So, while many are counting down the days until the school year ends and summer begins and trust me, I get it. Let's not forget to slow down time in a good way for students. Some students won't be excited to be away from school, to be away from the love of the staff, or to be away from the routines that make them feel safe. So, how might we make these last precious days feel special and savored in our classrooms? Yes, there will be fun field days and perhaps pep rallies, but how might we make our classrooms feel a smidge different in these final weeks? Perhaps a trip outside for instruction, a new learning game, a change in seating arrangements. Every little move we make will allow us to savor the precious time we have with each other this school year. And I don't want us to wish that away. It matters because we matter. We matter to each other. And this work matters to the future of our communities and this world.

I don't want us to miss out on the opportunity to unearth the hidden gems of potential that live inside people. Both those currently working and learning inside of our organizations and those interested in joining us. Because when we overlook the good in others, we miss out on contributions those individuals could be making too.

But when we do this kind of work well, our systems and collaborative model actually begin making the work easier versus harder. We do hard things at the start to make our work more enduring and manageable long-term. When our systems and structures support us in thoughtful ways, we can actually experience more joy, creativity, and success in our daily work with students. It's yes and. Not yeah but.