*IMPACT - Have a strong effect on someone or something.

Yesterday (Wednesday) will be regarded as one of my favorite days of all times as a principal at Almond!  It began in Oakland at WE DAY and culminated in celebrating the 189 student scientists that participated in the Science Fair.

Seventeen student government leaders from Almond joined thousands of students across the state at the Oracle Arena where they heard inspiring messages about their worth and importance.  Students were reminded that they matter and that they have the ability, actually the responsibility, to impact the world by being changemakers. 

Here are some of the quotes/messages from various speakers:

• “You do not need to be powerful, you do not need to be wealthy to raise someone's spirit. We all want to be seen. We all want to be heard…be aware of others, be mindful of everyone from everywhere.” – Clemantine Wamariya
• “Redefine what is possible.” - Spencer West
• “There is absolutely nothing that is not possible.” Martin Luther King III
• “A dream shared by many becomes a movement.” “Reach outside of ourselves and serve others.” “Find something in your life worth fighting for.”  – Craig Kielburger
• “You are strong enough to overcome your challenges.” - Orlando Bloom.
• “We all have a gift...something to share with the world...accept who you are with all your imperfections...we have to walk down our own path...if you know what you stand for…you can beat any obstacle…be fierce.” – Laila Ali
• “Make sure you love yourself because then you can love someone else.” – Magic Johnson
• “We are never too young to change the world.” – Selena Gomez

I wonder what types of conversations would unfold if you discussed some of the quotes above as a family.  What types of changemakers do our children envision becoming?  How will they pair their passions with their concerns about the world to make it a better place?  I look forward to engaging our students in these types of conversations in the coming weeks.

Some of our children are already well on the path to impacting this world in ways that we cannot yet imagine.  This was evident in the brilliance of the projects at the Science Fair.  Students honored curiosity by crafting thoughtfully constructed scientific questions.  Prior to delving into research, they developed their best guesses via a hypothesis.  Once results were gathered, they analyzed this data and developed and reported their conclusions.

While having an impact in a world where an estimated 135 million** babies are born annually might seem impossible, in the words of Nelson Mandela, “It always seems impossible until it's done.”  Let’s join together to utilize our voices and actions to be changemakers in our school, our community, and the world!

*Defined by Google search  **http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/births.htm