Humble & Kind

What a great day we had yesterday for our graduating seniors. The awards ceremony was held at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center in Van Wert and it was a first class celebration. It was great to see so many family members, home school representatives, scholarship presenters and staff in attendance. You couldn't help but be excited for our seniors as they head out into the real world and all the great opportunities they have ahead of them. As always seniors, you will be missed and we hope you find the time to stop by and say hello.

As for the juniors...What a great job you did yesterday as you watched from the balcony. I understand that you were so well behaved and very attentive. It will only be a matter of time that you will be up on that stage and be receiving your passports and awards. I hope you heard what Makayla Ryan had to say in her speech when she mentioned to "work hard next year and get involved in as many things as you can. You will not regret it". Those words speak volumes. Stay involved, volunteer, be here everyday and respect your classmates and staff. If you live by those words, you will have a very successful senior year. We are looking forward to all of you coming back. Please have a safe and relaxing summer.

As many readers know, I like to quote some of my favorite songs, especially country. Well a recent song by Tim McGraw says a lot and I hope it has some meaning for you. It's titled, Humble & Kind".

Hold the door, say please, say thank you
Don't steal, don't cheat, and don't lie
I know you got mountains to climb but
Always stay humble and kind
When the dreams you're dreamin' come to you
When the work you put in is realized
Let yourself feel the pride but
Always stay humble and kind

Don't expect a free ride from no one
Don't hold a grudge or a chip and here's why
Bitterness keeps you from flyin'
Always stay humble and kind...

This is my final blog of the year. As always, I thank all of you readers for following my blog and some very kind comments I receive. I have just gone over 20,000 views on my blog so I have to remember to stay humble and kind. Thank you and have a great summer.

Don't Stop Now

How many times in life have you struggled really hard at something but when you were done, the accomplishment felt really great. You were proud of what you just did and maybe you were even rewarded. I can think of so many things in my life that would have been easy to quit at but I decided to hang in there and it really paid off. One of the things that I was thinking of was a time when I was hiking out in Colorado with my wife and two sons. The entire area was absolutely beautiful and provided scenes that I can't even describe. When we headed out to Colorado, we had a list of places we wanted to see, sort of a bucket list. One of the things that was a "must see" was the Hanging Lake Trail in Glenwood Springs Colorado. To give you an idea of what this hiking trail was like, here is the brief description I read before heading out: The trail is a steep mile-long climb with uneven rocky terrain. Wear proper footwear not flip-flops. Bring plenty of water and be aware of the symptoms of altitude sickness. Be advised that there is no cell service available. Allow two to three hours to complete this hike. Near the top, the trail becomes steeper and even more rocky, but handrails help guide visitors to the boardwalk that frames a portion of the lake. Once at the top, be sure to follow the signs the short distance to Spouting Rock, where icy water from snow-melt high atop the Flat Tops barrels through a narrow hole in the limestone cliff.

From several people I talked with before I left, this was one site not to be missed. So as we headed up the trail, I was stunned at how hard and difficult this trail was. I have hiked several places in my life but this one was really, really steep. As I neared the top, I remember letting my wife and two sons go ahead while I caught my breath, I actually didn't want them to be around if I was going to die on this mountain. As I sat on the rock, I was wondering why I ever climbed this stupid mountain when I had such gorgeous views down at the bottom. As people came down the mountain, I happened to ask one of them how much further it was to the top, I remember the guy saying that it was at least another forty five minutes or so. I wanted to cry and just quit. I think it was his wife that said "honey, don't do that to him, it is actually only another 3 - 5 minutes". Well with new desire, belief and determination, I set off to see what was ahead. As you can see by the picture, it was absolutely gorgeous. I was rewarded for my hard work and it was worth every minute of it. I just stood there and glanced out at the pristine lake and the wonderful views.

So, you may be wondering what this has to do with a school counseling blog, but I hope you see the point I am trying to make. We have two weeks left of school. Many of the seniors are ready to graduate and many are just plain tired. They are ready to quit and not make it to the finish line. I have seen many juniors starting to take a break and begin their summer vacation. I just ask all of you to hang in there and fight on. Once you finish in a few short days, you will be rewarded. You will be glad you worked hard and kept your grades up. This will reward you with a better GPA and for the seniors it will reward you with graduation and open doors to many opportunities. Let me encourage you to keep walking and just wait to see what is just over the hill. It's absolutely beautiful.

Teacher Appreciation Week

This week is national Teacher Appreciation Week! I hope that all of our students here at Vantage would consider taking the time to say thank you to the wonderful teachers we have here and let them know how they have made an impact on your life. We are blessed to have such a great staff who care so much for our students. I have mentioned this before in my blog but I just think this week we really need to let them know how great of a job they do. There are so many standards, tests, and demands on the teachers of today that it is truly amazing that they can do the job that they do. I think our staff is such a kind and caring group of teachers that our students are very lucky. The teachers at Vantage not only teach the three R's and a career skill but they teach so many important life lessons. I know that many of our teachers help out the students with problems at home, school and even work. They take the time to listen to the students needs and help them when they can.

I also hope that you will consider thanking our administrators for their role in leading our school each day. Mrs. Kaufman, Mr. Winans, Mrs. Hall, Mr. Verhoff, Mr. Darrell Miller and Mr. Knott have tough, demanding jobs that require long hours and they don't get thanked enough for everything they do.

I would also like to take this time to say thank you to all of Vantage's amazing teachers and administrators. You make working here a true pleasure.