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#ThinkLoveGrow

11/12/2017

6 Comments

 
Picture
Have you ever visited a place and felt like your heart was meant to be there?
 
This week I was in Miami for the ShiftinEDU conference. I feel really lucky that my Building Learning Communities (BLC) friend, Inge invited me to be a speaker. Before the conference began, I got to visit the school responsible for creating and hosting ShiftinEDU.
 
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Day School sits in the middle of Coconut Grove, surrounded by yummy places to eat and shops that have loads of interesting Florida-y clothes. The first feeling I got in my heart for St. Stephen's was that it hummed happy.
 
The minute I walked through the front gate it was like the school hugged me. At the morning ceremony, I got my first glimpse of the students and teachers at St. Stephen's. It was almost as if they decided to dress with LivBit in mind. Normally they wear uniforms, but today they dressed as their favorite book characters. There were loads of kids in Harry Potter garb, several Pinkalicious fans, some Piggy and Elephants, but NOTHING topped the kindergartner dressed as Captain Underpants! I just knew the day was going to be incredibly special with such an EPIC beginning!
 
St. Stephen’s has a very inspiring motto: think, love, grow. As I visited and worked with the kids, I thought about how much MY love for learning and understanding the world was growing. It’s like my time at St. Stephen's perfectly reflected the school’s motto.
 
The kids at St. Stephen’s are encouraged to take risks in their thinking and learning; support each other’s ideas; use technology in interesting and innovative ways; and value each other’s differences. I noticed older kids supporting younger students with compassion. I saw so much happy at this school it made me want to stay forever.

My time in Miami made me wishful for ALL kids.

Kids need teachers who encourage them to grow interests and passions. Kids deserve time to use technology to create and connect with people who can help them think deeply about their interests. Kids depend on grown ups who understand the power of digital spaces and encourage them to be connected. Kids need to know they are safe to be who they are meant to be and every bit of who they are as a person is valued. Most of all, kids deserve to learn in spaces that are safe, joyful, and welcoming.
 
Kids can’t think, love, grow in joyless places. ALL schools should hum happy.
 
So, think about your school community. Does it hum happy? What do people feel when they enter your building? Is it a joyful learning place?  
 
I hope this blog inspires you to take action and become an agent of happiness! Kids NEED you to hum happy! I hope you join me in this happiness campaign! Let’s help ALL kids think, love, grow.
 
Thank you to my friends at St. Stephen's Episcopal Day School in Miami, FL for helping my heart see how powerful happiness is to the world. If I could have stayed with you forever, I would have! And, a very special danke je to #MyDutchTeacher, Inge for believing in my LivBit work. Ik heb je lief!


Keep reading! Keep thinking! And, thank you for following LivBits!

6 Comments
Inge Wassmann
11/13/2017 03:28:58 pm

Hi Liv,
What a thoughtful post! I believe you captured perfectly who we are. Our students enjoyed engaging with you and you showed them how they too can be positive influencers in the world. We would love to have you here anytime, you know you have a home in Miami!

Reply
hw
11/29/2017 11:42:25 am

Dear Liv:
Thank you so much for this very inspiring post. This made me think so much about how lucky we are to have such happy schools like St. Stephen's Episcopal Day School in Miami, FL. I agree that all schools should be hum happy and if they aren't people should really work to change that.
In my school we have all sorts of inspirational posters like the picture you have at the beginning of your post. Whenever I read them they always make me feel happy just like yours.
I think that having this on your blog really adds to the positive feeling people get when they are on your blog.
Do other kids in your school have a blog? Do your teachers help with blogging?
Your friend,
Hannah

Reply
Devin Johnson
10/20/2018 04:18:11 pm

Hey Liv!! Where are you going to visit next ? When are you going to blog next ? I was also wondering if you could make another school visit next week to Pomperaug Elementary School for the bloggers in Southbury,Connecticut on 107 Main Street . I will tell my teachers this wonderful idea on this coming Tuesday. Talk to you later!

Your 4th grade friend Devin

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Devin
10/30/2018 07:51:07 pm

Never mind . Just please don’t do it because I might get in really bad trouble and get my account took away. Also pretend you didn’t know anything about it . Love your blogs though. Keep up the good work!

Reply
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