A View from the Now-Retired Principal's Seat

This mural and statement are over the exit of our school's front door.  As we reflect on the end  of  our school year I can't think of a simpler way to express my hopes for our students.  Whether those students are our youngest or our oldest students, I am hopeful that each student chooses to, "Make a Difference" in their world--in our world. Our school has worked with our community and parents to help teach our students that making a positive difference and being kind to each other helps create a rich learning environment for all students.  That rich learning environment can, of course, be contagious. Recently our student R each O ut A nd R espond, ROAR, team (Remember, our district's  mascot is a wildcat.  Note the cat theme!) has shown us how to make a difference, and we hope it becomes very contagious. You should first know that our ROAR team consists of students from each grade and classroom, and their responsibility is to Reach Out ...

Schools and school districts have many, many unsung heroes.  Our noon aides are just one example of such heroes. You might not know what a noon aide is.  "Back in the day" we used to call them, "lunch ladies," but I am happy to say that at our school we have some dads who help us.  Noon aides monitor our students each day at lunch recess and in the cafeteria when the students are eating. Our school has five separate lunches; unique 40 minutes for each grade.  Each grade goes outside to play on our playground for the first 20 minutes, and then they come inside to eat for 20 minutes.  While the first group is eating in the cafeteria, the next group is outside playing on the playground.  Over the course of about 2.5 hours all students in our school get a 20 minute recess and time for lunch, and our noon aides manage, monitor, and help all students transition through it all. Heroes, of course, do much, much more than manage, monitor, and help.  Our n...