Grateful to be a Dogie

I
 woke up Sunday morning and my first thought was that this week was going to be exhausting.
It’s Homecoming. The kids are distracted, they’re worried about what they’re going to wear each day. They’re focused on Coronation, Powderbuff and Powderpuff, they’re thinking about their Homecoming week athletic contests, they’re float making and taking part in oh so many fun events on their schedule. 
What they’re not so focused on is their classes that go on despite modified class schedules and after-school activities. 
As a teacher, it can be exhausting and overwhelming to think about how I’m going to keep my students engaged in their learning with all the festivities of the week going on around them. 
And, on top of that, I have to come up with my own ideas for dress-up days, and help out with those Homecoming festivities, all the while remaining energetic enough to encourage students throughout the week. 
All of those thoughts were nearly enough to make me want to crawl into bed on Sunday night and stay there. 
Then I got an email from my principal which really got me thinking how lucky I am, and how lucky our students are, to be attending a small school in Wyoming where we can celebrate Homecoming and involve all students in that celebration. 
In the email, Tracy Ragland shared a story which illustrated the difference between the high school experience that we are privileged to have in contrast to many, many other schools throughout the country.
A high school principal was discussing relationship development in his school of 8,600 students. 
“The school funded one varsity sport for each program offered at the school … one varsity and one JV football team, and one varsity volleyball program with three sub-varsity levels.”
Here at NHS, we have just over 200 students who have only one less opportunity than this school which is 4,200% bigger than ours.
That thought is, quite frankly, jaw dropping when you consider the number of students who will never have the opportunity to be a part of an extracurricular activity.
Because of the sheer size, students who aren’t among the few who are a part of those programs probably are less likely to become engaged in Homecoming because they feel no connection, whereas in Newcastle, even if students aren’t in a sport, they have friends who play or just like to watch their classmates compete.
There are class competitions, and dress-up competitions where everyone gets a chance to be a part of the celebration.
All you have to do is come into the high school and walk down the decorated halls to see that students are embracing and enjoying the week.
I don’t know if that is happening in those schools across the country where so many are left on the fringes.
As Ragland stated in the email, “The experiences and memories which will be made over the next week simply can’t be matched by other educational systems, and we are very lucky to be able to be a part of this rich experience.”
As I went to work with those thoughts in my head, I can truly say that I am thoroughly enjoying the exhausting, overwhelming, busy week and feeling very grateful to be a Dogie.