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!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
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!
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!
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