Students at John Gregg and Stanton Elementary Schools have been learning about local resources and character lessons through the annual “Our Edison Community” program.
Tiffany Moses and Megan McNear, school counselors respectively at John Gregg and Stanton, have organized events for the past three years and representatives of businesses and organizations have been invited throughout April and May to speak to classes and share messages about what they do and what is available in the community. Fifth- and sixth-grade students in Moses’s social/emotional learning class heard from Jonathan Naylor, associate pastor at Mount Pleasant Methodist Church in Carrollton, who spoke about goals and priorities on May 2. Naylor, who also serves as a track and cross country coach at Carrollton High School, peppered his talk with examples of how athletes set goals to strive for and prioritize what was most important and applied those words to life choices.
With assistance from students, he defined goals as “something to strive for” and priorities as “something you have to accomplish, focus on or set in order.” Naylor cited examples of students who may juggle schoolwork, band, sports and other extracurricular activities and how they decide what to focus on to accomplish their goal.
“When you set your priorities and you set your goals, it all falls into place,” he added as he had the students list goals and priorities for themselves.
Naylor also shared the story of Scottish runner Eric Liddell, who qualified for the 1924 Olympics in Paris in the 100-meter race but refused to run on a Sunday because it conflicted with his Christian beliefs. Instead, he qualified and ran in the much longer 400m race—one he had not trained for—and ended up winning a gold medal.
“One of the most important things we can do is think, ‘What are my goals and what are my priorities?’ When I set those together, it helps me answer questions,” he continued, adding that people can have short-term, medium and long-term goals. “The biggest think we can do in life is make goals for ourselves and set priorities to keep them in line.”
Naylor was one of many visitors to the school district and others have included Bill Cable, operator of Austin Lake Park in Richmond; Cameron Smith, executive director of Elkhorn Valley Christian Center near Bergholz; horse trainer Amanda Keynton of Three Key Horsemanship in Bloomingdale; Misty Teasdale of the Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County; Craig Porter, wildlife officer for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources; and Brandi DeNoon-Damewood and Kevin Dennis of the Jefferson County Humane Society; Sam Gill of Woodland Trail Greenhouse in Richmond; Josh McConnell of Jefferson Landmark in Bloomingdale; environmental scientist Jake Swearingen; and Jami and Doug Ciacci of Ciacci’s Flowerstation in Amsterdam.
Moses said the programs fascinate students because they learn so much about what the area provides.
“They really do like them and the people who come have been very engaging and giving their time to visit,” she said. “Sam Gill discussed plants and the humane society brought a dog, Chi Chi, and cat named Juice. We have a different person come every year for every grade level.”
“John Gregg and Stanton do ‘Our Edison Community’ programs and John Gregg blends different people with theirs,” said McNear. “It’s to expose kids to all of the opportunities and activities that our community has to offer and that support our school community. I think the kids get to learn about all of the hard work it takes and they ask a lot of questions. It’s a great way for the community members to come to the schools and interact with the students, and it’s a great way for kids to learn what’s in our Edison community.”