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77 Central Street, Manchester, NH 03101 • www.DaveNixonLaw.com • 603.669.7070 • August 2018
MY SCHOOL TRANSFORMATION OVERCOMING MY STRUGGLES TO BE A BETTER STUDENT
W ith the new school year starting, I am reminded of when I was a student. Growing up was a little tough for me. Since both of my parents were deaf, I wasn’t read to or spoken to as a kid, so it took me a while to fully appreciate learning in school. One of the most vivid memories I have of my difficult years as a student took place while I was attending first grade at St. Christopher’s Catholic school in Nashua. One day, I didn’t want to go to school at all. My mom had to drag me to school, then drag me into the classroom, and physically sit me down in my chair before she left.
me inside, and went to get the priest in charge. They took me into the office and gave me one of the worst paddlings of my life. After that episode, my parents took me out of that school and never looked back. Although this experience was pretty terrible, I can look back knowing that I made the necessary choices to better myself not long afterward. Up until sixth grade, I had always been in the special classes. I had a hard time speaking and understanding some of the more complex words that a sixth grader ought to know. Then everything changed when a fellow student called me a “homosapien” and told me “Your epidermis is showing.” I was offended by these words because I didn’t understand what they meant. I realized that I didn’t know what the other kids in my grade knew. It was then that I decided to do two things. The first was that I read the dictionary, from start to finish, so that I knew every word. The second thing I did was watch the nightly news. My family owned a TV that featured a dial to change the channels, and I would rotate the dial to watch different news anchors. When Dan Rather would go to
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commercial, I would switch to Tom Rocolf. They would give the news, and I would repeat the stories to them, word for word. I did those two things for the rest of the school year, and by the time I entered seventh grade, I was taken out of the special classes. I taught myself to articulate well and learned every word the dictionary had to offer.
I wasn’t in the mood to be sitting in class at all, which was apparent to everyone around me. My teacher, Sister Neverett, quickly picked up on my mood. Instead of leaving me alone, she called on me
” This dedication to learning has continued to help me in the courtroom today. I commit to my clients’ cases in the same way I committed to improving myself in school.
to answer the very first question of the day. I was so upset that I opened up my desk, took out a book, and threw it at her. Sister Neverett began walking toward me, and I continued to throw my books at her until I finally ran out. However, 6-year-old me was so intent to keep throwing objects at my teacher that I turned to the girl sitting next to me and pushed her out of the way to access her books. Sister Neverett grabbed me by the back of my uniform, picked me up, and carried me into the hallway. She then walked over to the milk cooler, opened it, dropped me in, closed the lid with
Throughout my school years, I went from throwing books at my teacher to reading the dictionary to better myself as a student and overall person. This dedication to learning has continued to help me in the courtroom today. I commit to my clients’ cases in the same way I committed to improving myself
in school. I believe I’ve found success as an attorney because I always make sure that I know the law and case-specific facts as well or better than everyone else in the courtroom. It’s this intense dedication that allows me and my team to achieve the best outcomes for our clients.
–Kirk Simoneau
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Guiding you through life’s trials
3 WAYS TO MENTALLY PREPARE YOUR KIDS FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR
It may not feel like it yet, but summer is coming to a close, and summer break is ending along with it. Soon, the kids will be back to early-morning breakfasts before the school bus arrives and late- night study sessions. Thankfully, there are some steps your family can take during these closing weeks of summer to ensure your kids hit the ground running this school year. SET AN EARLY BEDTIME For many kids, summer schedules are flexible. They may have become accustomed to sleeping in and staying up late without any obligations. Getting back into the rhythm of the school year can take some getting used to. In fact, according to psychologist Cherie Valeithian, it can take upward of two weeks to properly adjust to a new sleep-wake cycle. So why not give your kids a head start and ensure they begin the school year bright-eyed and bushy-tailed? OUTLINE A HOMEWORK SCHEDULE Resuming a homework regimen can be a difficult transition for some kids. Late summer, when they don’t have assignments to worry about yet, can
be a great opportunity to help them prepare a study schedule. Ask the following questions to help them get started: “Do you want to dive right into homework when you get home? Do you need to accommodate for a sport or extracurricular activity? Do you work best when doing your assignments in one large chunk, or would you prefer taking breaks in between assignments?” Your kids may find that last year’s schedule doesn’t work for them this year. Emphasize that this is okay; part of growing up is learning how and when you work most effectively. Don’t be afraid to help them switch things up as the school year progresses. ASK YOUR KIDS HOW THEY FEEL Maybe your kids are excited about the school year. Maybe they are anxious, or perhaps they’re just disappointed to see summer vacation come to an end. Starting a dialogue about the aspects of school your kids are looking forward to and those they’re dreading can help you dispel myths and identify problem areas. More than anything else, this can help your kids feel at ease about the coming year.
This summer, we’ve had the pleasure of Leah Corson interning here at Nixon, Vogelman, Slawsky & Simoneau. Leah is a college student and has been such a tremendous help at the office that we wanted to feature her in our newsletter. Leah learned about us through a series of connections. She attends Smith College, which is not only a partner of Nixon, Vogelman, Slawsky & Simoneau, but it’s also the same college Leslie Nixon went to. “My dad was a client here too,” she adds. “Dave Nixon took good care of him. So when I was looking for a place to intern, I asked my parents if they had any suggestions. My dad told me that I should contact the firm to see if they’d hire me as an intern.” Beginning her internship at the start of summer, Leah has been an enormous help around the office. She’s eager to learn and doesn’t hesitate to jump in when she’s needed. Throughout the summer, she’s organized a lot of necessary paperwork for our cases. “I mostly scan a lot of old files,” Leah says. “Recently, I’ve helped file wills and organize medical lists for Leslie. Mostly, I’m doing a lot of office help where I’m needed.” Leah Corson
Our Assiduous College Intern
Leah doesn’t assist us with just paperwork though. “I’ve been exposed to different cases. I’ve been able to sit in mediations, which I’ve learned a lot from.” Whether it’s working around the office or getting a little more exposure to law, she’s enjoyed her time spent at our firm. “It’s super rewarding for me to understand the process behind everything everyone here at the office is doing.” This fall, Leah will be heading back to school as a senior, which means the end of her internship with us. “My college is in Northampton, three hours away from Nixon and Vogelman,” she says. “This was just a summer internship for me, but I’ve really enjoyed my time here.” Leah plans to continue her studies during her final year at Smith College while indulging in what she loves best — skiing, hiking, and spending time with her cat, Asha.
We’re glad to have had someone as dedicated and diligent as Leah intern with us this summer, and we wish her the best of luck during her senior year.
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A 12-Year-Old’s Perseverance COMING BACK AFTER A DEFEAT
Last month, my daughter, Rebecca, won the grand championship in the Syracuse International Horse Show. How she achieved this was so inspiring that I wanted to share her experience. Rebecca is 12 years old and knows exactly what she wants to do with her life. She’s been riding horses for several years, and loves every minute at the barn, whether she’s mucking stalls and grooming horses — all the dirty work — or riding her horse, Duncan. She works so she can earn free riding time with Duncan, but the experience has also taught her that horses take a lot of work. She and Duncan competed in the new 13-and-under category at the Syracuse International Horse Show. It was the largest event she had ever competed in, and nerves where high. Before the official show, Rebecca had to compete in a qualifier round to earn a spot. It was her first time competing, and she ended up doing very poorly — as badly as she could possibly do and still get to compete in the championship. However, instead of screaming, hollering, or crying,
Rebecca went right up to her coach afterward and asked, “What do I need to do?”
Kirk Simoneau shares a story about how his daughter rallied from failure, learned from her mistakes, and came out on top.
Before the competition officially started, Rebecca and her coach sat down and talked about working on her routine. They came up with ways she could improve, and they even hung around the ring late at night so she could practice once everyone was gone. Her hard work, diligence, and level-headedness paid off. Rebecca came back and ended up winning the championship. The victory was impressive, but the reason she won was because of how she reacted to her failure. Instead of letting it break her down and defeat her, she learned from it and improved, which is a very special thing for a 12-year-old to do. Too often, when adults are faced with something that doesn’t go their way, they react poorly. There are many people who can learn the lesson from Rebecca that learning from failure yields more success in the long run than letting it defeat you.
Be Inspired and
Have a Laugh
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Guiding you through life’s trials
77 Central Street Manchester, NH 03101 www.DaveNixonLaw.com 603.669.7070
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INSIDE This Issue
From Throwing Books to Reading the Dictionary
1
How to Prepare Your Kids for School
A Hard-Working Summer Intern
2 3
Don’t Let Failure Defeat You
Have You Played the Oldest Games in the World?
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GAME NIGHT GOES (REALLY) RETRO The Oldest Games You Can Play Today
People love to play games. When you play Angry Birds while waiting in line at the grocery store, you are actually participating in a long history of gaming that dates back to the earliest civilizations. Through the discovery of ancient game boards, archaeologists learned that the ancient Egyptians played a game called Senet in 3500 B.C. The rules were lost to time, but fortunately, there are plenty of other ancient games we still have the rules for! SNAKES AND LADDERS Sometime during the 2nd century A.D., people in India started playing a board game associated with aspects of traditional Hindu philosophy — namely, the contrast between karma (destiny) and kama (desire). A dice was rolled to navigate a game board where good virtues, represented by ladders, allowed players to move up on the board, and evil vices, represented by snakes, would drag pieces back down. The phrase “Back to square one” is believed to have originated from this game. Snakes and Ladders made its way to England before being brought over
to the United States, where it was introduced as “Chutes and Ladders” by none other than Milton Bradley in 1943. BACKGAMMON A blend of luck and strategy, backgammon originated in the Middle East around 5,000 years ago. Possibly an evolution of the ancient Mesopotamian game, the Royal Game of Ur, backgammon has players take turns rolling the dice to move their pieces off the board while trying to outsmart their opponent. Backgammon grew in popularity, spreading from the Middle East to the rest of the ancient world, and is still played by many today. GO Originating in China around the 5th century B.C., Go — or “weiqi,” as it’s called in China — focuses on the virtues of balance, discipline, and focus. Two players go head-to-head, placing their pieces on the board to claim as much territory
as possible while simultaneously capturing their opponent’s pieces. Go is likely the oldest board game still being played today, with an estimated 40 million players worldwide. Though the rules are simple, the strategies take a lifetime to master. These are a just a few games that people have been playing around the world for centuries. If you’re ready to add something new to family game night, try something old instead!
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