For the Students

School is so much more than academics. School prepares us for life. My wish for you is that this year, you learn and enact these 10 ways to come to know your own greatness:

• Handle challenges with grace, meaning always endeavouring to find the perspective that brings you peace
• Find the areas of study that you are passionate about because when you find those, you can never feel empty
• Get along with the other children and teachers by operating from your HEART and learning diplomacy
• Balance your time between your workload, sports, clubs, friends and time for yourself to just “be”
• Make and consume healthy lunches and snacks, so that you can concentrate for long periods, keep your moods stable and keep your energy high
• Work hard and focus your mind on various subjects for a length of time, in order to learn about this incredible world and determine your role within it
• Feel the fear but find your strength to take leadership in the classroom, at lunch or in your extra-curricular activities, if that’s your inclination
• Continue to enjoy the present moment, as you did before you entered school
• Fuel your dreams and career aspirations for they will guide you for years to come
• Find ways to have copious amounts of fun because life is truly not worth living without it 😉

For the Teachers

Your job is far more than teaching academics. My wish for you this year is that you enact these 10 methodologies, so that you come to know your own greatness:

• Lead by example. The more time you spend outside of school finding the balance, while doing what you love, the better job you will do at living with integrity
• See your students as YOUR teachers and, as long as they trigger you, you have more to learn from them
• Recognize that your anger at your students stems from fear. You might be worried you can’t control your class. The more you respect yourself, the more your students will respect you.
• Inspire your students to be the best version of themselves possible. Point out what they are doing right, as opposed to what they are doing wrong
• Open your students’ minds to the greatest possibilities for themselves and this world. Teach your class and fellow teachers how to see the positive in every situation – that is your greatest tool for achieving happiness
• Refrain from removing hope from the minds of your pupils – fuel their hope for themselves and others in this world for without hope, we are lost
• Remember that our thoughts become our reality. If you believe you will be an incredible teacher this year, an incredible teacher you will be. Maybe you want to be that teacher that stands out in the minds of your students for the rest of their lives
• Find ways to help every classroom experience be enjoyable, not only for your students but yourself!