As the fall rains settle in and the dark days become the norm, I was reminded of an amazing gift we have been given in this part of the world. Reading. Stories have a remarkable way of transporting us into different places and provide a safe shared space for you to connect with your kids and for students to enter a different world for a while, to pause, to think, to relax. Recently, I was teasing a student at the secondary campus. In his days at elementary he would regularly come by my office to pick up some new reads, finish them off quickly and be ready for more. Not so much now. Other things are pressing into his world; homework, studying, friends, life. Thankfully, he still took the book I offered him and I’m sure we’ll have a brief hallway conversation about it. The interaction made me pause and think. How can we make time for books; how can we make time for reading? Transportation theory is an actual theory created mainly by communication scholars. The idea is that readers “transport” into a story – they “see” the world of the book. My encouragement for you and your family over the coming weeks is to seek a little time – even ten minutes – to read together or individually, to pause the rush of thinking and life and tasks, to enter a different space. Jesus made time to rest and he certainly told stories to help us see the kingdom. Perhaps you can find space to do the same this weekend. Peace to you.
Dr. David Ward, Superintendent