June 23, 2016
As we celebrate the end of the school year, some thoughts from our principal the day of the Look At Me Awards.
“When my children were younger I used to attend their school awards day with a mixture of pride and trepidation. Of course I was proud of their achievements. I was proud that they stood out in certain areas. But it was always the trepidation that kept me awake the night before. Why was I nervous? I knew my kids, I knew their strengths and I most certainly knew their weaknesses. In fact most of the attention paid to them by both their parents and their school was about what they could do better. I was uneasy because I knew two things:
- My kids had amazing qualities
- I was afraid that I was the only one who could see these attributes.
At St.Amant School we do things differently. We always acknowledge how amazing our students are. We tell each other when a student has achieved a milestone. We write successes in communication journals and emails and report cards. We work hard to focus on the positive while setting goals for improvement. But this is done privately and shared amongst a few people. Today we are shouting it from the rooftops (or from the gym). We are here to let you know that we know that your kids have amazing qualities and that there is no need for you to have any trepidation about today!
Every year our categories for awards change. Why? Because every year the students show us one more thing that they can do, draw attention to an area of success that we might not have noticed before. Our Look At Me Awards are a true indication that if you look for success and achievement you will find it.
I stand up here with a great sense of joy. It is so exciting to see students do things more confidently, with more enjoyment, with more clarity than they have done it before. As the students are called up to receive either their certificate of recognition or their award please celebrate with them. The students are saying look at me – others think I am amazing too.”