. . . and He Took the Cup

With these words, our church completes the act of taking communion -- something we did this week to prepare our hearts for the observance of Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  However, this time, my pastor re-focused us on the choice that Christ made, and we traveled to a moon-lit Garden of Gethsemane to examine the most critical decision in all of human history.

The Gospel accounts tell us that Jesus was "overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" in the hours just before his mockery of a trial and ultimate execution (Mark 14:34).  We are told that his sweat was like great drops of blood (Luke 22:44).  He knew what was coming, and his human side was in anguish over the very thought of his fate.

Although Jesus gave us the Lord's Prayer as model earlier in his ministry, I believe that the most beautiful prayer ever uttered actually occurred in this moment - a moment where a decision on the part of the sinless Son of God paved the way for our redemption.

Luke records it beautifully for us:

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him.  On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation."  He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:39-42, emphasis added).

Authentic prayer is dangerous.  Seeking God's direction can be frightening.  However, real peace comes only from knowing and doing the will of God.  As in all things, our ultimate example is Christ Jesus.  May we learn to pray as he did, humbly submitting ourselves to God's beautiful, wonderful, perfect will.

My prayer is that you and your family will draw closer to the Savior during this most holy of seasons.

Faculty Notes

Happy Friday!

I hope you had a great week!  Hang in there, then end is near!

Introduce Yourself to Evernote

Recently, I began using Evernote to keep up with all kinds of things: meeting notes, web sites, checklists, you name it.  This free app is downloadable on most any device, including the MacBooks you have been issued.

I invite you to read this article about how Evernote may be used in education.  With the coming 1:1 program, you may find this to be a very useful tool.

General Announcements

Here are some things to keep in mind as we head into the new week:

Division Meeting

We will have a division meeting Monday afternoon in room 214.  The primary focus of the meeting will be ideas regarding an advisory program.  I will share with you some things that I learned at a recent conference on this topic.

Liz Carter

Liz Carter will be speaking to our students about social networking issues in two separate assemblies this week.   The schedule is as follows

Tuesday, April 12

7th and 8th Grades

2nd period (immediately following announcements)

Old Gym

5th and 6th Grades

6th period

Old Gym

Choral Assembly

We will be on Activity Schedule this Wednesday as our choral department presents music from their spring concert.

Scavenger Hunt

Kathy Pirtle has once again put together a fun day for our 8th-graders this Friday.  They will be conducting the annual Scavenger Hunt to coincide with their recent study of Treasure Island.  This always shapes up to be one of my favorite days of the year!

Thanks for your hard work this week.  You guys are the best!

Have a Great Weekend!

Faculty Notes

Happy Friday!

Thanks for a great week!  You all do such a fine job each day, and I appreciate every one of you.

Khan Academy

I know I mentioned this last week, but I want to emphasize it this week.  Please take some time to have a look at this website.  Khan Academy serves as a tremendous resource not only for classroom teaching, but for individual student work outside of class.  I have made our parents aware of this resource, and I believe that we should investigate it thoroughly as individual teachers.

Katherine Wolf

We are so pleased to have Katherine Arnold Wolf here at Trinity on Wednesday, April 6 at 8:50 a.m. to speak to our middle & upper school students in Willett Hall.  In April of 2008, Katherine had a massive brain-stem stroke. She was not expected to live or recover. In the time since her stroke, she has relearned to eat, to speak, and is now relearning to walk. To read more about her story of Hope check out her website by clicking here.

Clinton Carter

Like me, some of you worked for Clinton Carter when he was either principal at Robert E. Lee High School or superintendent of the Montgomery Public Schools.  Dr. Carter will be our guest next Wednesday as a part of our Lunch with Leaders program.  If you know him, I'm sure he'd be glad for you to drop by and say hello.

Grade Level Lunches

I would like to begin meeting with grade levels during lunch beginning within the next week.  This will not be necessary for the sixth grade teachers as they have common planning time.  However, this might provide a great opportunity for 7th and 8th grade teams to meet when the schedule is less than perfect.  Look for a specific schedule early next week, and, as always, I welcome your input with respect to this idea.

Principal Evaluation

Thanks so much for your responses on my recent principal evaluation.  In addition to the many kind things you had to say, I was also able to get some fabulous suggestions as to how our program can continue to move forward and be the very best middle school possible.  Your input is very valuable to me.  I count it a very high honor and privilege to work with each of you!

Have a great weekend!