Expecting and Accepting Mistakes 

- By Adrianne Finley Odell

“The most important learning is the ability to accept and expect mistakes.”  - Fred Rogers

Roycemore School recently partnered with Rotary International, Northwestern University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy to show the film Won’t You Be My Neighbor to the Evanston community.  This was the second time I had seen the film and this time I wrote down a couple of quotes from Fred Rogers that really resonated with me.  The one above particularly struck me. I asked myself the question “what happens in a culture that both expects and accepts mistakes?” I then began compiling a list of what came to mind.  One of the first thoughts that came to mind is that this is exactly what we expect of babies. They don’t know better. We absolutely expect them to make mistakes.  In fact, there can only be limited learning without mistakes. And in a loving environment where infants are encouraged and mistakes are applauded as progress, babies thrive. Shouldn’t we extend this same philosophy to later stages of development?  Shouldn’t some mistakes be lauded for the learning experiences they provide?

In this post, I will share my thoughts on what happens in a culture where mistakes are expected.

• We plan for things to go wrong, having somewhat of a lawyer’s mindset, and think through the implications of what could go wrong.

• We build in extra time for the development and completion of a project or task.

• When we expect mistakes, we automatically become more resilient because we are not devastated when a mistake takes place.

• There is a willingness to take more risks and we are less fearful about taking those risks. As a result, there is a tendency toward greater innovation as we are not stymied by the fear of failure.

• An exciting culture of problem solving and creativity is generated.

• We recognize that there may not be a straight path from A to Z, rather there can be many possibilities.

• We are far more likely to avoid catastrophes as we have built in contingency plans if we do not achieve the original goal or outcome.

• There is a greater openness to new opportunities that come along.  We are ready to capitalize on those opportunities.

Fred Rogers, in a simple statement, succinctly articulated what a great, and exciting, learning environment should possess. Whether in a school or a business, when we expect mistakes as a critical component of learning, we grow.

Next week, what happens in a culture where mistakes are accepted.

- Monday, March 4th - Theme Week Starts for Lower School
- Tuesday, March 5th - Admissions Morning, 8:30-10:00am
- Thursday, March 7th - Free Yoga In the Library, 5:00pm
- Sunday, March 10th - Light Bulb Changing at Roycemore, 12:00-4:00pm
- Friday, March 15th - Early Dismissal at 11:30am (EDP is available),
P3 Expo for Middle School from 10:00-11:30, Lower School Palio at 6:00pm, Middle and Upper School Palio at 7:30pm
- Saturday, March 16th - Upper School Parent Social, Game Night
- Wednesday, March 20th - Junior Palio, 8:30-10:00am

The Media Center has posted the March Books of the Month as chosen by Librarian, Karrie Fisher. Click HERE to check out the Media Center's website and get more recommendations.

Early Childhood

The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak. 
(Hilarious funny!)

Lower School

Princess in Black by Shannon Hale.
(Story of a strong, smart, not-the-typical princess.)

Middle School

Squirm by Carl Hiaasen. 
(Funny and engaging story about the great outdoors!)

Upper School

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon.
(Teen on the Autism spectrum investigates the murder of the neighbor's dog.)

Answer: All of us!

Roycemore School will change over from fluorescent light bulbs to LED light bulbs. This will help us save approximately 242,149 kWh in energy annually!  We need all hands on deck for this quick community change over, with jobs for all ages!  Please join students, parents, faculty and friends as we take another step toward making our building more environmentally and economically efficient.

Sunday, March 10, 2019
1:00 - 4:00 pm 
Daylight Saving Day! 

Sponsored by Mrs. Bixby's Sustainability class and the Facilities Committee of the Board of Trustees.

Can't make the event but still want to help? Why not sponsor the purchase of our new LED bulbs? For $2.75 you can buy one bulb, or sponsor a classroom for $44.00! Every bit helps, and the ROI will be incredible. 
Sponsor By Clicking Here 

Middle School Families are invited to attend our 2019 P3 Expo!  Personal Passion Project (P3) involves each Middle School student focusing on a topic of their choice for several months. They will be showcasing their projects at the P3 Expo on Friday, March 15th from 10:00-11:30am.  Come join us!

Roycemore's very own Beth Shutters was a presenter at last month's Illinois Computing Educators (ICE) conference which attracted over 5000 attendees and is the largest organization in the state dedicated to addressing technology in education.  She gave two presentations that highlight the type of forward-thinking that is done here at Roycemore.  In her first presentation, Design Thinking: Not Just For Techies and Makers, Beth shared how Roycemore is teaching real-world problem solving and product creation skills at all levels of our curriculum, even with students in the Lower School getting in on the action.  In her second presentation, Personal Passion Projects, Beth shared how we utilize the passions of individual students to spark the desire to learn design thinking.  By giving Middle School students the time needed to explore their passion and the resources that go beyond that of a typical classroom, students get to see how far they can take a project that has special meaning to them.  Thanks Beth for sharing the amazing way that we are making a difference here at Roycemore!

The streets of Paris are coming to Roycemore School! 

Our annual Scholarship Dinner will be held on Saturday, April 27th, and our online auction will start as early as April 7th and we need your support!

Here are the many ways you can help:

Donate - We need Auction items to add to our auction. If you have valuable merchandise, rare collectibles, business or personal services or access to unique events, we need your contribution today. Click here to Donate. 

Be a Sponsor - Contact Sara McGuire at smcguire@roycemoreschool.org or (847) 866-6055 to take advantage of promotional opportunities for your business or to pledge your individual support.

Buy a Ticket or Two! - Online ticket sales are now open! 

Roycemore School was started on the campus of Northwestern Unversity and we are proud of the strong relationship we have maintained with the University over the years.  They are a great resource for our community and we encourage you to check out upcoming NU Public Events as well as upcoming NU Diversity and Inclusion Events.

Roycemore Sophomore, Katie Rozsypalek, designed a poster for the Upper School play using Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop.  She obtained the design thinking skills and technical know-how needed to manuver within those applications as part of her Adobe-themed January Short Term project. 

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