I have been teaching teenagers for 27 years now – and I have loved every minute. Seriously. Yes, there have been some challenges but there is always joy in the journey. 

We are a couple weeks into school now, and the honeymoon excitement of the first days of school is starting to wind down. Every Monday, I send my teachers and staff a little motivation and today I would like to send some to our families as well. 

We are a partnership - our families and schools - working together to create the best experiences for your student. We don't just prepare them academically, we prepare them with our Portrait of a Baron competencies: Adaptability, Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Empathy, Integrity, and Perseverance. This is the life stuff that prepares kids for school better than any school planner or locker organizer. And life stuff will be around long after the cap is thrown into the air at high school graduation. 

We all know middle school can be hard. Here are five things you can do at home to encourage your student and help us partner together to help our students: 

1. Help them see where their worth lies. Grades and goals and baskets and certificates and trophies are awesome. But your students are amazing even BEFORE all of that. Thank you for reminding them that their worth isn't connected to their accomplishments. They are WORTH SO MUCH just because they are human.
2. Help them navigate drama. Middle school is full of drama, but we can help our students learn how to walk away, talk to an adult, and stand up for themselves in healthy ways. Talk about kind words and actions - and how their own words and actions can affect others. A lot of this can be avoided by limiting their time on screens and social media.
3. Give them a five minute rule on the complaining thing. Capitalize on the positive. Help them see the glass half full. Complaining does nothing for them (limit the vent to five minutes) other than give them a negative outlook. I know some classes are harder than others. They need to tell you about it. But then help them see the SOLUTION. The attitude you have toward something directly affects how you perform on it. And you are going to be the captain that helps steer that ship.
4. Albert Einstein once said, “Every one is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing it is stupid.” Help your kids find their genius. It may not be typical. It might take some investigation. But I believe firmly that every kid has genius. Recently, I found that one of my students is a genius with motors. Another one is a genius at hockey. Another is a genius with birds. There are a lot of “non-school” things that kids are genius at – and if you find that thing, it encourages them in every other area because they feel some success. You have to embrace that your kid might not be a cookie cutter student. And that’s okay. We have A LOT of options for students to get involved at DMS. If you need some ideas, please call our Guidance department! 
5. Help them realize everyone fails sometimes. We know the stories – Michael Jordan getting cut from the basketball team and Einstein failing 7th grade. One failure is not the end of the world. I have some kids who think a “B” is the end of the world. Help them find balance. It all goes back to the worth thing. It connects to the genius thing. And it ALL can be a choice of how to respond, wipe the dust off, and keep going. What we do with failure is more important than the failure itself.

I know that many of you are already doing this -- and you're doing it well!  In the grand scheme of things, three years is a very small percentage of a life well lived. We are HONORED to get to serve your family during these three short years.

You only get them once. Help them see their true value in who they are and not what they do. Give them tools that will build them up, not tear them down. Laugh a little. Listen a lot.

Just breathe. It will all be okay. 

Let's do this together! 

Carrie Wisehart
DMS Principal