Time Capsule in the Circle

TIME CAPSULE IN THE CIRCLE – 11/11/11 @ 11:11 am – Veteran’s Day

Today, an historic day was celebrated by staff beginning with a Veteran’s Day ceremony.

Meeting at the PAC, we retired the old flag and raised a bright, beautiful new one. Dianne read an account of John McCain’s experience in a POW camp in Vietnam. He recounted how they said the pledge of allegiance every day using a homemade flag stitched out of rags, sewn into the inside of a shirt. “Duty, Honor, Country. We must never forget those thousands of Americans who, with their courage, with their sacrifice, and with their lives, made those words live for all of us.” Sen. John McCain.

At 11:00 am, a group gathered in the circle to lower the time capsule. Dianne Blackett General Services Department Director read, The Thanksgivings, a prayer by the Iroquois Indian tribe, translated by Harriet Maxwell Converse (1835-1903). Harriott devoted her life to the cause and culture of the Six Indian Nations Tribe in the state of New York. We then all made a toast for a BRIGHT FUTURE with our “Champagne” bottles in hand. The count down began as the time capsule was lowered into its protective vault. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! To be opened in twenty years, 11-11-31. It was sealed and a plaque will mark the spot. The sun came out just in time for some great photos of the event.

Thank you to Roland and his maintenance staff for building a great time capsule, vault and organizing the flag ceremony. Thank you to Jennifer Sommers who took photos documenting the event. Thank you to everyone who took time out of their day to attend. It was great to see all departments represented, executive members, as well as Jerry Spanos, Chairman of the Board and Heritage Founder. Jerry stated his hope for the next twenty years is that even though our world with change a great deal, Heritage will still be in the business of helping youth, the future generations.

If anyone would like a copy of the two readings, let me know. Here is the itemized list of items in the time capsule. This is a day to write about in your journals. -- Dianne Blackett, General Services Director

General Services: building photo, staff signatures, business card, contraband list, 2011 calendar

Worship: various religious items

River Run: brochure, flyer, newsweek magazines

Therapy: DSM diagnostic book signed by Ernie, signed photo of therapists

Residential: logo shirt, staff flow chart, student enrollment list, student handbook

Med Records: jump drive in the form of tech deck toy , white tape dispensers

Nursing: first aid kit, MARS sheet

Rec Therapy: glow stick, flash light, Simpson’s DVD, cell phone

Administration: play program from The Wiz, tickets to Scrooge, staff phone list, stuffed animal, Center Stage pin, autographed book by Jerry Spanos

Maintenance: campus photos, staff photos, refrigerator thermometer

Academics: pencil, DVD, dictionary, classroom roster, 11-11-11 Newspaper

Food Services: collection of Heritage favorite recipes

When Kids Get Defiant - Shared by the Therapy Department

Our Therapists often recommend the book Parenting With Love and Logic by Foster Cline and Jim Fay.  The following article is from Jim Fay's newsletter:

When Kids Get Defiant
 Weekly Tip from the Love and Logic^® Experts


Dear Parents

"I'm not doing that! You can't make me!"

Have you ever heard this from a student…or your child at home?

Success in this situation rests entirely on resisting the urge to rely on power and coercion to force kids to do what we want. Listed below are some tips:

• Sidestep the power-struggle by delaying the consequence. It's okay to let children think they've gotten away with something in the short-term…if that'll buy you time to handle it well in the long-term.

• Calmly say, "No problem. I love you (or respect you) too much to fight with you about this. I'll take care of it."

• Put together a workable plan. Get some help from other adults if you need their ideas or support.

• Allow empathy and logical consequences to do the teaching.

One mother commented:

My teenager refused to do the simple housework chores I asked her to do. Instead of fighting with her, I simply told her that I loved her too much to fight with her and that I would take care of them. I hired a professional housekeeping service to do it for her. Then I taped the bill to her bedroom door. She refused to pay the bill, so I had another chance to say, "I love you too much to fight with you about this. I'll take care of it." Later that week I calmly said to her, "This is so sad. Do you remember that new outfit you wanted? I had to use that money to pay the housekeeping service."

This mother understood that sometimes we have to allow kids to be upset in the short-term…so they can learn to lead happy and responsible lives in the long-term.