Grade 7
Assembly
Good
morning Staff, Students, Parents and Special Guests.
Today we
are celebrating the Grade 7 students as they prepare to transition to high
school. Many of them have been here
since kindergarten. If you have been
here since kindergarten, could you please stand and be recognized?
I want to
talk to you about a challenge that many of you might face as you navigate your
high school careers – and that’s the challenge of knowing the difference
between belonging and fitting it.
Fitting in
is about changing yourself to be like others.
It might mean wearing clothes you don’t really like to look a certain
way. It might involve being mean to
someone or excluding someone who does not fit the mold. It might mean smoking or vaping or worse – to
seem cool. It’s about camouflaging your true self, in order not to stand out,
but to blend in with a bunch of other people who are doing the same thing. It takes and enormous amount of energy to
sustain, and often leads to the very uncomfortable feelings. When you compromise your own or your famliy’s
values to be in the in-crowd, you not only betray those values, but you betray
your uniqueness as a human being.
What can
you do instead?
Surround
yourself with people who like you for who you are. Find those confident folks who are comfortable
with themselves, who are not always trying to impress others. Join a club, hang out with other musicians,
play on a team, volunteer. Even if you
are shy, you can find other shy people and support and encourage one
another.
So speaking
of belonging, you will always belong to the McNeely school family. You’ve been
an important part of this herd of
Mustangs, now your going off to Cambie – you’ll be Cambie Crusaders – riding mustangs.
I wish you
safe travels, happy trails, and a lifetime love of learning.
Thank you.
