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Friday, April 15, 2011

Rolling Along

It's that time again. Time to review grades from the last marking quarter and identify those learners who have met the criteria for distinction as members of the Honor Roll and the High Honor Roll. We're rolling along, making progress, and building on our successes.

It was a pleasure to receive three high school learners as unexpected visitors to my office this afternoon. They were all seniors who were very proud to announce to me that over fifty percent of their classmates from the Class of 2011 (22 members altogether) were represented on the High Honor Roll (10) and Honor Roll (2). Of course, they represented three of that total. They had every reason to boast of this collective accomplishment. It speaks volumes of the desire and responsibility of the Class of 2011. They are nearly finished with their thirteen year odyssey through The Heatly School. It's very tempting for seniors everywhere at this time of year, many having already been accepted into college, to relax a little and reduce their commitment from what it may have been at the start of the school year. Clearly they have averted that potential trap, since coasting through the motions of the final months of school will not prepare them for the perseverance and time management they will need for success in college next September.

I am very proud of this senior class. They have been active participants in, and significant contributors to, the present and future of Heatly. I am grateful that my initial year as a superintendent has been one in which I could rely on the members of the senior class to serve as effective role models for the younger learners who follow behind them. They are productive and constructive young men and women. Watching them progress through their last year of school and stand precariously on the threshold of leaving an environment and community where they have experienced thirteen years, and anxiously look out at varied and diverse opportunities, has been very interesting.

Another enjoyable experience today was the opportunity to attend the "March Madness" celebration. This event was the brainchild of a high school teacher who also provided the bulletin board artwork to display the activity. The ceremony was the culmination of a campaign to promote and acknowledge excellent attendance. It ran along for the last five weeks parallel to the March Madness college basketball playoffs. Lose a game and you're out of the tournament. In this case, if you're late or absent from school you're out of the competition. Attendance was charted in brackets just like the basketball playoff structure.

There were 76 elementary learners who evidenced perfect attendance and 58 high school learners who accomplished the feat. That's over one third of all of the learner population of the school - despite the competition occurring during the tail end of the cold and flu season. Hat's off to the English teacher and principal for coordinating the effort to motivate the dedication and commitment necessary for perfect attendance over the five week span. Everyone appeared to be enjoying the pizza and beverages. In addition, several attractive gifts were awarded to the lucky people who had their name drawn from the collection of perfect attendance winners.

On that note, school is closed for the spring break. I hope that the week off brings good fortune and relaxation to each and everyone. I will be wrestling with the final preparations for the annual budget that we will be presenting to the community for a vote on May 17th. I will resume posting Blog entries when we school opens again on April 25th.

Happy Easter!

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