What do you do at school???

My ten year old son asked me on Wednesday, "What do you do all day?" He knows I'm "The Principal" but was just curious about my tasks. I tried to explain to him that my job is to make sure the school is "going good". He accepted that vague answer and then said "Why are you dressing up as a cow?" I once again said it was for the good of the school . . .

I started the week with a formal observation of Garrett Davis. His 7th grade class was having an exciting class discussion of promotion/advertising. All students were actively involved. In fact, Mr. Davis will be putting on a Christmas production Dec. 9-11 and I'm sure some of his students will be helping with that production!

Tuesday ended with a Band/Orchestra concert from the 8th graders. Congratulations to Kathy Fox and Catherine Burton for their efforts with these students. I thoroughly enjoyed the music - especially "Mission Impossible". Got me reflecting about my childhood and watching Get Smart - the TV show not the movie!

Wednesday also had a nice ending. Boys soccer finished the season 12-0 with a 4-1 victory over Hill Middle School in the County Championship game. Congratulations to Jeremy Shearer and Dave Jenkins. Jeremy got a shower and Dave's is coming (he was on the 7th grade trip to Camp Don Lee). Then went to Chick Fila for Spirit night. It is always a fun/positive atmosphere. Thanks to Peggy for coordinating this event! For those who have never been the "cow", you might want to think about it. Loads of fun and people don't know who you are:)


The Trailblazers (Laura LeMay, Jami Jones, Charles Jones, Dave Jenkins, Lynn Palm, and Jerry Messick) have been at the beach Wed - today. Well, they were close to the beach (Camp Don Lee) chaperoning 100 students. For those who haven't been blessed to go, talk to some of the 7th grade teachers about the experience. I enjoy the trip but am very glad to get home on Friday:)

Most of our 6th graders were involved in a Greek festival today - toga, toga, toga (sorry, couldn't resist!). They had many fun activities and great food - had to do some sampling! It was evident they (along with several parents) worked hard to plan this day.


It's now Friday afternoon(again - yahoo!) and what did you do all week? Take a few minutes, this weekend, to think about what good you have done for your students and the school. I'm sure there are too many to count. Feel good about what you do even if it is as small as dressing up in a cow costume for school spirit!

Short week coming up. Enjoy this weekend and the break coming up. Thanks for what you do!

Go Patriots!!

Middle School Spirit Week . . .

Now, this week was fun right, right?? Seriously, I really like the idea of allowing students to show their spirit and enjoy their school. Thanks to all the staff that participated. Students follow your lead. A big thank you to Lisha Vannoy and Eric Schoulda for working with student council with the morning announcements. That helped so much with the promotion of the theme of the day.

This week my classroom walk through focus was on Encore. I want everyone to know how GREAT our encore teachers are! They work extremely hard teaching hundred(s)! of students in this school. It amazes me to see how well they know them. Prime examples are Senorita (right?) Hughes and Sullivan. They teach approximately 350 students each (A & B days). When they ask questions, they always use the student's name. No student feels left out in their classes. Other teachers do the same (PE teachers - Amy Peverall, Denise Francis, Martin Patrick, JR Wilkerson). Thanks again for all you do each day to help contribute to the wonderful education students receive at TJMS!!

A want to recognize Leigh Walters was passing her Administration Exam!!! She is now fully qualified to be a principal - you really want to do this?! This is a grueling written test that you basically answer scenerios for about 6 hours. I can tell a huge weight has been lifted off her shoulders. Congratulations Leigh!!

Remember, if you have the "Spirit" and enjoy what you do then your students can't help from being excited about school and what you want to teach them. They may not all show it in the proper way at times (they are 11-14 year olds!)but you do make a positive difference in their lives. Thanks for your Spirit this week and each day that you meet with our students.

Have some fun this weekend!

Go Patriots!!

The Fair is in the Air . . .

Ah . . . there is nothing like fair week – right?! I don’t know about you but I always look forward to the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the Dixie Classic Fair. This event always gives me the excuse to eat a bunch of things that I shouldn’t. Did you try the Fried Butter????????

Enough about food . . . now onto this week at TJMS. I started this week off by going, with the Surfers team, to the Career Center. Again, the 8th graders were very polite and courteous. Thanks to Kathy MacDonald for arranging these trips for our students. And a shout out to Gail Frank for her back seat driving. I would have never made it back and forth without you!

Tuesday was a day spend at Central Office at a Joint Principal's meeting. Many items were discussed from United Way (Kelly Hall will kick it off on Monday), accountability, EVAAS composites, finance update ("if things were not good this year just wait til next"), and PLCs. The nice thing about PLCs is that we have been doing them since I've been here (just called them subject area meetings). There were be a few modifications but there will be some training to come.

Wednesday was a day for me to get into many classrooms (8th grade teachers this week:) I will highlight two teachers this week. First of all, Deborah Cummings. I did a formal observation in one of her classes. She had a wonderful class about texture. The students were interested and participating throughout the class. Her activities involved finding different texture surfaces in the class. A cool one was the bottom of a shoe! The other teacher is Martin Patrick. Sometimes, Health/Physical Education teachers get a "bad rap". Just know Martin knows his stuff! He was discussing/demonstrating to his students about rescue breathing. If I ever need CPR, call Martin . . . just no mouth to mouth.

Thursday was a day of joy for everyone with the magazine fundraiser kickoff. Thanks to Peggy for organizing everything (as usual) and thanks to all teachers for getting in on time. I think the assembly flowed very well. Thanks for doing your part to help this to be successful. Especially Daniel Bryant, Elaine Hartle, Kelly Hall, Matt Fossa, Charles Jones, Robin Moon, Mark Schnably, Mark Mercer, and Brent Atkinson for being such good sports! I hope you recognized what I will do if goals are met.

I do want to put a special word out to Amy Peverall, Sheila Schmidt, and Christy Daniel for their efforts in the cheerleading tryouts. They put much effort into the process/selection of being fair. Over 70 girls tried out and 23 made the team. Thanks to LaJoi Wilson-Moore and Benika Thompson for helping to judge. Also, speaking of sports . . . Congratulations to Dave Jenkins and Jeremy Shearer with the boys soccer team. They continue to be undefeated with a record of 8-0. They have to huge games this week - Wednesday at Meadowlark and Thursday at Mount Tabor vs Wiley. Promote for your students to come out and support - you are welcome to come also! You might be surprised how much seeing a teacher after school means to students. And . . . a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Leigh Walters and the 10 students that made State Honors Chorus!!! They will be recognized at the NC Middle School Honors Concert at the Stevens Center on November 8th at 1:30.

Now back to food and the fair . . . I didn't get to try the Fried Butter (couldn't find the vendor even though I did look). I did sample some french fries, roasted corn, pizza, Fried Oreos, and Fried Three Musketeers. Notice I said sampled and not ate the entire portion. I do have to say the Fried Oreos was tasty:) Guess I will have to wait on the Fried Butter . . . next year? But there will be something new . . . what else can they think to fry?

Have some fun and get some rest.


Go Patriots!

October 2, 2009--Time passes quicker the older you get

Another thing that amazes me is TIME (or specifically - the lack of time). It seems that I open my eyes on Monday morning then it is suddenly Friday afternoon . . . the weekend is always a BLUR! I remember (as a child) many of the "adults" saying that time passes quicker the older you get . . . well, I absolutely agree with those statements. We do so many good things during the week and now that it is Friday I can't remember them all. I will do a better job of documenting (hopefully next week). So with that said, let me tell you a few things that I saw (or heard about) this week.

Seems like I can get into many classrooms on Mondays . . . this week I had 7th grade to conduct Classroom Walk Throughs (CWTs). You guys are pretty smart and have figured out that we - administrators (Wilson-Moore, Dickey, and Thompson) divide grade levels each week (including encore) and conduct CWTs. So next week what grade do I have??? 7th grade teachers are so creative/energetic! From Emma Couch having bungee jumping Barbee dolls, Matt Fossa putting students on the spot with his higher order thinking questions, Jeremy Shearer's students literally jumping out of their seats to participate in a classroom discussion, Meredith Ebert's relentless efforts to involve all students in classroom activities, and Amy Kennedy's constant patience/leadership during a facinating science class while her "technology" was NOT acting nice! I conducted two formal observations this week with Dave Jenkins and Christy Daniel (lucky folks!). Dave and Ellen Weston showed a true example of co-teaching. It was very evident they plan together so both teachers can provide personalized instruction to their students - super! Christy Daniel's lesson was excellent. Students were busily working on a room design project. They seemed to enjoy the environment of the classroom while making examples of line and color. Christy showed much confidence as a 2nd year teacher - she is always positive and supportive of her students!

On Tuesday, I chauffered the MPods and Kim Pickell, in a big white limo, to the Career Center . . . well, I drove the activity bus and didn't hit anything (this time!) All students were well mannered and asked great questions. I can tell the 8th graders are getting ready for high schoool. That evening, I attended the school board meeting and accepted awards for TJMS academic success from last year (The community knows that Jefferson Middle continues to be the best Middle School!).

Wednesday was picture day :) I'm sure you all took beautiful pictures. I'm looking forward to seeing John Garwood's picture - his hair seemed a little "fluffy". Thanks for organizing the picture schedule - Peggy!! This is a necessary evil :) That afternoon Brent Atkinson was recognized with all the Teacher's of the Year at a nice reception at the Old Salem Visitor's Center. Brent is truly a wonderful representative of our All Star staff!

John Downs conducted excellent technology workshops on Thursday. Thanks to John for this effort and his day to day support to ALL of us! You are certainly a "Big Guy" in this school. Thanks to Peggy (again) for organizing the BWW night. My teriyaki wings were very tasty:) It was nice to see our staff/community getting together after hours.

Today, I was put on the "hot seat" by my boss, Carol Montague-Davis, visiting me. I have to do just like you - complete a self-assessment and develop my PDP. I guess our meeting went okay - she didn't ask for my keys :)

Other mentionables . . . Barbara Strange - organizing and implementing a "book talk" with several staff involved. Your kids were excited and well prepared! Kerry Browne is a real trooper - I was told she was instumental in the Tdap process. Cindy Booth evidently has received "interesting" e-mails but has said she will not respond . . . you will have to ask her about this! And the initiation of your newbie - Mark Mercer. Mark has this new ride that you need to check out. I think others may be a little jealous and have done some "not so nice" things to this ride. As perky Miss Gena Loflin said, so well to Mark ,as he was searching for his ride, "Welcome to Jefferson!"

Speaking of time . . . your weekend may be gone by the time you finish this but it is fun and therapy for me to "reflect". Ten years ago today, my youngest (Stuart - Stu Poo) was born . . . time does pass very quickly especially the older you get.

Enjoy your weekend ... get some rest!

Go Patriots!!