The Holidays aren't always a jolly time.

In this politically correct world we live in I never say to anyone, have a great holiday or ask how their holidays were when we come back from break.  It is not that I don't want to know or that I am trying to be politically correct. It  isn't that I dont' care, my worry in asking is that I  might bring up a bad feeling for that person. 

December 21st 1969, a policeman came to our home to tell us that my Grandfather had died while he was at work.  My Grandfather was the only Dad I had ever known and we had lived in his house since I was a year old.  While it is more than 40  years ago, I still take a moment to pause on the 21st and remember Hans Charles Witte.  This was the man who had ensured there was a roof over my head, clothes on my back and that I was given a wonderful place to live. I remember not knowing how to feel on Christmas Day.  This was supposed to be a time for friends and family to gather with a  great spirit.  Things were different and they always would be after that year.  It is not that they weren't good but they were different.  It wasn't just that Dad was not there, it was little things that only he did that helped make the holiday special that would never happen again.

My holidays are now filled with my children and my family.  We have created our own traditions and it has become for friends and family to gather with that great spirit again.  It would have been great for Dad to know my wife, to meet my children, and to know that I turned  out OK.  I have solace now that my wife and children didn't have the privilege of knowing this man and that I can hold his memory just for me, it is my special way to make things right.

For many of our students and staff, the holidays are a tough time.  Whether it is dealing with the memory of someone who is gone from their lives, someone who is sick, or the fact that school might be the only place they know they will get a good meal and have a safe place to be.  For some students, school is their support system and the thought that they will not have that support for two weeks can be a bit scary.  Most of the time these students don't tell us what is wrong or that they are afraid.  Most suffer in silence, find a way to cope and get by.  The year my Grandfather died I remember kids and teachers asking me how the holiday was. I replied great and spoke about the presents I received.  I couldn't tell anyone my heart was breaking and each time I was asked the question, it hurt a little bit more.

So if you see a student or a co-worker who does not seem to be in the spirit take a moment to approach them with care.  They may be struggling with their own holiday situation that they don't feel comfortable talking about.  They may feel that they should be feeling jolly but just can't.  Be there for them, support them with a smile and maybe you will be the reason that they are able to find some spirit as they get through their day.

Dad, December 21st is Wednesday,  I will be thinking of you.

If it's Thanksgiving, what is the Principal thankful for?

Thanksgiving has always been about the three "F's", football, food, and family. 

I am thankful that we don't play football on Thanksgiving Day anymore.  I really enjoyed the games but is was hard on my family since we usually travel out of town.

As far as food goes, I am thankful for the food service staff here at AHS who have worked to bring a better product to our students.  The addition of the deli sandwich line along with different kinds of  options really has made it better.  Elaine Dauber is dedicated to bring our food service above and beyond, I know she will do it.  Checkers Restaurant, enough said.

Family is something that abounds for me. 

I am thankful for my Alvirne Family who helps to bring a great educational environment together for our students.  I am thankful for those experienced teachers who are the support for everything that we are doing. I am thankful for the new teachers who bring new energy and ideas to light.  I am thankful for the people who reach out to students to try to help them even when they make it hard to extend that hand.  I am thankful for our office staff who work hard and from time to time put up with some grief that they should not have to.  They do it with a smile and a kind word.  I am thankful for our custodial staff who take great pride in keeping this school running well.  I am thankful for the parents who  support our efforts and are working with us  to create the best educational environment.  I am thankful for my 1407 children who make me feel that I am doing something important each day.

I am thankful for my family at home who supports me in everything I do.  My children were 7 and 8 years old when I came here.  They have sacrifice many a night  when I was at school attending to my other family, thanks Matt and Allie.    I am thankful for my wife for putting up with me how I feel that the job of Principal needs to be done.  She has been willing to let me  spend countless hours with my Alvirne Family because she knows it is important to me.

Looking at all the things I can be thankful I guess I am doing pretty darn well.

Have a great holiday with football, food and family!

Spirit Week, why do we do it?

When I was hired for this position in 1998 I received an unsigned letter in the mail within two days.  It was a list of things the staff wanted to be done,  called it the manifesto.  Many things made sense to me and I am happy to say most were accomplished within two years.  The one thing that was on the list that I have not  done  was to "Eliminate Spirit Week". 

The reason to have Spirit Week is to help create a more involved student body in the events of the school and to bring unity within each class.  You  may ask how  does wearing pajamas to school or creating a dance video skit help to do this.  In my mind, it is the camaraderie and the memories that really make the difference.  High School is  a time to find yourself and see that the sum of the whole is always greater than its' parts.  Together, students do great things.  We have change the focus of Spirit Week so that it is more palatable to the staff and the community.  We have eliminated some events and added others.  In the past  14  years over $20,000   has been collected to give out as scholarships for students in the form of pennies, nickles and dimes. Student have donated tens of thousands of canned goods to local food pantries and soup kitchens. More than $5000 has been collected to help families who would not be able to have holiday meals or presents.  We have instituted a community service component to rake leaves and students have put in thousands of hours helping those in the community. 

Does Spirit Week create some abnormalities in the school day, yes.  Is it a distraction  for many, yes.  Have some things happened that I would have preferred not happen, yes. These not with standing, Spirit Week helps to create a positive atmosphere and bring about a feeling of togetherness among our students that can not  be created any other way.  This makes it truly worth it.

My favorite place to be is in the middle of a gym with a thousand screaming teenagers just wanting to have fun.  It is a special place to be.  Wednesday I am going to get duct taped to the wall.  I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

GO BRONCOS!

It's been too long and I am sorry

To all of you out there in Bronco Country, I am sorry that I have neglected to update this BLOG.  Thank you to Caroline who has reminded me that I have been delinquent, I really do appreciate it.

Well, where are we.  Things at AHS are moving along pretty well.  One of the new initiatives I wanted to put into place was creating more positive communication to parents.  Teachers have started to send e-mails home about good things and there has been some really great feedback.  For too long the only e-mails or phone calls that have gone home have been about negative things.  I want to focus on the things that are good as often as we can.  The BLC, Bronco Leadership Council, ( It was going to be Bronco Leadership Team but I just couldn't do BLT) is meeting to come up with a way to document this without creating a lot of work for teachers.  Students do so many great things here and it is important that we let people, especially parents, know what is happening,

Tomorrow everyone wear  purple to stamp out bullying and harassment.  Don't forget the Haunted Hayride starts this weekend and if you go to the football game on Friday (last home game) you can taste some of my most excellent chili, I call it "The Principal Chili".  Hope to see  you there.

I promise I will keep up with this.

There are great things to celebrate at AHS!!!

Two week ago our school took a moment to salute the efforts of our Director of Guidance Bill Hughen as he was recognized as the High School Guidance Counselor of the Year by the New Hampshire Association of School Guidance Counselors.  This is a great honor and it is well deserved.  For those of you who know Mr. Hughen he is a man of compassion, strength, and sincerity.  He is a great colleague to us all and a strong mentor to his students.  Bill serves not only as the Guidance Director for Alvirne HS but for the Hudson School District as well. At every turn he does a job that is second to none and he is a key to the success of our school.

Yesterday we gathered as a school again and were recognized as the High School of Excellence in New Hampshire for 2011.  This is a great achievement that shows that the school environment we strive to create is one that truly makes a difference.  After an initial application, about 15 students and five staff members went to Concord to determine whether or not we would move on in the process.  From there Alvirne was one of three schools in the state that would receive a visit from the selection committee of 18 people.  This effort was headed by Mark MacLean, Academic Dean, who coordinated almost 80 students and 30 staff persons whose responsibility it was to show the committee what Alvirne High School is all about.  This four hour visit included presentations by students about our co-curricular activities, the committee visiting over 30 class rooms, student presentations about our curriculum and a round table discussion with staff members.  After all this, Alvirne was the unanimous choice of the committee for this honor.  This is the second time we have earned this honor the first time was in 2001.   This brings a great satisfaction to me as Principal because it recognizes a consistent dedication to excellence in a changing educational world.  We are creating a tradition of strength of instruction and environment that creates a special environment for learning.  We are not perfect and we still have things to work on but this gives us the motivation to continue to move forward to make these changes and continue to make things better for our school community.    Bottom line for me, this is just a really great place to be!!

Cabaret is a wonderful thing!

For anyone who has ever had the chance to go the Cabaret performances at AHS you know what I am talking about.  This afternoon I watched more than 200 of our students bring many weeks of practice to a glorious culmination.  The hard work and talent that has been put forth in these last few weeks was really worth it.  The show that lasted more than  two and a half hours flew by.  There was one great showing after the other.

This is not just the work of our students.  The many volunteers really are a key part of the success of this venture.  Many are parents and some of those who put in countless hours don't even have any students at Alvirne anymore.  They have become part of the machine that helps to create this wonderful event and no one can ever thank them enough. 

Liz Beaton, our choral director, has done a great job in bringing out the talent in her students.  This year, the number of solo's, dance routines and coordinated songs by mixed groups was more complex and detailed than ever before.  At every turn, the students answered the call to give their best.

Gerry Bastien is the MUSIC MAN.  He takes his mantra of want to, choose to, love to and ingrains it into our musicians.  The quality of the music has been consistent year to year and somehow things just seem to be getting better each year.  Gerry is one of those rare educators that can find diamonds in the ruff and bring them to their full shine, it is wonderful.

This year marked 20,000 people who have come to see Cabaret over the past fourteen years.  This is a great accomplishment.  Each year my in-laws travel two hours to come to see this show and each year they go home with a smile.  For us, as with many, it has become a family tradition to attend.  I am so proud to be part of this school community and of those who choose to be part of this great program.  Alvirne High School's music program is second to none and I know it will be that way for years to come.  Thanks to all!

Alvirne Broncos, Loud and Proud!

Over the years I have had both students and parents tell me that my rules around fan behavior at athletic events is a bit restrictive.  For those of you who don't know, my philosophy about this is that our fans,  both students and parents, should focus their support of our teams on our teams.  Taunting the other teams, calling out numbers, getting after officials,  chanting toward the opposing school's  fans and the like is something that I have not allowed our students to do.  My concept is to be loud and proud of being Alvirne Broncos. 

I average between 50 to 70 athletic events a year, both home and away.  I have seen every behavior possible from opposing schools.  Some turn their backs when our teams have been introduced, they have been verbally abusive to our players, they have thrown things, they have chanted inappropriate things, they have taunted individuals as well as whole teams. One school actually took out newspapers and held them up as if to read them when our team was introduced.  ( I didn't like it but it was creative.)

When our students go to support our teams they are known as a class act.  We have received e-mails from school officials, NHIAA officials, and even a comment from a member of the State Board of Education on what a pleasure it is to see our students create a positive atmosphere at events.  These compliments also come from people when our students to go competitions for music, drama, career/technical education competitions, and other organizations as well.  These compliments about our school community come from the philosophy that we are loud and proud of being from Alvirne High School.  So for those of you  who feel I should lighten up a bit, my response is thank you for the input but I really think we are the ones who set the standard for everyone else to meet.  We are Alvirne Broncos, enough said.

Somedays You Realize It Is Really Worth It

As a teacher and definitely as the Principal, there are not a lot of days when people come up to say thank you for the time and effort you put into your profession.  There are students as well as parents who do foolish things, who can become abusive, and bring you to the point of questioning is it really worth all the hassle to care enough to bring the best you have each day.  I have been called just about every name in the book by the students and sometimes parents.  Most days I know it is worth it when I see a smile in someone's eyes, a person help someone else, or someone find satisfaction that they finally understand something they have been working toward.  This week, my reason came right through the front door.

A graduate came by the other day to get some records.  This is a student who at one time had some huge issues in navigating the route to graduation.  There were issues around passing grades, truancy, erratic behavior and incidents of disrespect to teaches as well as members of the administration.  This was the picture of a student at risk.  A student who could have found their way to drugs or jail.  There was a time when I had lost faith that we could help him, and for a short time he did leave.  When he decided to come back, I was skeptical that he could be successful.  Step by step he found his way and did graduate. It was a proud day for him, it was a proud day for me.

This week the young man who I would have thought I had lost, came in to get his transcripts so he could enroll in college that will be paid for by his employer.  Today I know that it is really worth it.

We are past the 100th day of school and believe it or not the end of the school year is coming very quickly.  For the seniors, it is hard to believe that within about 70 school days they will be moving onto the next phase in their lives and they will leave Alvirne behind to become a memory.  For the rest, things are happening that will  change their lives forever.

For the Class of 2012, it is nearing the time that they will need to step up and become the true leaders of the school.  Looking to what their futures will be and what options they have will be a wonderful as well as a scary thing.  Every single one of these students should have already started to formulate a plan.  The scariest three words I know come from  a 17 year old.  When asked what do you want to do when you leave high school and the 17 year old replies, "I don't know."  I have a great fear for these young people.

On the first day of their Sophomore year I let the students know that the word sophomore in Latin translates to "wise yet foolish".  They have the knowledge to know better but sometimes don't use that knowledge to their advantage.  I challenge them to ask answer three questions. 

• What do you want to do when you leave high school?
• What will it take to reach that goal?
• What are you willing to sacrifice to make that happen? 

I often wonder where they are in finding the answers to these questions. Are they finding their way past the foolishness and seriously looking to their future?  For many I can see the wheels turning but not for all.

As far as our Freshman, the first semester is over and the majority are doing well.  The failure rate is lower than it has been in many years and the honor roll for the first two quarters has been a great showing of their efforts.  There are a handful that have not made a successful transition.  I want to work with these students and their parents to find their focus and help them to find their way to the graduation stand on time.

High school is a great time for our students to grow and find out who they are, that is what I truly want for them.

It is hard to believe but spring is coming

Standing out in the parking lot each day is something that I do because I think it gives me a better feel for how students are doing each day as they enter the building.  It also gives me a chance to see parents as they drop off their kids.  I do admit that the day it was below zero, even though I dressed for appropriately, it was not an enjoyable experience.

This morning 18 degrees out and no wind, thank goodness.  All of a sudden the cars stopped and I heard it. There were small birds in the tree next to the side entrance chirping.  It is a sound that makes you smile. Looking at the 30 foot piles of snow around the lot it  is hard to think about it but spring is coming. 

Snow Days a Blessing or a Curse?

As a student back in the dark ages I remember waking up to snow outside and racing to the television to see if school had been called off.  My brother and I would wait and wait and wait until our town came on the screen. On those rare days when it happened, it was the best news anyone could ever hear.  I could go back to sleep, play with friends and go sledding on the street I lived on because the town would always plow the street in at the bottom.. As we got older we would go to Isaac E. Young Junior High School that had a really steep hill.  We would make jumps to see if we could catch some air.  We were lucky if we came back without someone getting hurt but we would still go every time we could.  As we got even older, it was a great way to make money because we would go from street to street to see if someone would pay us to shovel out their driveway or house  ( This was back in the day when snow blowers were very uncommon.) Those were great days.

I hope it is the same for our students in the Hudson School District.  The drama of waiting to see if your school's name came across the screen on the TV has gone away with the use of the Alert Now System.  The phone call comes early in the morning and it wakes up the whole house.  For parents, many times they can't get back to sleep and then for the younger students finding day care has to become the priority.  When the day does not go as normal, people get out of sync and the day can start off bad.  For the students, having the day off is a great thing but making up days, now 5 days, up in mid-June when it is hot is something people are going to complain about.  Plans to go away have to be changed, for AHS students finding a way to get exams in is always a concern.  This is the down side.

I would hope that everyone would remember in June the elation of finding out  they had a day off in January.  When it is really really hot on the third floor on June 21st while you are taking an exam, remember that really great feeling of turning off the alarm, rolling over and gently falling back to sleep. 

Students, enjoy the snow days while you can.  When you are out of school, you still have to go into work even when it snows just like me. 

I really don't like being the clothes police

After 12 years of public education, four years as an undergraduate at Springfield College, three years of night school for my masters, and three years  at UNH to get my CAGS, who would have thought my job would be defined by yoga pants in a thumbs down in the HLN.

One of the things I really don't like about my job is dealing with the dress code.  The way I think of this is that any school is a place of business.  It is the business of education.  While it is really great to find ways to express yourself, there are times when things are appropriate and when they are not.  Clothes that reveal too much of anything, whether it is undergarments or a person's form, is not appropriate in this business environment.  It is a distraction for some and has led to some really ugly comments and potential bullying between students. 

I also realize that not all yoga pants are created equally.  If these garments are loose at the knee and on the thigh they are fine. 

I know that dealing with these rules is a hassle for many students as well as parents but my real concern is creating an environment that is appropriate for this environment.  If students want to have changes considered, the Student Council is the place to start.  They meet every Thursday in room 315.

Enjoy the snow day.

Mr. L

Greetings from a first time blogger

Greetings to all in the Alvirne Community,

I am a first time blogger and we will see how this works  out.  I will try to use this as a vehicle to let people know how things are going, what I think of some things that are going on (if you are interested) and in general to let you know more about Alvirne and about me. 

For those of you who don't know a lot about me, I have been here as the Principal of Alvirne High School for the  past 13 years.  This is the seventh school that I have worked in.  I started my teaching career in Houston, Texas  in 1980 and spent 11 years in Texas as a science teacher, coach, and assistant principal.  Most of the time, eight years, was spent at Kingwood High School in Kingwood, TX.     I, at one time or another, have coached soccer, football, swimming, spring board diving, baseball and track. ( Baseball was the only thing I was  unsuccessful at. I love the sport but don't know enough to teach it to others.)

My wife, two children and I moved to New Hampshire in 1991 and we have been living in Derry since then. 

I have an undergraduate degree from Springfield College, a Masters in Education from Stephen F. Austin State University, a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study from The University of New Hampshire and I am currently taking courses that will hopefully lead to my doctorate in Educational Administration.  I have a long term goal of retiring in the next ten years and teaching at the graduate level working with people who want to become school administrators. 

Enough for the first time and I don't want to bore you with too much. 

Mr. L