Flying Close in 2014: January Edition of The General

FLYING CLOSE IN 2014
The notion of "flying close to the sun" has been a prominent theme at Thomas Nelson over the past six months. Derived from Seth Godin's Icarus Deception, an inspirational narrative on the importance of thinking anew about the limits that we may put on our potential. According to legend, Icarus was given the power to fly by his father Daedalus but did not heed his father's advice and flew too close to the sun, melting the wax that held his wings on, ending in his eventual fall into the Icarian Sea. From this legend Godin argues, we have been too often encouraged to play it safe and not follow our dreams. 

http://renahedeman.com/

It is my hope that our Generals aggressively pursue their most lucid dreams in the year ahead. It is our work as a school along with you as parents and community members to continue to inspire and connect our Generals with opportunities that allow them to follow those dreams. It is in the daily discipline that we strive to maintain that will afford our students and staff the courage to get outside of our comfort zone and work more passionately towards the dreams and goals we seek. Join me in supporting all of our Generals flying close in 2014.  

PARTNERING WITH PARENTS - Thank you for your feedback!
Learning from and with parents is essential to our ongoing improvement at Thomas Nelson. This survey data will be shared with our staff, SBDM team, and Citizen Advisory to establish meaningful dialogue about what we are doing well and how we can continue to improve our partnership. Both, the positive and critical feedback from the survey will help inspire our work in the months ahead As discussed in December we want to be fully transparent about the parent survey feedback. 

Please click here for a summary of the responses. Parent Survey Data 

GLOWS Include: 
1. Our school community has worked to establish a safe place to learn, a culture of care, and responsibility that provides a strong foundation for us to work from. 96% of parents agree that TNHS is a safe place to learn and grow!
2. This culture of care is founded upon consistently high behavioral expectations for all students. Consistency is caring. 
3. We work to support all students. 94% of parents agree that TNHS believes that their child can be successful!

GROWS Include:
1. Increasing the timeliness of communication in relation to grades and other needed parental supports. 
2. Ensuring that clear communication occurs about the distribution of Interim Assessment Reports. (They will be distributed next week for quarter 2)
3. Continuing to increase transparency around LEADER Prep and the Fusion Youth Service Center.