Thoughts from Mr. Cox – Homecoming Week!

Good morning Garden Spot, it is a great day to be a Spartan!

Thank you for always being a ray of sunshine in our lives… it has always been interesting to me the propensity I have to dwell on the things in my life that are not as I wish they would be. I have found that to enjoy each day I need to take a moment to consider all the things that I do have. In a world where a large portion of the world’s population live without heat or air conditioning, without fresh water, without hot water, and with the need to work each day just to get something to eat… not to buy a phone, a car, a video game console, a pair of shoes, etc… I find that reminding myself of how lucky I am to have those things helps to keep perspective and get me out of a negative mindset. They are things that we often take for granted, but having access to those things allow us to be upset about things that in the big picture of life truly do not matter. If you have little food and water, you tend to not get upset about the little things because there are much more pressing issues in your life.

Updates/Reminders:

  • The end of quarter 1 is rapidly approaching, and I encourage you to be sure that you are touching base with your teachers regarding your grades and what can be done to improve them if they are not where you want them to be. If you are keeping your grades up, I encourage you to finish the quarter strong. Please remember that your quarter 1 grades will be used for quarter 2 iSpartan placements for days 5-10. Ninth grade students will begin placements during quarter 2, and will no longer be returning to homeroom.
  • October 14, 2015 – PSAT / Challenge of the Classes – All Juniors will be taking the PSAT’s. If your parents have updated the Student Information Portal, you are permitted to report after PSAT testing for our Challenge of the Classes (you will need to report by 11:00 am to your homeroom). If they have not, you are expected to report to school by 7:32 am.
  • October 16, 2015 – Pep Rally (Modified Schedule)
  • October 17, 2015 -Homecoming Dance

Teacher Spotlight:

  • This week I would like to spotlight all of the support staff we have in our school. Our classroom aides, custodians, office assistants, cafeteria staff, technology department, and all other support staff are truly the best of the best. They come to work every day and pour themselves into making our school a better place to be for each of you. It may be easy to overlook their importance because they often work behind the scenes, but without them this school would not function. Take a moment this week to thank them for their role in making Garden Spot a great place to be, and for contributing to the positive environment that has been established here.

Personal Challenge:

Train Tracks
Image from Flickr

Life is like two parallel train tracks, not a series of peaks and valleys. Often it feels like when things are going well, everything is going well… or when things are going bad, everything goes bad. That is rarely the case though. In the midst of the really bad times, there is good, and in the midst of the really good times there is bad. Hence the two parallel train tracks. Both good and bad will always be present in your life, your ability to enjoy each day will be determined by which track you decide to ride on. If you ride on the bad, it will consume your mind and you will be unable to see the good. Interestingly enough, if you ride on the good it will not mean that you are not hurt or bothered by the bad, but it helps to keep it in perspective.

An important part of keeping life in perspective is also an ability to acknowledge the areas where we were wrong, and go about doing what it takes to make them right. Say you’re sorry when you need to say you’re sorry, and assure that you treat everyone you come in contact with the same way you would want to be treated. If we conduct ourselves in this manner it reflects selflessness, integrity, respect, a pursuit of excellence, personal accountability, and compassion – these character traits are all part of the Spartan Way, and are traits that, if applied to our lives, will provide a greater likelihood of enjoying our interactions with each other on a daily basis.

Understanding that life is a matter of perspective is important, and I challenge you to consider all of the things that you do have… you make our lives better, and you are one of the many things that put a smile on our face each morning.

Rock the day, and enjoy the week ahead!

Mr. Cox

Assistant Principal
Garden Spot High School

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