Happy weekend IA families,
What a fantastic week it was. Our students did a great job celebrating our spirit week to build up to our first ever IA Prom. The prom was exceptional, with our students celebrating the community they are building and our students handling themselves incredibly well throughout the night.
I’m going to focus on one story that is posted this week in the Beacon. When it comes to representing who we are as a school, our Interact club and their engagement with Rotary International led to some great recognition recently. Several students wanted to address their concerns with human trafficking. This passion project led to a great effort with their entire club, initiated a Symposium on Human Trafficking sponsored by Alpharetta Rotary, and we finally had a chance to head to the Governor’s Mansion to learn more about the Grace Commission and join Governor Kemp sign a bill into law on this issue.
This article further down in the Beacon will share the students’ perspective on this event, but to me, the takeaway here is what can happen when we give our students room to flourish. These students started the journey with a desire to do good in the world, found like-minded mentors who could help them make a difference, and this all culminated with a visit to them receiving signatory pens from Governor Kemp.
Please encourage your students, as they share projects or opportunities in their classes, be that a core subject or as our rising juniors begin thinking about their Pinnacle Project, to think about something for which they have a passion. When students start with their interest first, we can help them do great things. If they are chasing a grade, it is highly more likely that their products will be more superficial, and compliance-minded.
Sometimes we see that actually finding a passion can be the hardest thing for our students who have been conditioned to chase the grade. Please help us by having these conversations with them. Help them think about the opportunities for engagement with any passion. Students may love skateboarding, but may not be able to see how they can find a project within the topic. It’s up to us as their advisors to help them find the connections. If we can help them find the things they can be passionate about, it will change their whole approach to education.
Thank you as always for your continued support.