SUPER MONDAY

A motivational and informational morning message from Superintendent Willis

Week 18 ~ December 11th, 2023

Super Monday Message

If there is a clear sky on Christmas Eve this year you’ll be able to see a nearly full moon. There will be lots of light to look for a sleigh and reindeer in the sky. 55 Christmas Eves ago you would have only seen a sliver of the moon, yet millions of people were going outside to look at it. Depending on their timezone, one in every four residents of earth spent part of that morning, afternoon, or evening watching a 30 minute live broadcast from the Apollo 8 spacecraft.

This event was an important moment in human history. The three astronauts on-board the Apollo 8 were the first humans to see the dark side of the moon. At 9:00 AM MDT on Christmas Eve 1968 the earth began to come into view for the astronauts. For a time earth had been out of view and as they saw it again they felt it was like a moonrise, but it was earth. At that moment the astronauts scrambled to take a picture. In the recording of this moment astronaut William Anders says “Oh my God! Look at that picture over there! There's the Earth coming up. Wow, that's pretty.” To which one of his companions joked that he can’t take a picture because they didn’t schedule it. 

The resulting picture was titled Earthrise, and was the first picture of the earth rising over the moon’s surface. The picture was a symbol to the world. How can our problems seem so big when the earth seems so small? The billions of people and the nations of the earth were all a sphere captured in the scope of a camera from an alien surface.

The Apollo 8 Christmas Eve broadcast was one of the most heard events in human history. The unifying event was both a symbol of human accomplishment and human potential. Seven months after this event, Neil Armstrong took the first step on the moon.

Frank Borman, the commander of Apollo 8, concluded the Christmas Eve broadcast with “Good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas and God bless all of you, all of you on this good Earth.” If our problems seem too big, we might need a broader perspective. Have the best week 18.

Super High Fives

Just a couple of the awesome recent accomplishments that need a big thank you. 

• A super high five to our diligent elementary student readers. I love to hear about students getting excited about books. You can go anywhere with a book. 
• A super high five to our school custodians and sweepers. We receive frequent praise from visitors on the cleanliness of our buildings. Beth, Rodney, Jennifer, Wade, Teresa, and Carson do a great job ensuring that we have safe and clean schools. Big thank yous to them.

Other Super Information

• Winter Sports Schedule

Super Weekly Schedule