Today I had the privilege to accompany two students that have made a tremendous impact at our school in the last year, along with inspiring others. Marley and Emily (if you have not read their stories, you need to) both spoke today at Parkland School Division office about how they have been welcomed and cared for at our schools. It was powerful to see the two students impress everyone in our central office and I was extremely proud. Emily has such an amazing presence with everyone and brings an amazing smile to everyone. Marley took the microphone and gave such an eloquent and lovely speech, right after her mom told us all about Marley’s struggle with anxiety. You would not have been able to tell. While she touched everyone’s heart, she also left them speechless.
The best moment of the day, was when I introduced the two girls to one another. Marley has moved onto another school this year, and Emily has just joined us. This was the first time that they had met. No matter what I write here, I will not be able to capture the moment between the two. It was as if they immediately understood each other and had a special bond that no one would understand other than those two. Emily had nothing but a gigantic smile and Marley was so caring of her younger counterpart. I was so proud of both of them.
From that moment, I thought how beneficial it is to connect other students in our school. I could only imagine if these two had connected last year, how powerful their relationship would have been.
I often talk about how as educators, we need to build strong relationships with our students. I am now more determined to help facilitate those mentoring opportunities between students. The power of these kids working together, learning from one another, will be so powerful for all kids involved. I hope that I will help facilitate more of these connections in our school.
