December 4th - Elementary School Parent

 HBR is a Beautiful Place to Live

Hello HBR!!  

I am Cindy Bowman:  full time employed, wife of a carpenter, mother of 2 amazing daughters, and rather new to the HBR district.  Growing up in a small town myself, I always knew that small-town America was the experience I wanted for my children as well.  Luckily, when my husband and I were looking to move, I worked with area high schools, which gave me an inside view of many different school districts.  I absolutely fell in love with the friendliness of the staff and students any time I visited HBRHS!    

 

I began to explore Hinckley and Big Rock to see if it was a community my family would fit into and was absolutely blown away by the above and beyond hospitality of the local businesses!  If I mentioned we were thinking of moving to the area, oh! The response was overwhelming, absolutely GLOWING about how wonderful this area was!  Full of life, fun and passion!  

After living here for a mere 8 years, I have realized the heart of the HBR district is PASSION.  Everyone within this area has passion for this community.  When there is discussion regarding changes inside the community, everyone has an opinion.  A passionate opinion!  Each individual wants only the best for this community.  I have seen wonderful new community-wide activities planned and implemented right alongside vicious verbal disagreements.  However complementary or contradictory we may feel about a given local idea, every resident loves their small town. Every resident only has passion BECAUSE of this love!  

 

I see this within the schools as well.  While we each have our own opinion on how schools should operate during normal times, we feel that way because we want the very best for our students, our children!   And now that we have the added layer of complications that Covid-19 brought, those passions are even stronger!   Those working for the school district, those who have students attending school, and those who are homeschooling want nothing more than for students to have the best possible opportunities to safely learn, socialize, and expand their appreciation for the ability to roll with the punches.    

My daughter is currently in 2^nd grade and was learning in person until we went remote after Thanksgiving.  Her teacher not only had to plan for the usual 2^nd grade curriculum, but also had to translate that to a hybrid model.  Then she had to learn new technology in order to deliver this hybrid model.  AND THEN she had to be prepared to go remote at a moment's notice.  I work in higher education, and the uncertainty and last-minute changes are unimaginably stressful and can be infuriating!  My daughter's teacher (and I’m sure the vast majority of HBR teachers) have endured all of this AND MORE!  My daughter had some challenges prior to going remote, and her teacher MADE THE TIME to address these issues and create an action plan for her to follow.  As an educator whose day is full as it is, she is ALSO making sure that each individual student is receiving the attention and tools he/she needs to be successful!  Talk about going above and beyond!  Talk about PASSION!  And in a pandemic world!  I cannot overemphasize the appreciation and awe I feel towards anyone who is able to do more than just the bare minimum – during “normal” times as well as Covid times!    

 

Many days, the bare minimum is more than I can handle in my own life and career, so hats off to each and every one of you reading this who merely hope to survive some days!  Nothing is ever perfect. We all have good intentions that don’t go according to plan, and the best laid plans go awry, but that’s the beauty of humanity: we can empathize with others who are struggling and give them grace.  And in return, we can receive the empathy and grace we need when it’s our turn to struggle.  

 

I suppose what I’m trying to say with all of this is that though the HBR community is full of differing opinions that can conflict and contradict each other, the only reason people have such strong opinions is because of their love of their community!  What makes HBR a beautiful place to live is the PEOPLE and the passion they demonstrate each and every day.  We are a community of neighbors who, at the end of the day, look in each other’s bowls not to see what they have, but to be sure they have enough. And that passion for each other's well-being is the core of what HBR is all about.  

Keep on keeping on HBR!  Together we really, truly, and honestly got this.