My turn to say thank you!
You may have heard your child come and talk about writing an affirmation for another student or for an AVA staff member. Affirmations are positive reminders or statements that are used to encourage and motivate yourself or others. These are important pieces of the AVA climate and culture and another example of what makes AVA so special. I see the sparkle a staff member has when they receive a positive affirmation from another employee or a student. On many occasions I have had a staff member share with me an affirmation that they received and expressed just how much that meant to them. In times when there is so much negativity in the world, these affirmations become that much more appreciated and needed.
Now it is my turn to provide some affirmations to our amazing staff, students, and parents. By far, this has been the hardest school year any of us has experienced. The juggling of eLearning and In-Person learning requires a commitment from everyone to make it work. We remind everyone that kids still need to be kids and that they need support and encouragement to keep them moving forward. We all understand that the pandemic has fundamentally changed the way we educate kids, however, it has not impacted our resolve nor our resiliency to keep doing what is best for our students and to keep the educational process moving forward.
I am impressed with how strong our staff, students, and parents are. We do not accept excuses and lower our standards. We change and adapt and keep pushing for excellence. This can only happen with everyone on board and doing their part. Thank you to the AVA staff for the hard work, commitment, and flexibility to provide an outstanding education for our kids. Thank you to all the parents and guardians who partner with us to make sure your child is attending class (whether In-Person or eLearning), completing their work, and working with the staff to address concerns that may arise.
Finally, thank you to our students for hanging in there and adjusting to all the curve balls that have been thrown our way. Their can-do attitude is amazing. Adapting to a new norm and the resiliency to make it successful, while not surprising, is great to see.
Sometimes the simplest words mean the most. I appreciate all of you and thank you for everything you do.
