Balance – ThinkMBE

Be a Meadow Brook Hero! Safe. Respectful. Responsible.

Greetings, Meadow Brook Partners!

We live in a really busy world with lots of expectations, and so do our kids.

Sometimes it’s difficult to find balance.

Sometimes it’s difficult to find calm.

Sometimes is difficult to focus.

We know that wellbeing is among the critical foundations of happiness and achievement. When we feel good about ourselves we’re better able to focus on learning, socializing, and having fun.

The same is true for our kids.

At Meadow Brook we use positive behavior supports at all tiers of instruction and intervention to help drive a culture of wellbeing among kids and adults.

We focus on concepts like gratitude, kindness, and compassion as we seek to continueously learn about and share tools and strategies that support our individual and collective wellbeing.

One great strategy is to include mindfulness practice in our daily routines.

In my quest to learn and grow I recently came across the following New York Times article with some connected resources that can help when thinking about mindfulness practice for kids: Mindfulness For Children

The article underscores some important potential outcomes of consistent mindfulness modeling and practice, such as:

decreased anxiety and increased happiness
enhanced ability to focus
greater connectedness to others and the environment
deepened problem solving skills
lowered aggression and stress
relief from social and academic pressures

If you have some time to explore the article I believe you will find it time well spent.

Please touch base any time with thoughts, ideas, or questions…your input is always welcome and very much appreciated!

Thank you for your patience and your partnership…in it tougher for the kids!

With gratitude,

Seth

Seth E. Berg

Principal

Meadow Brook Elementary

Call: (248) 726 -4101

Click: sberg@rochester.k12.mi.us

My Reflective Journey: Berg’s Eye View

Safe. Respectful. Responsible.

I’m bad at being sick. I know that.

None of us like it. That’s not what I mean.

What I mean is that I don’t do it so well. I don’t appreciate not working. I don’t take naps. I like to be moving, doing, and being productive.

I was sick this week and I took three days off. Three Days. It was an eternity.

Guess what? Meadow Brook was intact when I returned. In fact, it was thriving!

Fun run plans were moving forward. Collaborative thinking around instruction, intervention, and enrichment was happening. Kids were learning and laughing. Ideas were being bantered about. Door were opening. Phones were ringing. Books were being read. Stories were being written. Equations were being solved.

Can you believe it? The Meadow Brook world continued to turn while I was in bed blowing my nose and eating chicken noodle soup.

Of course you can.

We share an amazingly vibrant school community with one another. We share leadership and learning roles and responsibilities. We share a common student-centered, optimistic, and partnership-enhanced SCOPE of vision, and while we each contribute in unique and immeasurable ways to student wellbeing and achievement, no one among us stands alone.

Meadow Brook is a health and family first organization. That means we each understand how important it is to be healthy and balanced. We know that’s what makes us ready to care so well for the kids we serve each day.

I’m not suggesting that we take three days of each week, only that we never lose sight of our own health and wellbeing as we pour our hearts and our minds into making our school community second to none.

Thank you to all who made it alright for me to take care of myself this week, from an RCS leadership team who checked in on me regularly and reminded me of our district’s core values with support and encouragement, to an overwhelmingly supportive staff and parent team who always stand by one another through any challenges.

You amaze me! I couldn’t be more proud of us.

Please make sure you are taking time to rest and rejuvenate this weekend. Play, laugh, and celebrate with the people and the things that balance out your life. Put the phones and computer aside, go to the cider mill, do some crayon leaf etchings, go for walks, toss the ball around in the yard. Whatever it is you love to do, do as much of it as you can.

Get some intentional rest and feel good about it. You need it. You deserve it. The world will continue to turn and it may even feel enhanced with some self care in the mix.

Thank you for your patience and your partnership…in it together for the kids!

Wishing you a joyful weekend,