Thankful
I thought I would offer a note to share my thoughts on this day that we keep in our holiday mix to support those cultures that have a day of Thanksgiving incorporated into their culture and traditions. While other countries may celebrate this on other dates, the idea behind an annual opportunity to offer thanks is very embedded in the American home and family. As was shared at a recent PTO meeting, there are many things associated with this holiday beyond the turkey and trimmings. For Americans, it is a time to cherish family and offer thanks for all the gifts that have been given to us throughout the year. It is a celebration of half full rather than half empty, a time when even those in the most difficult of circumstances find the silver lining of life and offer mind and heart to things like health, safety, sustenance. For myself, I’m thankful for so many things that it is hard to identify any one thing. I’m thankful for my school, thankful for the families and friends borne over a year of embracing a new home, thankful for the many wonderful things that Warsaw and Poland treat me with each day, and thankful for the colleagues and partners across the entire staff of ASW, connected together through commitment and common purpose. I’m thankful for the blue skies and the falling rain. I’m thankful for the opportunity to improve the lives of others. I’m thankful for the special moments with family, sipping the nectar of a child’s accomplishment or the lovingkindness of a doting spouse.
I hope you find the many things that inspire you this weekend. Whether traveling or enjoying time at home together, may this weekend give you opportunity to reflect on the way that your life is filled with the important things life offers!
Parking Lot – Car Idling
A quick environmental note. It has been brought to my attention that there are laws in play in Poland that restrict the idling of occupied and stationary vehicles. According to the regulation, vehicles are only allowed to sit in one place idling for a couple of minutes before drivers should turn their engines off if they intend to wait for a longer period. Fines for breaking this regulation vary, but it is clear that police will give tickets associated with this offense.
There are environmental reasons for this and we would ask parents who are waiting to pick up students after school to please comply with Polish law on this matter and turn off engines if sitting stationary for more than a minute. You’ll be doing us a favor in both following the law and protecting our precious air quality. Thank you in advance for your attention to this.
New and Aspiring Board Member Training
A reminder to mark your calendars for the first session this year of the New and Aspiring Board Member training. There are still a few spots available. Like last year, I’ll be leading session on School and non-profit board membership. If you have an interest in a position on the ASW board, as a leader in PTO, or if you are looking to serve on other boards in the future, this training will help provide some of the key understandings associated with good governance in a non-profit setting. The content of this training has been expanded to also include insights into ASW specifically. We’ll explore selected ASW Board documents and will give some insight into ASW structures and policy. Our first session will take place as follows:
Thursday, November 30, 2017 at 6:00 p.m.
If you would like to participate, you can sign up by clicking here: https://goo.gl/forms/cfjli5MvNnwzNiNs2