I apologize for not e-mailing the link for the 01/27 update. It had been posted on the school website, but I didn’t realize until it was too late that I had forgot to send it.
With the excitement of this weekend’s Super Bowl, I was recently thinking about past Super Bowls games, and one that always stands out to me is Super Bowl XLII. What makes this game so memorable was that New York Giants pulled off a stunning upset of the New England Patriots. Between the regular season and the postseason, the Patriots had won 18 consecutive games and were looking to become only the second undefeated championship team in history. One piece that added intrigue to this game was that the Giants and Patriots had met in the last game of the regular season that year. Both teams had their playoff seeds clinched and the outcome of the game was completely meaningless, except for the Patriots attempting to finish undefeated. Many experts and analysts believed it was in the best interest of the Giants to rest their starters and focus on being as healthy as possible for the playoffs. The Giants did not to that, and they played the game to win it. Despite a valiant effort, they come up short. But did they really? I ‘ve always believed that the effort they put forth in that game gave them added confidence and toughness that ultimately resulted in them winning the Super Bowl.
I think that is a good analogy for the situation the eighth graders find themselves in currently. High school acceptances have been given. Plenty of fun events are coming up. It’s very easy to start “resting up” for high school. As grades and iReady scores may not carry the same weight as they did earlier this year, staying motivated becomes a bigger challenge. The prudent choice is to continue (and for some start) developing the habits that are going to make them successful at the high school level. It’s foolish to think that a student can go several months without giving a respectable effort and that they’ll be able to start caring again once the calendar gets to August. If Super Bowl XLII taught anything, it’s that an illustrious regular season doesn’t always equate to postseason glory. Success and failure at the elementary school level do not equate to success or failure at the high school level either. Good learning habits and bad learning habits do translate at that level though. It’s not too late! (It’s not too early for 6th and 7th grade too).