Fear. Friend or foe?

You see the displays and visuals.

This is the time of year where many try to give us a frightful scare all in good fun.

So, a focus on FEAR will comprise most of my email today.

Hope you’re ready!

But first – an update on our search for a new principal at List Elementary.

Amazingly, we had 44 applicants for the position vacated by Dr. Jill Walizcek, who resigned to take a professorship at SVSU.

To attract this many applicants speaks well for our school district’s reputation.

Today we will have our First Round of interviews with our eight remaining finalists.

We will reduce this list to four and conduct Round Two interviews on Monday, Nov. 1.

I’ll provide another update in the days ahead.

NOW… moving on to today’s focus on FEAR –

5 FSD staff members have stepped up to share a FEAR they’ve had to work on to overcome.
 
I think you’ll enjoy their personal snippets!

Marcy Putnam, vocal music teacher

“I had a fear of performing in front of a crowd. 

Many people struggle with this fear, I am certain. 

But these steps helped me overcome this fear.

– Practice
– Make mistakes
– Improve
– REPEAT That is how I continue to overcome this fear. 

I learned we must “do it” to gain the confidence we need to enjoy the outcome!”

Marla Hoffman, instructional aide, traffic guard, recess supervisor, and more!

“My fear of heights arose when I was a child, after I slipped down a few rungs of a tall silo ladder.

I overcame my fear by climbing at the Frankenmuth Arial Park, climbing and finishing the highest level, which is the Black Storm.”

Denise Roeske, Bridge to Kindergarten teacher

“I feared needles!
 
I absolutely despised needles, looking at needles, being poked by needles, and thinking about needles.
 
If you wanted to give me a shot, I was literally a hold-me-down-as-a-grown-adult-to-give-me-the-shot type person.

This was ridiculous and embarrassing.
 
So I took some courses and labs and became a phlebotomist.” 

Amy Kolb, middle school math teacher

“My husband wanted us to take scuba diving lessons together, and the thought of being 60 feet or more under water was pretty scary to me. 
 
However, I had a great instructor who took things very slowly, and I learned all the basic scuba skills. 
 
There’s nothing quite like plunging your face into the cold water and inhaling a deep breath underwater as you slowly descend to the bottom of lake watching fish scurry past you. 
 
This is me getting scuba certified in Higgins Lake earlier this month.”

Jessie Bassett, Science Dept. Chair and teaching Physiology and Algebra IIA & IIB

“I don’t necessarily have a fear of heights but I always encouraged my kids to try new things.
 
There is a campground called Wesleyan Woods that has ziplines and a high ropes course. 
 
So, when she was quite little we went there, and I encouraged Brooklyn to try out the activities. She was scared.
 
Uh, oh. Now, I had to show her it was okay, and if I could do it, she could do it.

I then found myself doing the wet zip line (where you end up in the water), the dry zip line, and the high ropes course.  
 
Yes, I was scared because I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to make it through myself!
 
But I’ve learned my kids make me strong. And recently I heard about Brooklyn telling a group of brownie Girl Scouts to not to let fear keep them from trying new things because they might discover a brand new favorite activity. (I couldn’t be more proud of her!)”

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And as always, I’m grateful for all you do. 
Hope all the tricks and treats that come your way are good ones!