Eagles,

A Taoist Parable:

Prince Wen-Hui watched his palace cook Ting butchering an ox one day and found a life lesson.

Hui noticed the mastery of the butcher's craft; it was as if he danced in perfect harmony to the task, and he and his knife were one.

"Well done!" said the prince, "How did you gain such skill?"

Laying down his knife, Ting said, "I follow the Tao, your highness. When I started cutting up oxen, I could only see the ox. After three years, I learned to see beyond the ox. Now I see with my whole being, not with my eyes. I sense the natural lines, and my knife slides through by itself, never touching a joint, much less a bone. "

"A good cook changes knives once a year (He Cuts), an ordinary one once a month (He Hacks). This knife of mine has lasted for 19 years, it has cut up thousands of oxen, but the blade is still sharp. There are spaces between the joints, and the edge has no thickness; when I come to a difficult part, I slow down and focus my attention until the knife finds a way and the flesh falls away."

"Bravo!" cried the prince. "From the words of this cook, I have learned to live my life!"

This story tells us that there are many ways to solve a problem, but there is value in taking the time to see the whole picture and understand its nature truly. There is value in finding lessons from the world around us. The tendency to "Hack" away at difficulties can seem like the best option for practicality's sake, but it is exhausting and wastes resources. Still, once you master the art of observation, you find the natural seams and spaces where you can best apply your efforts. Teaching kids to look at the whole issue, see where they can apply their efforts, and take their time when the going gets tough is crucial to their success in school and later in life. We teach them to see the whole problem so that they can endure with less.

In celebration of Black History Month, I have posted three songs. The first is "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" by Skip James, and the second is "I Shall Not Be Moved" by Mississippi John Hurt. These two songs are great examples of the contributions of Black Americans to one of the few original American art forms, Blues and Jazz. The Blues, which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s, incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the African-American culture. The blues form is ubiquitous in jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll and are characterized by the call-and-response pattern, the blues scale, and specific chord progressions, of which the twelve-bar blues is the most common.

The Third Song, "Up Above My Head," by Sister Rosetta Tharp who, was considered "the Godmother of rock and roll." She influenced early rock-and-roll musicians, including Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Eric Clapton.

Please play these songs for your students and provide context for what we should really be celebrating when we speak of Amerian Exceptionalism...Diversity.

A group of Woodlawn students enjoyed the pleasures that come with the San Antonio Rodeo. They came up close with farm animals and connected with the local, cultural experience of the rodeo.

Our superintendent spent time with Woodlawn Academy to provide time and space for us to share our voice and give feedback on our experience at SAISD.

Mrs. Rogers practices with her middle school sopranos & altos.

A group of 8th graders celebrated Valentine's Day with a middle school dance and helped their community at the same time. The entrance fee was hygienic products that all went to benefit the Salvation Army. Way to show the love!

More 8th grade groups are working to complete their service as action in time for the Community Project showcase. They are busy using those lifelong Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills!

2nd grade students worked together to gather real world examples of texts with different author's purpose and present them in a visual. They explored how being aware of author's purpose is a valuable skill in the real world because we are surrounded by texts-whether they be books, magazines, news articles, advertisements, etc and we should be aware why they are written and how they can influence our thinking.

Eagles!

Below is a Flyer for the UCA Soccer organization's Free Play Soccer events. They offer reasonably priced, nearly unrestricted access to organized league sports with coaching and mentoring programs. Please recommend this program to parents and students who would benefit.

El Sistema de Evaluación del Dominio del Idioma Inglés de Texas (TELPAS) se está administrando para uno de los estudiantes que cumplen con los criterios. El maestro(a) de su hijo(a) se habría comunicado con información sobre esta prueba si su hijo(a) está siendo evaluado esta semana.

Apoye a su hijo(a) llevándolo(a) a la escuela a tiempo, con un buen descanso nocturno, positivismo por la mañana y animándolo(a) a hacer lo mejor que pueda durante esta prueba.

Click on the button below to check out the Woodlawn Library Smore! There are many exciting, upcoming events including our Scholastic Book Fair!

Website: https://schools.saisd.net/page/175.homepage/
Location: 1717 West Magnolia Avenue, San Antonio, TX, USA
Phone: (210) 438-6560
Facebook: facebook.com/SAISDWoodlawnAcademy
Twitter: @IB_Woodlawn