What an amazing day! Now, why it had to be 45 degrees with a high of 55, we have no idea. Did that stop anyone - no way! It just added to the memories of the day. Maybe hands will thaw out in a week, by the time everyone will be sharing on the amazing wall that is emerging
Though I am utterly
exhausted, I just have to write about today. This has to count for way more
than one reason why I teach, but for now, I will let it be simply #62. It is not in any way simple, however.
I will always remember the laughter, excitement, amazing energy, and bringing to life of the vision that was developed as a community and is now a reality for everyone at our school, not just today, but for a very long time.
The way this post is evolving is a long thank you list.
Angelique – Thank you for being the first one
at the wall this morning all ready to go. You did such an awesome job on so
many different aspects of the project today! Your efforts and enthusiasm are so
great!
François – Thank you for being so creative as
to take a paint can opener and try to scrape the wall since sanding it proved
to be quite ineffective. Your ingenuity
led to us figure out that we needed to scrape the entire 40’x8’ space. That was
job security for all for the entire day!
Jacqueline, Gisèle, Angélique, et Brigitte - Thank you for wanting to do personal
interviews with staff and students alike. How great it is to now have on tape
what people believe it means to have a voice and if they feel that they have
one. After five or so interviews, during
which many people showed off the French they know, you decided to apply the
idea of use celebrating diversity at Highland and interview at least one person
who speaks every language at our school and record their responses in their
native languages. Your starting the list on the board which grew and grew by the end of the day was a good idea. It was fun to see that one by one, you crossed off the languages and added more. I loved watching you run across the campus with their video camera in hand searching for the next person to interview. How awesome it will
be to hear from all the voices at our school, in their native languages.
Merci Colette G for working so hard all day
long doing whatever needed to be done, when it needed to be done. You were always watching and ready to help
out, even shoveling
Nurse Danielle, that you for being so ready
with all of the band-aides so many busy-hornets needed while scraping the ten
layers of paint off the building. We
didn’t expect to have to shed blood along the way to making our wall come to
life.
Officer D, thank you for being a part of our
Advisory Board. We really appreciate your enthusiasm and support. We also
appreciate the special role you play in our community. You have been a part of
Highland for so long and your dedication and connection shines through every
day. We are fortunate that you have chosen to be with us.
Alphonse G – thank you for all the work on the
stencils. That was such an important part of the project and you really took it
on and got things going. On top of that,
you did an amazing job contributing to the “uncover the math building” scraping
and chiseling. I hope that your hands recover
quickly!
David I – Thank you for your constant effort and
enthusiasm. You helped in so many different areas! You were so willing to go
out first thing in the cold and work with organizing all the supplies and then
the taping off of areas. That really made a difference in how we got started.
You chiseled and scraped and painted all day! Way to go!
Alex – We would not be seeing so much of that
chunk of concrete on the wall if it weren’t for your concentrated efforts and determination.
Céline -- Thank you for uncovering the huge
patch of stucco on the south side. You worked through the cold with such great
attitudes and excitement. Your enthusiasm for the project has added such great
energy. I still remember you saying about how you have never been so excited
about something at school. Well, you are
helping it come to life!
Marielle R – Thank you for working so hard
with Céline and Marielle A. You certainly did show off your super powers by
winning the battle with the stone! Talk
about strong! Step back everyone!
Marielle A – Thank you for working with the
273+ interview cards to organizing everyone’s thoughts about having a voice.
How interesting it will be to see what everyone thinks and feels!
Solange G – Your work with the guys was
impressive! You kept right up with them
in helping to uncover the north wall. Way to go girl!
Alice et Alexandre – Thank you for coming
together to work on the Tumblr page. Alice, you were the first one to get us on
social media the very day we got started over a month ago!
Alexandre, thank you for teaching me about
#tags. I may need further instruction.
Jeanne-Marie et Cristelle - I so appreciate you listening to me about not
climbing on the ladder. I know you are enthusiastic and you really go all
out! Your jumping skills are awesome!
Cristelle – Thank you for coming in during
lunch yesterday to help with the bracelets. They are going to be awesome! I
also appreciate your making the phone call about having the t-shirts created
locally! That will make a big difference
for everyone! Thank you also for keeping
Jean-Marie in the loop about what clothes to wear for painting. You are a great
best-friend!
Gabriel – Thank you for finding the sledge
hammer, I mean rubber mallet, and chisel.
We were frightened at first. It certainly made a difference!
Jean-Paul – Thank you for your expertise in
the field of painting and building scraping. Your efforts and solutions to
challenges really made a difference.
Pierre – Your dedication and excitement are
just awesome. You are making not only
the wall, but also our special portable board.
Part two of the project will come to life in a big part due to your
design and hard work on the structure of the board.
Jean-Paul et Pierre - Thanks for staying until
the very end and helping to clean up the final pieces of the wall.
Christiane et Candice- Thank you for checking
out the i-pad and taking some fun photos and video.
Nicolas – Thank you for getting Instagram
started. I still don’t know what it is really, but do know it is going to be a
great way for us to share. Thanks for taking it on.
Olivette – Thank you for working with Twitter.
I look forward to all you are going to teach me about it! I hope the ribbon I got is “girly” enough!
The next time you are going to go with me to Hobby Lobby!
I know that I have not been able to remember
everyone as I would like to. I will add
more as the memories come back. I can’t wait to check out all the pictures….on
Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram…..and more!
What an amazing experience today has been –
thanks to all of you! What an amazing
team!
Life-changing moments….
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