End of February, 2010

To our SBA High School Families –

            “Spring Break” greetings from SBA! I don’t want to jinx things and actually call it “springtime greetings” just yet, though we’re seeing glimpses. Like any red-blooded American principal, I have dutifully fulfilled my oath and diligently prayed for snow days, but I’ve officially had my fill. Bring on the sunshine.

By now everyone should have received our “Re-Registration” materials. Completing those is the required process families use to go about reserving an enrollment spot in next year’s student body. If you have failed to receive yours or if you have any questions, please contact our Business Office.

Here’s a quick look at the calendar ahead:
>> Monday, March 8 –            Spring Break begins
>> Monday, March 15 –          Classes resume after Spring Break
>> Sunday, March 21 –           Honor Society Inductions for Math and Foreign Languages
>> Tuesday, March 23 –          Junior Class Retreat (details through Theology classes)
>> Sunday, March 28 –           Final Crossroads Concert Series Performance of the year, 6:30 p.m. in our theater, tickets are $10.00 each
>> Thursday, April 1 –             Holy Thursday, no classes – Here at SBA, we refrain from all extracurricular activities from 6:00 p.m. on this day until the Monday morning after Easter.
>> Friday, April 2 –                 Good Friday, no classes
>> Monday, April 5 – Easter Monday, no classes
>> Tuesday, April 6 – Classes resume

As mentioned above, the final Crossroads Concert Performance of this school year will be Sunday, March 28. John Angotti and Matt Tutor always bring to the stage their Contemporary Christian Music in a dynamic and high-energy presentation. Both artists are well-known throughout the area and for recording a variety of genres at a multitude of venues.
            For ticket information call the school at 260-2840, visit the web site at www.sbaeagles.org. or E-mail us at crossroads@sbaeagles.org We hope to see you there.

It was brought to our attention by a mom at our school that some of our kids have been using a website (http://omegle.com/) where they can find online strangers with whom to talk. We’ve also included an address for the wikipedia page that describes the site (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omegle)

This sounds like a dangerous site for teenagers (or anyone for that matter.)  Just an FYI - Be aware if you click on the actual site someone will start a chat with you within seconds.

We experimented with the site here at SBA and it does automatically pair you up with someone to chat with. The description of the site plainly states that it doesn’t' filter for anything and has no restrictions.

Mr. Carson asked me to thank everyone for all your kind generosity and support of his family in light of the recent fire which destroyed their home. I, too, want to add my thanks. The response has been overwhelming reminding us again and again of just what a wonderful community this is.

If you’re a parent of a senior, it won’t be long. After we return from the Break, be looking for our annual “Graduation Packet” which will give your family very important dates and documents.

* * * * *

            We bought our first Toyota in 1999. I loved it then and still do actually.Like most, I think I just loved the smell. And the fact that every square inch of the sleek new interior fabric was actually still attached to the sides and the roof.

Because we once owned a big red bomb where the back seat was more like a tent. Imagine a cross between Lawrence of Arabia and the bed sheets your kids used to hang over your dining room chairs on a rainy afternoon. That was the Valadies’ car back seat.

Back then we tried to sell the kids on all the imaginary adventures they could be having back there. But you know it’s bad when your six- and eight-year-olds are embarrassed by your car. We ultimately resorted to a cross between duct tape and push pins when the rear-view mirror could no longer produce any sort of view of the rear.

We also used to drive another old clunker – before clunkers were cool - that fell apart on the outside. We didn’t use our trunk space all that much because it was there we were storing all the various pieces that had come off at one time or another. A little chrome siding here, an emergency brake handle there.

So needless to say, I loved that new Toyota. She’s grown on me even more because she’s survived all these years even though there’s not a soul in our house who understands a single thing about cars. Give me the keys - somebody else has to handle the rest. Including that little red “Check Engine” light that’s been lit since 2004.

            All of that inspired us to buy another new Camry last summer not long after my two oldest daughters had each bought one for themselves.  So I really don’t know what to think about this whole recall thing.

Sticking accelerators are a life and death issue though I’m not worried nearly as much about a floor mat I can remove whenever I want.
           
There’s an interesting and frightening history of product recalls. You know the news. There are those things that could have killed us even if we used them as intended such as peanuts with salmonella and pacemakers with defective batteries. Or those other products that are never supposed to make it inside any of us but sometimes do anyway such as lead paint toys or tiny little pieces that choke tiny little people.
           
Regardless of their companies’ reasons, these consumer products were all recalled. A do-over so to speak. A chance to get it right. A “surely we can do better than that.”

As we wonder whether these were the result of accident or oversight, laziness or greed, it begs a related question. Is there anything we’d like to “recall” in our own lives? (Maybe not so much product related, though there were times I would have recalled all three of our kids if that had been allowed.) But now I’m speaking more about are there any decisions for which we’d gladly welcome one more chance? To try to do better than that?

            I know I have more than can be counted. We let our girls skate by way too easily in their youth. Now one won’t cook, one won’t eat vegetables, and one has always thought her parents should be recalled.
           
We did take our kids to Church, but I don’t think we helped them see the importance of our faith nearly enough. Those occasional Sundays we skipped didn’t help all that much. And though it’s one thing to have faith, I don’t feel I’ve grown in mine nearly enough.
           
I’ve given away too many hours to my job and not nearly enough to my family. There are people I can’t seem to forgive. And don’t even want to try. I haven’t volunteered enough, or donated enough or any number of other not-enoughs that I could have done.

            It’s a struggle trying to raise children and who among us ever gets that just right? We all help our kids but when exactly does it cross the line to where helping them becomes doing for them? When should we allow them to experience the reality that their actions have consequences? Or when should we save them from themselves?  And how is it that marital strife sometimes becomes more important than the children born from marital love? 

On the other end of our decision-making spectrum, would we like to re-think any of the decisions we’ve made about our own parents? Did we take them for granted? Presumed that they owed us? Moved out? Moved in? Moved away? Just to get away. Do we simply fail to call them as often as we should? Or as often as we hope our kids will someday call us?

The thing about product recalls is that those companies don’t just remove products and regret decisions, but they often re-start. They innovate with improved production processes and then – they get back out there. They fix it. “We admit, that one was a failure, please try this one. We’re better now.”
           
We should be honest. They recall the first batch of stuff to avoid lawsuits and save lives; but they sell all the newer versions so that their businesses will last.

Souls last through eternity. So it seems like something we should try as well. Recall and retool. And go at it again. And it seems like Lent’s the perfect time.        

If you’re travelling at all during Spring Break, we hope your family is safe. Travelling or not, we hope everyone gets to enjoy a restful few days away from the rigors of the everyday. Nancy and I will be going to visit our dentist daughter for some free teeth cleaning – one of the decisions I may wish I could recall.

Best wishes.

George Valadie
SBA

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