Dear Wonderful Lovejoy Community:
"A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little courage." -Sydney Smith
In this time of change and transition for me, I could not think of a better analogy than my experience below…Enjoy.
I could not believe I was about to do this. What was I thinking? How in the world did they convince me that this was a great way to celebrate my birthday? I was seriously about to do this.
Of course I had to at this point, especially because of the 150 pound guy strapped to my back who told me so. I had a paralyzing death grip on the handle and he was very convincing, but it was his encouragement that did it.
Sure enough, I was about to jump out of a perfectly good airplane....
Have you ever been paralyzed by fear? Not necessarily the fear of when your kid jumps out and scares the dickens out of you, or even as you stumble through the dark thinking you heard a noise in the garage. No, I am talking about the fear of not experiencing success the first time, holding back, delaying doing something, or even worse, not trying at all.
I sat there on the edge of this wonderful, beautiful airplane and thought how surreal this really was.
I consider myself an adventurer, but not a gambler (please no commentary from my distracters). The 2 hour training prior to this moment seemed so trivial and other than the strong desire to enter into the fetal position, I could not remember anything but, “that would not be a good idea, makes you go down faster.” I had a great coach. The man strapped to my back for this tandem jump was a former Air Ranger, had completed thousands of jumps, and was very encouraging. But, I had to wonder (as you do on the edge of an airplane about to jump) had my Air Ranger ever been strapped to a 235 pound anchor while jumping? Of course, not wanting to look anything but macho, as I hesitated, I said, “I just want to take this all in”. He darn well knew that it was my lunch that I was trying to keep in...
I see a lot of this every day. I see people who are fearful of trying something new simply because they do not want to "feel" unsuccessful. I see teachers who sometimes are not willing to take risks in classroom instruction because it may backfire. I see parents who are not willing to step out and stand up for what they believe in for their kids for fear of standing out. Far too often, I think we are all paralyzed by fear. Fear of failure, fear of being unliked, and fear of not feeling successful. I think it is the greatest hindrance of our society today.
My heart raced and pumped harder than it ever had. “Is that a cartoon down there? It looks very surreal; everything so boxed and divided up so nicely”. “Why would anyone want me to land on something so beautiful, I might mess it up?” (I did not say that you think logically at 10,000 ft. when your feet are dangling out of a plane.) The moment came...3.....2....1.....jump...
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Have you experienced something in your own life that is holding you back? I wonder if there is anything in our kid’s lives they wish they would not hold back on. Fear can be a healthy thing as well. I think it is so important to have conversations not only with ourselves, but with those whom we influence about the good and bad results of decisions, but over-analysis can facilitate paralysis.
As I was flying through the air, not in my so desired fetal position, but in my greatest impression of a flying squirrel, I had felt nothing like the feeling of gravity taking its course and launching me towards the ground. I had to laugh, because I tried to yell in exuberance, but nothing came out. We free fell for what seemed such a short time, and quickly the moment came to pull the chute. Now, what they do not tell you in training is when pulling a parachute when skydiving, you need to prepare for what I call, - the wedgie of a lifetime. Something that had I known, would have added to the fear factor. But nonetheless the cord was pulled and the experience of drifting thousands of feet above the ground was a reward I will never ever forget.
- Have you ever had an experience when you were fearful and yet you moved forward to great reward?
- What about a time when you failed, but kept going and learned to fail forward?
I am so glad I did not experience failure on my skydiving experience. That is one of those activities that trial by error need not apply. As I approached the ground, the landing was so important to me. I made a smooth landing on my feet, but was shaking so much with adrenaline that I fell back, forgetting the Air Ranger was strapped to my back. Poor soul, recovered nicely, but more so from the bear hug I gave him for encouraging me to overcome my fear of the moment and experience a feeling of a lifetime. I am thankful for him even today, ten years later.
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Who will you inspire to overcome fear today?
What about a fear that is paralyzing you?
What is holding you back?
Don't let illogical thought keep you paralyzed, pull that cord and experience the joy that you and all whom you influence so deserve.
I am so proud to be soaring with our Lovejoy community…#OneHeartOneLovejoy
P.S. What is even more challenging is I was trying to uphold my family name. My Uncle Mickey Nuttall (who is a year older than me) is a professional, world champion, world-record holding skydiver/stuntman. He was seen in Ironman 3 in the scene below, was in Ant Man and has skydived all over the world. Talk about pressure ….
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This has been another amazing week! Leopard Friday was the largest in history. We had so much fun and it was great to witness the family connections and community engagement.
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Following the Leopard Friday festivities, the Lovejoy Leopards Varsity football team began their district season with a 42-14 victory. It was a great evening! Special thanks to
Grace Nguyen
, LHS Senior, for the great photographs!
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The Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts were on hand to present the colors. They did an excellent job!
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A special shout out to The Jungle. Our students certainly brought their school spirit to the game. We have the greatest student section!
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And the Band, Color Guard, and Majestics..just WOW!
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Saturday morning found the Cross Country teams dominating at the UTA Invitational. If you have not yet experienced the opportunity to attend a meet, I would highly recommend it. It is wonderful to watch these young men and women compete and excel in this tremendous sport. The athletes and their coaches have incredible hearts and a commitment to excellence.
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I hope you had a chance to read the
September 16, 2019 Board Brief
. In case you missed it, the Board of Trustees appointed Barrett Owens to Position 7 on the Lovejoy ISD Board of Trustees.
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Lunch visits were certainly entertaining this week! There were smiles everywhere and great stories were abundant…I was actually able to follow a few!
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Thank you to our community for your extraordinary support of the Foundation for Lovejoy Schools. They began the morning of North Texas Giving Day by raising $6,600 at Donuts for Donations at the Red School House. Donations through the North Texas Giving Day website totaled $108,816. This is a true testament of our community supporting our students and staff with One Heart One Lovejoy.
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Yesterday was a great opportunity to meet parents who are members of the Lovejoy Gifted and Talented organization. Special thanks to them for all they do.
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Congratulations to the
Lovejoy High School Wind Symphony
, directed by Paul Heuer, on their selection as a National Winner in the Mark of Excellence/National Wind Band Honors Project.
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Additional congratulations to the
Willow Springs Middle School Percussion Ensemble
, directed by Nathan Lewis, on their selection as a Commended Winner in the Mark of Excellence/National Percussion Ensemble Honors Project.
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The Mark of Excellence is a national music competition which recognizes music programs and their ensembles for high standards in performance. The Foundation for Music Education sponsors this project. Ensembles are judged by internationally respected adjudicators, with the top 25% being named as National Winners and the second 25% named as Commended Winners. The project received 320 entries from 38 states in all classifications this year.
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Congratulations to the Lovejoy High School Jazz Ensemble for a great showing on Wednesday evening. The Ensemble set a new school record of 9 students making the All Region Jazz Band. Lovejoy High School is proud to have the most students of any band in the region to earn spots as members of the All Region Jazz Band. Congratulations to:
Joel Reaves
Trumpet, record for All State
JR Frazier
Trumpet, record for All State
Trey McGee
Trumpet
Kyle Easley
Trombone, record for All State
Dom Mauriello
Trombone, record for All State
Landon Snow
Trombone
Mason Mueller
Bass Trombone
Talon Seidel
Bass, record for All State
Jonah Hicks
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Congratulations to Lovejoy High School Senior
Sierra Rodriguez
on her selection for the 2019-2020 Congressional Youth Advisory Council for the Third Congressional District of Texas. Sierra became politically active last year and looks forward to a future in politics.
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Congratulations to WSMS 7th grader
Robert Schnurr
who earned his Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. This was the culmination of a 7 year journey. He will move forward as he works to earn his 2nd degree belt.
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LoJo Glow
Thursday, October 3
Mark your calendars and make plans to join us for the 1st Annual Black Light Community Pep Rally!
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The
Lovejoy ISD Community News Page
includes news from our schools, programs, booster clubs, student organizations, Foundation for Lovejoy Schools, community, and more. Check back often for up-to-date news on events and activities.
This Week's News:
Varsity Football Tickets Available Through School Store
Parking Information for Home Football Games
2019-2020 PTA Reflections Contest – Look Within
Leopard Baseball Buddy League
Girl Scout Troops Now Forming
Junior Leopards Mini Cheer Camp
Public Lands Trail Cleanup
Softball Fundraiser at BJ’s
Majestics Fundraiser
Homecoming Mums and Garters
On Sale at Lovejoy High School
Lovejoy Preschool PTA Open House
LLI 11th Annual Golf Tournament
This event brings all Athletic Booster Clubs together to raise funds to support Student Athletes across all Lovejoy Sports. We hope to see you there!
Pink Out Pep Rally and Football Game T-Shirts
Benefiting the Susan G. Komen Foundation
Lovejoy High School Band Fundraiser
Homecoming Blackout T-Shirts
City of Lucas Farmers Market
Foundation for Lovejoy Schools Men’s Tailgate Party and Cornhole Tournament
Lovejoy Professional Network Charity Benefit Golf Tournament
Running Over Depression
Mountain Bike Team
Lovejoy High School Cheer Fundraiser
Holiday Poinsettias for Sale
News from Collin College
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Tomorrow is the Annual Lovejoy Cross Country Fall Festival at Myers Park in McKinney. Our Lovejoy High School Percussionists will compete at John Clark Stadium tomorrow afternoon. We send our very best wishes to our students as they compete in their respective fields.
We hope you and your family enjoy a great weekend! We can't wait to welcome our students back to school on Monday!
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Michael Goddard, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Lovejoy Independent School District
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Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
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