Friday, February 3, 2012: Earlier this evening, High School Principal Wes Choate and I had the privilege of enjoying a team dinner with the SVHS Cheerleading Squad. We hadn't expected the opportunity because, when we left U.S. Cellular Coliseum earlier this afternoon at the conclusion of the day's competition, we thought the team was going to have dinner at their hotel following a late afternoon practice. However, Wes received a call from Coach Cindy Van Horn, asking us to join the squad for dinner. We went to Avanti's, a Bloomington restaurant that went the unbelievable "extra mile" to accommodate our large group with excellent hospitality, food and service.
I can't adequately describe how much we enjoyed having dinner together with our cheerleaders and their families. We talked about Saturday's competition, laughed together, learned more about each other, and created memories that I won't soon forget, all around the dinner table, much like a family. In fact, as I looked around the restaurant at our group, that's exactly what I saw--a SVHS family that works hard together and cares about each other. Only when I talked with my wife later did I really know how true that was. While we were watching the competition live in Bloomington, almost every other student back at SVHS was watching and cheering for the cheerleaders on the big screen in the High School Commons via the IHSA live Internet feed. She described the atmosphere at the school as just as exciting as it was for us--the student body enthusiastically supporting and celebrating the success of their peers, just like a well-functioning family.
As we were driving back to our hotel, Wes & I talked about how much we enjoyed our time with the team, starting new friendships and developing existing relationships. We talked about a need for both of us to intentionally get-to-know our underclassmen better, to let them know our personal side better, and to encourage more students to get involved in other SVHS activities that function as a family, too. We want all of our kids to connect--to find a real place to belong in a safe, supervised, and fun environment so that they not only learn academic content, but leave SVHS genuinely connected to the school, their peers and the adults (parents, teachers, principal, superintendent, etc.) who watch out and care for them. We readily admitted that, sometimes, we get so caught up in the hustle & bustle of operating the school that we often miss real opportunities to connect. We bemoaned this fact of life, endeavoring to do better at developing our connections with kids.
For us, it's times like tonight when the professional side of our work really connects with our individual personalities. When the professional work gets tough, it's the personal relationships with kids and their parents that ease stress, calm emotion and reveal authentic perspective. The laughter of a student office worker, the courage of a kid who does what's right in tough situations, and the quiet smile of a solid role model are all personal connections that help us daily. Tonight, we experienced all of these and more--making for one enjoyable evening!
jason.henry