SUPER MONDAY

A motivational and informational morning message from Superintendent Willis

Week 14 ~ November 10th, 2025

Super Monday Message

We have all heard the tale of The Tortoise And The Hare and The Boy Who Cried Wolf, but the author of those stories is credited with dozens of other stories you might not be as familiar with. The author of those stories is more legend than history. He is called Aseop in many early writings and as far as can be assumed he was a slave born more than 2,500 years ago. He told many stories and taught valuable life lessons with each of his stories. The stories are very short, but have been used to teach children for thousands of years now.

I’ll tell two Aesop stories today. The first is about a fox…

“A Fox one day spied a beautiful bunch of ripe grapes hanging from a vine trained along the branches of a tree. The grapes seemed ready to burst with juice, and the Fox's mouth watered as he gazed longingly at them.

The bunch hung from a high branch, and the Fox had to jump for it. The first time he jumped he missed it by a long way. So he walked off a short distance and took a running leap at it, only to fall short once more. Again and again he tried, but in vain.

Now he sat down and looked at the grapes in disgust.

"What a fool I am," he said. "Here I am wearing myself out to get a bunch of sour grapes that are not worth gaping for."

And off he walked very, very scornfully.”

This story is the origin of the phrase “sour grapes”. The second story is about a crow…

“In a spell of dry weather, when the Birds could find very little to drink, a thirsty Crow found a pitcher with a little water in it. But the pitcher was high and had a narrow neck, and no matter how he tried, the Crow could not reach the water. The poor thing felt as if he must die of thirst.

Then an idea came to him. Picking up some small pebbles, he dropped them into the pitcher one by one. With each pebble the water rose a little higher until at last it was near enough so he could drink.”

The fox is unable to obtain the grapes that had looked so ripe and beautiful. When he is unable to get them he states that they are sour and that he was a fool for wanting them. The crow is also unable to obtain the water. The crow, however, is resourceful and uses pebbles to push the water to the top of the pitcher. The two stories are used to teach us to use our best efforts to obtain our goals, but not to be scornful or sour when we are unable to accomplish them. Innovation is born from need and we all have more resources and ingenuity than we realize. Innovate and inspire through the best Week 14.

Super High Fives

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

• A super high five to Priscilla Morgan and Jaxon Hepworth for directing the school play on Thursday. It was a great performance. Super high five to the students that performed and super high five to all the supportive family and friends that made time to attend.
• A super high five to the Tri County bookmobile. Reading is an essential part to learning, and learning to love reading requires a regular rotation of books. We’re grateful to have the bookmobile service available in our area.

Other Super Information

• Winter Sports Calendar 2025-2026
  • Link to subscribe to PHS Sports Calendar
• 2025-2026 School District Calendar

Super Weekly Schedule