Transitions

.ה.   מַיִם עֲמֻקִּים, עֵצָה בְלֶב-אִישׁ; וְאִישׁ תְּבוּנה יִדְלֶנָּה

.כא.   רַבּוֹת מַחֲשָׁבוֹת בְּלֶב-אִישׁ; וַעֲצַת יְהוָה, הִיא תָקוּם

Where has the year gone?  How can we only have four weeks left to this amazing year?

We had our final official faculty meeting this week.  (We will have some post-planning days after school lets out, but this was the last “faculty meeting”.)  As we are preparing to transition from one year to another; as graduates are preparing to transition to new schools, as some faculty are preparing to transition to new assignments or new phases in life – with all the anxiety, emotions and excitement that come with transitions, I thought I would pause for a week.  (Thanks to my friends and colleagues from DSLTI-Cohort 4 who I stole most of this from!)

Instead of sharing a new idea or trying to spark a new conversation or announcing a new project or innovation, I want to share the text study we did together as a faculty this week.  In upcoming weeks, I’ll share results form our Annual Parent Survey.  I’ll talk about how well we did on our standardized test scores (we really did!) or the new initiative we are launching next year in special needs education (thank you KoleinuJax, Jewish Family & Community Services, and Jacksonville Jewish Foundation!) or our new mascot for athletics (debuting next month!) or new faculty for next year, etc., etc.  We’ll pick up on all those kinds of things next week.

Let’s look at the above two quotes, as we did as a faculty in our last meeting (here translated into English):

Proverbs 20:5

The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters,

but a person of understanding draws them out.

Proverbs 19:21

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is God’s purpose that prevails.

 

We used these two quotes, juxtaposed in this way, and discussed how they fit together.

Or how they don’t.  Or what strikes you about each one.  What do you think?

 

And if you have more time, sit with someone you care about and discuss the following questions, as we did in pairs on Tuesday afternoon:

• What kinds of changes do you find yourself experiencing presently?  Are these changes you’ve initiated or changes that you are experiencing?
• What helps you embrace change?
• What obstacles do you find to embracing change?  How do you handle these obstacles?
• How do you embrace change while preserving your core values—your sense of who you are and your commitments?
• How do the above quotes fit with this conversation?

We have had an amazing year in 2010-2011…and next year is going to be even more amazing-er.  I look forward to telling you more about it next week.  I’ll leave you, as we ended our faculty meeting this week, with a favorite quote of mine by Dan Millman:

“Teachers and books have their value, and sources of guidance and inspiration may enter your life in different forms.  But never forget that the treasure is already inside you; others cannot give you anything you don’t already have; they can only provide the lens to your own inner wealth.  So listen well to those who speak from experience and embrace wisdom where you find it, but always weigh external guidance against the wisdom of your own heart.”

A restful and relaxing week to all…