The Mahomet-Seymour Board of Education will hold it's Regular Meeting tonight at 7pm. We will be streaming it live on YouTube. https://youtu.be/d_8XuAiIe1c
It's School Board Members Day in Illinois! Thank you to our 7 members of the Mahomet-Seymour BOE: Max McComb, Dr. Jeremy Henrichs, Ken Keefe, Meghan Hennesy, Justin Lamb, Sunny McMurry, Dr. Colleen Schultz. Your service, time and work on behalf of our families are appreciated!
As I write this post, today is World Kindness Day. This apparently has been a designated “day” since 1998, and admittedly, I haven't paid too much attention to it. Who can argue with kindness or debate its relative good and importance in our world? And, frankly, I’m sure I’ve thought in the past, why do we actually need a World Kindness Day? Unfortunately, the acts of being kind and gracious are being replaced with impulsive, angry, assumption-laden communication and actions -- we’re all seeing and experiencing more and more of this-and maybe engaging in it too. So, in the spirit of World Kindness Day, as well as the impending Thanksgiving Holiday, which is centered around gratitude, I offer some thoughts that you may or may not agree with.
Everyone has something going on in their lives which is sad, hard, challenging, frustrating or devastating. Everyone. Every. One. Despite social media posts portraying problem free lives---deep down we all know better, and we all know the situations we have occurring in our own lives. As the superintendent of schools in Mahomet-Seymour, you can all know that I receive and observe all types of communication between various parties--staff, parents, students, school board members, community members, etc. And, unfortunately, I have to share with you that it is getting more and more toxic. I choose to view this as a reflection of the difficult and controversial times we’ve endured since March of 2020 with COVID 19, combined with various issues of social unrest and controversy, all intersecting with “life” as we each know it, which itself sometimes, well, just stinks.
I ask everyone to remember that the Mahomet-Seymour Schools, is made up of people, which includes teachers, paraprofessionals, board members, administrators, bus drivers, custodians, educational office professionals, lunchroom supervisors, cooks, Kids Club employees and other invaluable individuals who serve our students-- and we all are human beings. All of us in Bulldog Nation have families, we have feelings, have children in our schools, we live, work and thrive in the community and work incredibly hard on behalf of the 3300 students in the Mahomet-Seymour Schools. And, we all have those “other things” going on in our lives which impact us in various ways. Do we make mistakes? Yes. Can we improve in various ways? Yes. Do we get things wrong sometimes? Yes. Do we who work in the schools, like you, get frustrated sometimes? Yes.
Communication that includes swearing, insulting, demands, calling for peoples’ jobs, acting on incomplete information and making assumptions-- are actions that are becoming all too commonplace and frankly don’t contribute positively to anything or solve any problems. I am writing this today because we can all do better and be better. I’ve not seen too many problems successfully navigated through emotional responses and impulsive reactions. We control very few things in life--but at the top of that list of things we do control and make conscious decisions about are our actions and attitude. How we react to an event determines the ultimate outcome of that event. (See the work of Tim Kight...excellent stuff!)
What if we waited before we communicated? Put a pause between the event and our reaction? Until a time when we’re more calm, less emotional, more able to listen, and able to enter a conversation in the spirit of problem solving and information gathering instead of assessing blame. I’d also suggest first going to the person or people who can solve the issue or problem or who has the most pertinent information. In some ways, the 21-22 school year is actually harder than last year for many people--I could list a host of reasons why. But this only reinforces the dire need for kindness, grace, seeking to understand and patience. We have many, many things for which to be thankful in the Mahomet-Seymour Schools. We are incredibly grateful for the community support, our outstanding staff, our amazing students and families, and for being able to live in such a beautiful area of Illinois. This message isn’t an admonishment or reprimand--it’s a reminder--that I also need. Our lives are all better when we slow down, pause, reflect and listen. I acknowledge this is difficult to do--especially when YOUR KID is at the heart of the matter. I’ve been there as a parent myself. But--we can do hard things! We tell our students this all the time-it is how we learn and grow. And, our kids are watching us. It is very possible and real to disagree in civil and respectful ways and it is also possible to reach consensus or compromise. Not everything is a battle to be fought and won--let’s remember that our top priority in our schools are those 3300 kids of ours--not the end game of adults being right and “winning”.
I’ll also remind folks that tomorrow, November 15, 2021, is School Board Member Day in Illinois. Want a tough job right now that is voluntary? This fits the bill. You may or may not agree with the actions and decisions of school board members. This isn’t unusual even in the best of times. There are many hours that go into serving on a board of education--this has been compounded over the course of COVID 19. However, our Board of Education is deserving of our “thank yous” for serving our school district under the most difficult of circumstances right now and for the past 20 months.
In closing, thank you for reading. We have an outstanding school district and community for so many, many reasons--we are all deserving of the kindness that we’re all capable of extending to one another. May World Kindness Day and all of the upcoming holidays be reminders of the why and the how.
Congratulations to the Bulldog Football team on an amazing season. While it came to an end today in Morton, there is now a legacy left by the 2021 season and a bright future for Bulldog Football. Our schools and community are proud of you!
Lincoln Trail Kids Club is hiring before school (6:45-8:00 am) and after school (2:30-6:00 pm) workers. Interested individuals should reach out to Dianne Bollman at dbollman@ms.k12.il.us.
Children of Kids Club employees attend Kids Club for free.
To veterans everywhere, thank you for your service and your sacrifice. Here is a link to the Mahomet Seymour Schools' Veterans Day Video.
https://youtu.be/R62UprF7p5I
Bulldog Blueprint continues! Our next Community Engagement Meetings are November 16 and November 17. For more information and to RSVP, please go to:
www.BulldogBlueprint.com
All are welcome and we look forward to seeing you for the discussions about a long term facilities plan for our school district!
Substitute teacher training will be held on Friday, November 12th at 8:30 a.m. in the Administrative Center conference room. To sign up for the training contact Shantille Heinold (sheinold@ms.k12.il.us or 217-586-2161). Anyone on a short-term teaching certificate is required to attend the substitute teacher training before subbing. Training is free.
Interested in becoming a substitute teacher or aide? Contact Shantille for details.
Our annual ceremony honoring veterans on Veterans Day will be posted once again on Bulldog TV. We are not able to have assemblies in all of our schools this year. We look forward to re-starting that tradition in 2022. In the meantime, we are putting together a very special video to honor our veterans. Once the link is ready, it will be sent out to parents and posted on social media, and will be live on Thursday 11/11/21.
Gorgeous Sunday evening sunset brings a beautiful weekend to a close in Bulldog Nation. Back at it tomorrow Bulldogs!
The Mahomet-Seymour Board of Education will hold a Study Session tonight at 7pm. We will be streaming live on Youtube. https://youtu.be/-PMxKAH4W0c
Breathtaking beauty at LOW Golf Course
Lincoln Trail is looking for a breakfast supervisor starting at $12/hr. M-F 6:45-8:00 am on days when school is in session. Interested applicants should contact Bridgett Graham (bgraham@ms.k12.il.us).
Did you know you can work breakfast and then sub for us? Interested future substitutes should contact Shantille Heinold (sheinold@ms.k12.il.us). Come join the Bulldog team. #allbulldogs
Interested in becoming a substitute teacher or paraprofessional? Substitute teacher training (required for short-term substitutes) will be held from 9-11 am on Friday, October 29th. Reach out to Shantille Heinold (sheinold@ms.k12.il.us) to reserve your spot.
Did you know substitute pay is going up? New substitute teacher/paraprofessional rates take effect November 1.
The Mahomet-Seymour Board of Education will hold it's Regular Board Meeting tonight at 7pm. We will be streaming live on YouTube. https://youtu.be/HxUlV919QrM
It's National School Bus Safety Week! Please join the Mahomet-Seymour Schools in thanking our Transportation Department for their work in transporting our students, keeping them safe to and from school and on extracurricular trips. Thank you!!
Bulldog Blueprint is this week! All are welcome, as we work on a long term facilities plan for our school district. We look forward to seeing you at our Community Engagement Session this week! For more information, please visit:
https://sites.google.com/ms.k12.il.us/bulldogblueprint/home
The XC Bus should arrive in Mahomet around 3:15-3:30. Fire trucks will bring them into town on Route 150, turning left on Division and left again on Main Street. They will come into the back side of the JH bus lane. Please welcome our state champs back to town!
The Mahomet-Seymour Jr High School Boys Cross Country Team have won the IESA State Championship! Congratulations on this outstanding accomplishment!
This is Mental Health Awareness Month. Reach out if you need to talk to someone. National Suicide Lifeline is 800-273-8255 and the National Crisis Text Line can be reached be texting HOME to 741741
