Around this time of year, we begin to hear the distant chimes of holiday bells, smell the divine aroma of pumpkin pie and apple cider and feel the tightening in our stomachs at the prospect of first semester finals. Amidst all this excitement and stress, however, it is important for us to recognize and to appreciate the time of year we have set aside to appreciate the things for which we are grateful.
The holidays are more than just a time to eat good food and to enjoy family and friends. They should be a time to show gratitude, to think about all the ways in which to give back to our community.
In this issue of The Globe, we present to you 10 members of Clayton community that epitomize what it means to give back. They provide us a picture of the many others who routinely have an impact on the Clayton community.
Though we have chosen 10 people from different professions, there is a common thread woven through each of these stories: they all have dedicated their work to making the community around them a better place.
Along with the cover story, we have included a feature story that is important to some members of our community – the selling of the Maryland School property.
This property is central to the life of one of Clayton’s residential communities. Families use the green space surrounding the property, and the sale could result in the construction of condominiums, the removal of the community park and community members saying goodbye to the historic school building.
Despite our best efforts, we do not have comments from members of the school board on this issue. However, we believe that we have still been able to accurately report the story in an unbiased manner that is fair to both sides.
This story is significant to The Globe because it sheds light on the importance of community members, such as those of Clayton, to communicate with each other and hold discussions about issues that affect us all. In the reporting of this story, we felt as though communication was an important piece missing from the overall puzzle.
The residents around the Maryland property feel seperate from the Board’s plans, and that has ultimately caused the most frustration.
It is important that during this holiday season, we think about how to become closer as a community. The place to start is communication. We also need to remember that even a little bit can go a long way.
We found this to be true in our reporting of the Maryland School story. Even the small bits of information we received from District representatives on the reasons why they couldn’t talk to us shaped our understanding of the issue.
In thinking about the cover story – what becomes evident is the importance of leadership, and leadership in our community is one thing that all 10 of our influential people have in common.
As a Clayton Schools community we must learn from the influence and leadership of our featured leaders. That leaders communicate and are willing to share their ideas and ideals with others and, as a result, make our Clayton community a better place