January Newsletter

Dear Meadows PTO Members,

2021 has arrived and it seems like our community, the nation, and the world breathed a collective sigh of relief at the close of 2020, a year like no other in our lifetime. I understand that looking backward is important to understand history, how we got to where we are, and to learn from mistakes, but I have always preferred to look forward. I think I have been blessed with a selective memory that mainly remembers the good rather than the bad and helps me look ahead and be hopeful rather than look behind and despair. January is a time of looking forward, a time of resolutions, a time of change for the good.

As a hopeful optimist, I can see much good from the past year and much to be hopeful for in the coming year. Distance learning turned out to be better than we all expected at the start of the school year and I am hopeful that school will reopen in hybrid in March as planned. Despite my concerns about the 4+ hours per day on the screen and limited in person interaction with their peers, my children seem to be happy and thriving, and their ability to adapt makes me hopeful that they will be able to cope with whatever learning environment may be in their future. COVID vaccines are here, much faster than anyone could believe 10 months ago, and despite the shaky rollout, I am hopeful that everyone who wants to be vaccinated will be able to receive one in the next several months and that the worst of the pandemic may soon be behind us. Despite the appalling attack on the US Capital, the foundations of our US democracy did not fail and the inauguration of a new president this month hopefully signals a change in the tense political climate of the past 4 years.

For our Meadows community, this school year has been very different for all of us but despite the limitations of the pandemic, we have been able to enjoy some fun experiences, such as virtual classroom parties, in-person classroom playdates, and Meadows Days at the Zoo. My hope is that we will continue to build our Meadows community during 2021. Consider dropping off a goodie bag to a fellow Meadows family, sending a thank you or a word of encouragement to your child’s teacher, or supporting the MEF at its upcoming Fund the Future event. We all can work together to make 2021 a better year.

~ Nancy Bong, Meadows PTO President

By: Judy Li

By: Lilian Lee

Of course, Chinese New Year is not a celebration without lots of food – and each dish or snack has its own story and symbolism. You can also pair the craftmaking with tasty options such as sticky rice cake and peanut and malt candies. Welcome, the Year of the Ox!

By: Kris Brewer

“I have a dream.” With these words, Martin Luther King Jr. inspired resounding change throughout our nation, but he didn’t start out with the 1963 March on Washington. He started with a dream.

In this month of January, the New Year is bright with dreams, goals, and resolutions. MLK, Jr. showed us that it is possible to achieve, even in part, a dream for a world that is different from nearly everything we’ve come to accept on a daily basis. All of our lives were shaken up in 2020, and as we start 2021, I wonder what we want to take with us and what we want to leave behind.

Though the shadow of 2020 continues to loom, there is reason to hope for better in 2021, and the first step to realizing hope is setting goals. According to famed researcher and author Brené Brown,

Hope is not an emotion; it’s a way of thinking or a cognitive process. Emotions play a supporting role, but hope is really a thought process made up of… a trilogy of goals, pathways, and agency. In very simple terms, hope happens when:

1. We have the ability to set realistic goals (I know where I want to go);

2. We are able to figure out how to achieve those goals, including the ability to stay flexible and develop alternative routes (I know how to get there, I’m persistent, and I can tolerate disappointment and try again);

3. We believe in ourselves (I can do this!). Formatted, citations omitted.

As we set our sights on the year ahead, what goals do you have as a family? Consider asking your family two simple questions:

1. What do you want more of in your life?

2. What do you want less of in your life?

Their answers can start the conversation about shaping goals for how you want to enrich your family life with more of the “more” answers and less of the “less” answers. On a practical note, the answers you get may not form clear goals at the outset, such as my daughter’s teasing response, “I want to punch my brother more.” But sift through the silliness, and you may find fodder for meaningful changes that will help make your family’s 2021 better than 2020.

From my corner of the world, navigating 2020 felt like walking on shifting sand, but the extra time I had with my children, husband and mom provided bright points of light throughout the year. I want more of this extra time with my family, in quantity and quality, and I want less anxiety and fear about the future. I am not sure how these “more” and “less” answers will fit into our family goals, but I am looking forward to the conversation we’ll have together.

For more information on family goal-setting check out Parent.com’s article on the Importance of Setting Family Goals.