Beginning with the End in Mind…

Have you read Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People? It is hard to believe that this was written over 30 years ago however, it is still a springboard for bringing a sense of purpose to a game plan and Habit 2 – Begin with the End in Mind was exactly where this exercise began. 
During our first professional development day in September, SMS teachers gathered to explore the various attributes a successful, well-educated, student should possess upon their high school graduation day. A Habit 2 kind of exercise! 
The hopes and dreams for our students were generated from the point of view of a few key groups: a) parents, b) the community/society, c) teachers, d) the students
At the end of our teacher brainstorming, prioritizing, and debating sessions… we arrived at our SMS version of a Super Student! Of course, we hope to see independent, responsible, caring, problem solvers to walk into the world. And we created a giant poster to graphically represent this wonderful student.You can see this super student hanging in our front hall. 
Do you know what is really interesting?!  At least 5 classes have completed this work and the results are impressive. Please look at these photos. You will be proud. The students needed to agree before their top choices made it on to their class Super Student.

Here are some impressive student highlights.

Students know that parents value honesty and want their children to be trustworthy. Students realize that their teachers hope they will be hard workers who will contribute to a safe and healthy society. Students recognize that society and the community need them to be helpful and be able to solve problems.And finally – students themselves want to.. be kind, responsible, and live life to the fullest!
It has been enlightening to observe students reflect on their future and the skill sets, they would like to master before graduation. In this process we truly witnessed the power of having students lead the process and prioritize their hopes and personal values.
Afterall, as Covey points out, “If you don’t make a conscious effort to visualize who you are and what you want in life, then you empower other people and circumstances to shape you and your life by default.”

Sincerely,

Sydney Griffith