Valley View Middle School.  One of my favorite things to do is give a tour to a family, a substitute or pre-service teacher and tell them the story of our school.

I am very proud of our school and enjoy fighting the battle of perception one person at a time.  I enjoy seeing people say things like “I wasn’t aware of what a great school this is now,” “I am surprised by the climate in your school…the lunchroom is so quiet,” and “Wow, I would really like to work here.”  These are actual quotes from people that I have engaged with in the recent month or so.

The commitment and dedication of our excellent staff has created a school culture and climate that fosters student learning.  We really do help students thrive and dreams come alive.  Tomorrow a local news station, Kare 11 News, will be airing a segment on our school and our new gifted and talented program “Nobel” called “What’s cool in school.” It is the most recent reason why I am proud of our school.  Last years’ awards for Top 10 Middle School for Latino Achievement by MinnCAN and the Bronze Star for Innovation from the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals are also testaments to the good work happening at our school.

I have many reasons to love working with students but today I am grateful for a staff who has “seized” every day with our students “to beat the odds.” Hopefully, through some of this recognition our community will perceive us the way we perceive ourselves.