Photo: Students in Mrs. Callahan's Environmental Science class studied the quality of different water sources.

Join the Athletic Booster Club for Night at the Races on Sat. Feb. 23. For a donation of $35 per person, you can enjoy dinner, beverages and all the excitement and suspense of a thrilling night at the track!  Ticket reservations are due by Friday, Feb. 15. Click here to download a reservation form. For questions, contact Mr. Ron Messer via e-mail or at 440-832-7824.

Understanding Your Child's Test Scores: Please join school psychologist Dr. Ethan Schafer for Part II of "Understanding Your Child's Test Scores" on Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 8:15 am at the Lower School. Parents are encouraged to attend even if they missed Part I of the series. Contact Dr. Schafer via e-mail or 440-832-7850 for more information.

Benefit Auction Meeting: There will be a decorations planning meeting on Tuesday Feb. 12 at 1 pm at the Upper School. Anyone interested in helping create decorations for this year's benefit auction are welcome to attend. Questions or RSVP to Joan Heaney via e-mail or at 216 378-0779.

Lower School Friendship Parties: Lower School homerooms will host Friendship Parties on Thursday, February 14.  Room parents are asked to contact their child's homeroom teacher to discuss activities and treats which can be planned for the afternoon.

Lifesavers Presentation: On Wednesday, Feb. 27, please join us for an evening with Bob Schuppel of The Family Center by the Falls. As a therapist who works extensively with adolescents and their families, Bob will present a special program on the topic "Helping Parents Develop and Enforce Age and Developmentally Appropriate Rules, Expectations and Consequences -- both Positive and Negative."  Bob is an excellent resource to teens, families and schools and we hope you will be able to join us for this special evening. Lawrence families (Upper and Lower) are welcome, as are friends and community guests. We will meet at 7 p.m. in the Garfield Theatre at the Upper School. For questions or to RSVP, contact Mr. Jason Culp.

  HEAD NOTES

Last week in this space I raised the topic of how our students will ultimately transition from Lawrence School to the next step in their educational journeys, and I asked for your feedback on any specific questions I may be able to address. Interestingly, the e-mails I received pointed to three categories of concern: Transition to another primary or secondary school, transition to a post-secondary school or environment, and transition to successful adulthood.

I would like to address each of these areas in the next three weeks by looking at the challenges, opportunities and issues presented in each of those three different transition scenarios. There will be no easy answers - just lots of good questions to explore with teachers, with administrators, and with our children. This week, I would like to discuss transition from Lawrence to other primary and secondary school environments.

When we consider transition from Lawrence to other K-12 schools, we see several different and distinct kinds of challenges and discussions. There are challenges imposed by practical and logistical considerations. Financial challenges may limit the number of years a family can keep a child at Lawrence. Students who have attended the Lower School for several years may be feeling constrained by the small school environment, or may want to explore a larger school where there may be opportunities to participate in activities that are not currently offered at Lawrence. Students in middle school may "negotiate" with parents about where they will go to high school.

One parent asks how their daughter's performance on academic tasks at Lawrence matches up to area public schools.  Another parent notes that their child has only been at Lawrence a short time, but in that short time has experienced great relief from a painful experience in a general education classroom. What will happen if this child is returned to a similar environment? Will the good work and learning she has been able to accomplish here begin to unravel? Will she regress?

So, how will your child fare once they leave the protective confines of the Lawrence program? Will they wilt like a hot house flower exposed to cold and windy weather? Or will they be able to cope with the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities offered in their next school?

I suggest we try to get some altitude on these issues by speculating about what we hope for our children - regardless of their age, and regardless of where they are educated:

We want our children to be resilient, and to have personal, academic, and social strength. We want them to have reasonable goals, along with a commitment to their goals - and the confidence and competence they need to achieve them. We want them to be able to conduct an appraisal of their strengths and challenges, and speak about them without arrogance or apology. We want them to view failures and setbacks as opportunities to learn and grow. We want them to gain an understanding that on their journey through life, successes and failures may be numerous and ephemeral. We want them to know that neither success nor failure defines us as people.

This week, I had the pleasure of visiting with some young adults who graduated from our eighth grade program about 12 years ago. Each noted missing an environment where there was an ease in talking about their issues. Each missed the acceptance and understanding that they became accustomed to at Lawrence - but each persevered and even went on to get college degrees or land jobs that they find fulfilling and even fun.

All four said that their best friends remain their classmates from Lawrence. One who has a four-year degree spoke of using her memory board in college and introducing it to her roommate. She also told of helping a child of a close friend learn letter sounds by introducing her to them the same way she was taught here at Lawrence. Another spoke of learning to talk to her teachers and being more comfortable after she learned to ask for assistance. Another spoke of just having more confidence after her tenure at Lawrence, and while she still had struggles, she was not overwhelmed by them and she no longer blamed herself.

Our children may indeed find themselves in learning environments where they may not be understood and honored as they are here at Lawrence, so it is important for us to help them assemble the tool box that they are introduced to at Lawrence and take it with them as they move on. The skills that they develop here will travel well, as will their confidence in what they can do, even when they are confronted by what is difficult or even impossible.

Perhaps the biggest challenge is the sometimes harsh and subjective world of grades in general education environments. Parents are key. We all need to convey that life is more than how we perform in school. Low grades need not be viewed as an opportunity to fix blame, but rather as an opportunity to discuss what is being learned, and what kind of effort is being expended. Low grades are an opportunity to set new goals - but make these goals about learning, not grades.

Executive skills -like time and materials management - are also abilities that students can learn and internalize at Lawrence, then draw from as they negotiate other school environments. Perhaps most importantly, it is vital for us as educators and parents to help our children identify their own strengths and weaknesses, and accept both these qualities and shortcomings as an integral part of who they are.

There is no formula. Our children are different, and the challenges they face will vary. Let's keep asking questions, and let's explore our kids - and their world - without getting lost looking for easy answers.

Did this week's Head Notes column inspire you, puzzle you, or otherwise stir a response you would like to share? Let Lou know how you feel!  He welcomes all comments and correspondence via e-mail or phone (440-832-7820).