Post Holiday Relief Syndrome (PHReS)

If you celebrate a holiday around this time of year, any holiday, it’s likely you have been crazed since the end of November. Between creating, addressing and mailing holiday cards; planning gifts for teachers, friends, family; Yankee Swaps, making food for parties; hosting parties (whew!), there seems to be so much to do, you think you’re never going to live to tell about it.

I was in the supermarket today and felt a bit of a relief. Many of shelves were empty, and there were very few people shopping. I felt a sigh of relief. A phrase popped into my head - Post Holiday Relief Syndrome (PHReS). You know you have this if you experience one or more of the following:

1. You realize you don’t have to address, buy, cook or wrap anything.
2. You are relieved to know you don’t have to go to a mall (except maybe for the after-Christmas sales or to return something, but that can wait).
3. Work is a little more relaxed for the week, or you might even have the week off, and you can sleep a tad later than usual.
4. If you go into the supermarket or another store, you don’t have to wait 30 minutes to check out.

We do have one more holiday to celebrate, and that is New Year’s Eve. To be honest, Brad and I lay low on that night. If we make it to midnight, great. Most times, we go to sleep, I wake up around midnight, nudge him, kiss him Happy New Year, roll over and fall asleep. We wake up to a new year.

Enjoy your PHRes and may 2011 bring health, happiness, peace and love.

Ashland Middle School Rocks

Last night, I attended the Ashland Middle School Open House and was blown away by the enthusiasm, creativity and commitment of the teachers. My daughter recently started 6th grade there and has been very positive about her experience so far. I can see why. My daughter happens to be on Team Sun. The other team is Moon. This is a way to manage the students in a more organized and personal way.

During the Open House, parents first met in the Little Theatre where we heard introductions from the team of teachers. Even “Gym” is now called “Wellness” and integrates nutrition and health issues into the physical education element. The students get a survey course for French and Spanish to help them decide which language they would like to focus on. Students are placed carefully into Math and Language Arts classes. Science is extremely hands-on, and Social Studies is more than maps.

Parents then followed a schedule to each class where the teachers gave a presentation about their goals and approach. Two words that came to mind (I think I’ve been in tech too long): transparency and consumer empowerment.

Not only did the teachers share curriculum, but they also tied it into the requirements from the Board of Education. I came away with a connection to the school and the teachers. We’re in this together to offer the best education possible.

At the same time, it also pulls the parents more closely into our children’s education. We are empowered to act. We know their philosophies. We know what to expect. We know where to go if she needs help.

The rest of the story is that a couple of years ago, a couple of people scared the heck outta me about the poor quality of the Middle School. Suffice it to say, it gave me pause. But I wanted to wait and see for myself. I had attended a couple of introductory sessions with the school principals and was very impressed by the amount and quality of communications we received prior to our daughter starting 6th grade. This gave us hope. Last night’s Open House solidified my confidence that she is in the right place. It’s now up to her to take advantage of the opportunities and do her job well.

My point: Don’t believe everything you hear. Take responsibility. You could be pleasantly surprised.