Winter Wishes wrap up part 1

It's hard to believe Wish Week has ended.  There's so much to say that there may be numerous entries to wrap this up.  

Yesterday was one of those days I never want to forget.  It's so incredible to see our kids happy and our community so supportive.  We had some big wishes come through including the Thunder wish, the Great Wolf Lodge Wish, the Lady of Sealand and Honorary Mayor wishes.  The OU wish was just WOW!  It was so much more than we expected.  The wish for Aimee Carter, that was an emotional one, and was just fantastic.  So it was one of those days that I hope I remember for the rest of my life.

What I want to write about is a wish that was granted about 3:00 pm yesterday.  The bell was going to ring at 3:25 to end the day and the semester.  A few minutes before 3:00 a student came to me with two wrapped packages and said the dreaded words "we can't figure out who these are for."  The beautiful tags that had been placed on each package had somehow come off two.  So I had to unwrap both.  One was a sweatshirt and I was actually able to figure it out relatively easy.  We granted around 715 wishes and over 70 pairs of shoes so when I unwrapped the 2nd package, a pair of tennis shoes, I knew it was going to be a little harder.  I was able to narrow it down to 3 possible recipients.  I gave those 3 possibilities to Anita West and said "please figure this out."  She sent students to ask the three possible recipients if they had received a wish. The last of the three said no he hadn't.  So Mrs. West quickly rewrapped the package and it was delivered to him.  

I know at least 95% of the 8th grade class, but I didn't know this young man.  When the package was delivered to him he was so humble and shocked that he had received a wish.  He was so happy to receive the shoes.  Shoes are a big deal to middle schoolers and he was just genuinely touched that someone had thought of him.  Mrs. West came and got me and Mr. Leonard and said you have to meet this kid.  There was just something about him that I immediately loved him.  It was obvious he has a sweet and kind spirit.  Honestly he was a kid I had never seen before.  He's new this year and just one that my path had never crossed not even in the hallway or cafeteria.  I was so impressed with his sincere gratitude and absolute joy.  I later found out who made the wish for him and realized what a bright young person that student is to realize what a wish made for this young man would mean to him.

So I walked down the hall with a happy heart and Mr. Leonard went back to the office.  At that point the office phone rang and someone had an extra brand new bike they wanted to bring us.  Normally we would have thought "oh gosh what will we do with this bike" and Mr. Leonard would have said "this is a good problem to have." We might have tried to save the bike until next year.  But immediately he knew what to do with this bike.  So at 3:40 pm yesterday some teachers and a couple of students lined the hallway so this young man could be celebrated getting his new bike.  With a very kind and soft voice he wished everyone there "the best Christmas they ever had." It was obvious to everyone what a cool wish this ended up being.  It reminded each of us that God's timing is perfect and how a lost name tag led to a special moment for all who came to know this young man after 3:00 pm on Wednesday.  I don't believe in coincidence and I know this was meant to be.  I'll enjoy this break but I look forward to finding and seeing this kind and grateful young man as soon as we return to school.  So the final wish granted of Winter Wish Week 2017 is one to remember.  

It's hard to capture this moment and the emotions (including genuine happiness) we felt for this young man in a blog.  But when I go back and read it I'll remember it.

Thanks for following - Melissa E

'Twas the Night Before Winter Wishes

I don't even know what to write.  We are excited about tomorrow.  I don't think I'll sleep.  We are still at school, getting ready to pray over our wishes for our kids.  We're blessed.  Our community has taken care of us and our kids are learning to take care of others.  I don't know what our expectations were for this year except we want our kids to feel loved and to be kind and to love others.
I have a feeling tomorrow will be a big day.
Thanks for following our journey.

A Typical Day and A Request

December 11,

At the end of a day like today I nearly wish my phone could read my thoughts and compose them into a well written document. If that were the case, I think I would be a pretty good blogger. So like Melissa said yesterday, excuse any grammatical errors as I invite you into my classroom and Wish World from my perspective. I've numbered it simply because it's not one long story but rather highlights of today. (Oh and my phone recognizes the importance of the word WISH - and automatically capitalizes it.) ❄️

#1 Today was a big day. We had one of our most prized wishes brewing and with that comes a lot of nervousness especially for those who worked tirelessly to make it happen. In this case, it was Melissa. However, since we work as a team when one of us gets hyped up over a wish the other one shares the feeling - good, bad, and otherwise. Today my biggest job was to make sure Melissa was breathing and that her class was covered when she had to switch hats from teacher to Wish granter. Good news: It unfolded perfectly!

#2 Outside of Wish world: I started my day noticing one of my former students in tears. He has a tough outer shell and puts off a tough guy attitude but I could see his heartache. I asked him if he needed someone on his side today and reminded him that my door would be open. Then, as I turned away, my eyes welled up with tears because I know that life can be harder for some than others. So by 8:20 am the roles reversed and Melissa reminded me to breathe and class began.

#3 I spent the morning asking kids about gift giving because one, we are in the gift giving season and two, we are preparing to read The Gift of the Magi. We discussed the difference between giving gifts we personally work hard to earn money for versus giving gifts that someone else gives us the money to purchase. For those of us that have experienced both, we agree that gifts we work and save for are much more personal and bring greater joy than those that come easily. We also spoke about things greater than material gifts and the difference in the abstract meaning of poverty and wealth. Middle school children understand that it isn't money that truly defines both terms.

#4 I'm switching gears again because a day in the life of a middle school teacher is just kind of that way - You just never know what might come your way. As I stood at my desk in between classes something unusual (but becoming the new norm) happened. But first let me give you a little bit of the backstory: Winter Wishes isn't about kids writing wishes on one day and then one week in magical December Wishes appear and the program ends. Winter wishes is a kindness initiative where we start working from day one of the year teaching students about improving our school climate and being the change in the world - it's about learning about one another and being a helping hand. We talk to our students and share personal stories of triumph, perseverance, adversity, and failure. We tell kids and show kids that THEY matter. One day, recently, my students and I had a real heart to heart discussion and I told each of them - I want to know your story. That's a big deal and mantra in our program, EVERY child has a story. So, now back to today. I was standing behind my desk in between classes and in walks one of my students - one who I haven't quite figured out but one who is constantly on my mind. I've said countless times about this child, she has a story but I can't figure it out. Guess what she said to me today? She walked toward me launching (no joke) a handwritten letter onto my desk and spoke these words, “Mrs.West you said you wanted to know my story so there it is!” She muttered a few things on her way out like, “you asked for it” and something else almost to make it seem like a reference to Pandora. Her outer shell wanted me to receive it as a sort of punishment for asking in the first place but her heart and the words in her letter showed a girl that needed a platform to share the details of her life; she needed to feel that someone was interested in her journey and experiences and that she mattered. I can tell you she has been through more at her tender age than I can imagine in a lifetime but from the same note that threatening hard shelled child told me her favorite color is purple, she loves root beer barrels, and her friends (but I'm sworn to secrecy to never let her friends know) she loves them.

#5 Also, today I got to tell the story about a little girl who gave me her most beloved gift - you'll have to check back toward the end of the week to hear the rest of this story but hint: I am foreshadowing an upcoming wish.

#6 And not last but close, as the bell rang at the end of the day a student brought me a paper airplane and said, “A student told me to give this to you.” On the outside, the word unfold was written multiple times. I carefully unfolded my paper airplane note and discovered the words, “You are awesome.”

Last, I could stop there because that’s a great closing piece but I need to assemble a little more of the Winter Wish puzzle: Today Winter Wishes unfolded what I am calling our very own “Wonder” story. It's an incredible story of a boy and his hero who share special qualities and were joined together because we get to be instruments of a plan so much bigger than us. My friend and colleague, Melissa, worked tirelessly and never gave up because another teacher highlighted a need and this wish was placed on our hearts.  So as this very incredible Wish unfolded in Melissa’s room (and our adrenaline is still in high gear) you can see that small things, good things, were happening all over. Kids were being kind - kinder than necessary and change was apparent.

We all have a purpose in this program - Melissa is the voice and shares our story outwardly because that is her gift. You will find me more so in written roles because that is where I find my voice. We have shoppers, wrappers, float builders, assembly organizers, hall decorators, donation makers, outside volunteers, video producers, story writers, photographers, and the list just goes on and on. We are all a team with a shared purpose where no job is more important than another. We wouldn't pull this off without the help of every single person who has a touched a wish in one form or another.

So as we approach Thursday December, 14th we call on each one of you reading our posts. If you are a praying person, pray for our program and our kids. Pray that we instill in every child the importance of kindness, a nudge to be the change, and respect for one another's stories. We ask that you pray for every single Wish being delivered over the next week specifically with the idea that our students will receive these Wishes as a remembrance that someone wanted to brighten their day and that they matter. Pray that the right children were placed on our hearts and that we haven't forgotten a single story.

Until tomorrow,

Anita

Our tag line keeps growing: #bethechange, #morekindnessthannecessary, #emswinterwishes, #todayisagreatdaytochangetheworld, #justonemorewish

4 Days to Go

4 days to go until the official start of Wish Week.  It's truly been a year in the making.  I'll start this post with my favorite photo from last year.  Greg and Ethan are two boys that give me a reason to smile everyday but this photo is Winter Wishes. It was taken right at the completion of Ethan's big highway patrol wish on the first day of Wish Week last year.  I love it.  Two buddies, they wished for each other and even though the wish was for and all about Ethan it was Greg he wanted by his side and Greg was full of joy for him.  Nearly a year later both of those boys have gotten taller but when Greg got his football wish in October he wanted to share it with Ethan.  So it's my favorite photo because it wraps up kindness, friendship, joy, and love all in one image.

So 4 days to go....... a friend of mine who teaches elementary in another district posted a photo of her school library with a beautiful table decorated.  There was warm cider, and Christmas cookies, and other nice things. It's something special they do for their teachers and they called it "comfort and joy" week.  It looked nice but I kind of chuckled.  We are smack dab in the middle and maybe leading up to another 10 days of "mass chaos and pandemonium" week.  But I think I can speak for nearly everyone when I say we love it.  Here are some typical scenes from across our middle school buildings - there is glitter, paper, spray adhesive, window paint, crepe paper, and fake spray snow EVERYWHERE because a kid or two or few wished for our hallways to be festive and decorated.  Our offices are stacked with boxes that keep arriving from online wish orders.  One workroom has teachers assembling some things like candy bouquets during their planning periods and another becomes a wrapping station after school everyday.  In at least one office within an office there's a gift "bedazzling" station set up where after gifts are wrapped they are made even more beautiful. There are two offices FILLED with gifts either wrapped and sorted or still waiting to be wrapped.  There are classrooms where meetings are held after school to plan wishes that are experiences or the assembly or other things.  In the library there is a Santa Shoppe going on that is a whole different project.  Our kids are just kids.  Everyday we notice they become a little more excitable about winter break approaching, BUT in the midst of all of this our teachers are still teaching and our kids are still learning.  It's a very busy time but it's good.

So 4 days to go......some of us are getting to the point that we aren't sleeping so well.  Thinking about things like have we done enough, did we order everything, and what else can we do?  Our community continues to show up in huge ways to make sure that our needs are met to meet the needs and wants and wishes of our kids.  We are at the point that every time we talk about a kid and a wish that's going to happen someone's eyes fill with tears.  We are at the point that the kids start thinking they know more about their friends than they did when they made the wish and they stop us to give us more info or ask if they can add a wish. 

4 days to go, we are at the point where everyday someone tells us about a kid who has shown great kindness or a kid who has a need.  Will we ever be done shopping? Will we have enough money? Are the right wishes and kids on our radars?  Have we forgotten anything?  What if we could......? Will kids understand that every wish made for them (big or small) was a big deal because everyone only got two wishes so the idea that someone used one of their wishes for them was a big deal?  Will every kid somehow be touched by kindness and feel some love from the things we have planned during Wish Week? These are the things that keep us up at night.

It's going to be a great week because I'm quite confident that we have the world's greatest kids and the world's kindest community and great things are going to happen for kids over the next week and a half.  Several posts back I believe I wrote about this one wish that we've been working on the longest.  The one that I can't get out of my head.  It's the one that I think on some days became an obsession because I just thought we could make it possible but wasn't exactly sure how.  It's one that we had to reach out to people who knew people and to old friends who might have a connection.  Now that I think about it we have lots of wishes that have worked out that way.  Winter Wishes truly is a community and collaborative effort.  Well that one wish, the one I thought would easy, but it's been hard,  it looks like it MIGHT be granted tomorrow.  If it all still works out it's going to be a great start to the week that is the start of Wish Week.  Keep your prayers coming.

4 days to go and there's so many thoughts and so much emotion.  Please excuse my grammatical and typing errors, from the start I said this blog would be raw.  I'm so ready for Wish Week to get started but then there's this other side that knows once it gets started it has to end.  That's the part that's hard but I'll save that for another blog.  Now I'm going to go work on what I like to think of as "just one more wish". 
Thanks for reading and for being a part of our journey - Melissa E.

More Kindness Than Necessary

We took nearly the whole 7th grade to see the movie "Wonder" the Friday before Thanksgiving.  It's a great story and one of the big themes is to choose kindness.  Choosing kindness is something that we talk about all the time at EMS.  The movie was great but there was one part that was in the book that I was a little sad wasn't in the movie.  It was part of a speech the principal was giving his students and he quoted a book by JM Barrie and said "always be a little kinder than necessary."  That's what Winter Wishes is to me.  It's kids making perfect wishes for their friends and classmates, it's teachers meeting for hours and hours after school to work on trying to put those wishes together, it's a community who blesses the program financially, and numerous prayer warriors who bless it spiritually.  All of these people and groups show kindness but they all go a little above and beyond and show even more kindness than necessary and that's a key to the success of the program.

Today I'm including a photo of a student who has had a profound influence on me.  Last year he wanted to buy a wish for a student.  This isn't something we promote or ask kids to do but for lots of reasons we let him.  He picked the perfect gift for the perfect wish.  A few days later I ran into him on the weekend and asked what he was up to.  He told me he had asked his relatives to not give him gifts that year but instead he would like money to purchase gifts for others who wouldn't have any and that particular weekend he was shopping for those gifts. Everything we had been talking about in our classes this young man had put into practice.  Before Thanksgiving break he came by and wanted the chance to buy some more wishes this year and once again we let him.  This morning first thing he brought bags full of the things he had purchased.  He's a very humble guy but this morning I asked if he would let me take his photo and he finally agreed.  Yes, he helped our program because he purchased some wishes but even a bigger deal is how he touches our hearts by practicing "more kindness than necessary."  He inspires me to be better and he lives the principals we are trying to teach.  Thank you AJ for putting concepts into practice and changing the world one act of kindness at a time.

Not Sure How to Title This One

Way back in early September a couple of teachers came to Anita and me with the possibility of a wish.  We brainstormed and came up with something we thought would be great.  It's not something we can buy.  It's more of an experience where we had to reach out to an institution and ask for some assistance.  It's something they are known to do on a much bigger scale than we were asking for.  I was excited about this one because it is a cool wish and it should be easily attainable and I was sure it was going to be our first wish of the year.  I was wrong.

We came up with a good solid plan of approaching it and went through someone who knows someone.  That person was thrilled to help so all was well.  I've worked on this wish once a week since early September just waiting for the day I knew it was a done deal.  As time went on and our contact hasn't been able to completely seal the deal I decided to go through official channels.  I was supposed to hear a response in 5 business days.  Well that was 7 business days ago.  So this morning I walked in my classroom and looked at my very cluttered desk and prayed "Lord please let today be the day something opens up in the wish world."  I was totally thinking about this one should be simple wish. 

What happened today was a different much bigger wish opened up and it's so hard for me to keep a secret but it will be AMAZING.  So at the end of the day as I was working on details of that one huge wish and I took a deep breath and realized that one simple wish that I've been waiting so long for STILL hasn't come through.  I thought about just letting it go.  But that's the thing about Winter Wishes something gets put on our hearts.  Even when it doesn't seem like a big deal there's just something that keeps some of these on my mind.  So maybe on day 8 of 8 business days something will happen.

Back to the wish that did fall into place today.  I'm so thankful God has put me back in the Elgin community.  The way the people love our kids and do such great and generous acts is truly incredible.

One of the Best Parts of Winter Wishes

Today we worked on coordinating a very exciting wish. For this wish we had to contact parents and get permission. When we do that there is always a fear someone will overhear us on the phone and the surprise will be leaked. But the great part is that you get to tell a parent that you are calling because other kids made a wish for their kid for being kind. Today I got to do that and today a parent expressed gratitude for the Winter Wishes program. I got to speak from my heart and say it really is my joy, my pleasure, and my privilege to be a part of this program. Somedays the program is a lot of work for all of the adults involved but I think I can speak for all of us when I say everyday the program ends up blessing us.