Great First Week

After an extended summer vacation, the halls were busy again this week with students and school activity. Construction is continuing around us, but we are rolling along. There are a few obstacles to overcome, such as make-shift office space for the administrative and counseling office staff and a classroom that is not completed. By mid October, the classroom is suppose to be ready. By the end of October the offices are suppose to be ready. So, we will have one more move to make this year, which will hopefully be the last move for a long time.

I was amazed with how well the first week of school went. We started the week under construction, going a full day on the first day, having a full five-day week, extending the day by 20 minutes, and having nice, hot weather. Despite all of that, everything seemed to go very smoothly. I know that a lot of that had to do with the preparation of the teachers and the great attitude of the students. From my perspective, it was greatly appreciated. Shepherd is a great place!

We hit the ground running, and Homecoming week is next week. There was no easing into the 2009-2010 school year, but as smoothly as it started, I don't think we needed to ease into anything.

Here we go!

Wow! It has been a long time since I have posted. I guess I was enjoying the summer and not thinking about school as much as I should have. It has been a wild summer with the construction. I have made my second office move with only one more to go before it is all done. The building looks good to start school, especially considering what it looked like last week. We are getting right into things with a full day, class meetings for homecoming, and of course, classes. I hope everyone has a good start to the year!

Something for Parents to Consider

I came across a web article recently that had to do with the use of technology by students. I thought the point in the article was at least worth consideration. Parents may want to review/consider taking more control over their student's access to technology. The article describes some of the potential harm that can come from students who have access to technology 24/7. For example, a parent could say good night as their student heads to his/her bedroom and then the student could sit in his/her room texting/chatting until 1:00am. There are obvious implications for their academic performance at school the next day. I encourage parents to do a family assessment on what technology their students have access to and when they have access. Could they be harming their academic success due to fatigue, sleep deprivation, and motivation due to access so some of these social networking applications?

Click here to check out this article.

More Summer News

I have been out of the office for much of July traveling with family. I have had some great times, but it makes the summer go really quickly. The good thing is that I can see big jumps in progress on the building project when I return. It is exciting to see.

I will be in the office working as normal until school starts. There is much news about the school these days. With the construction, it was necessary to adjust the school year calendar. Please check out the Shepherd High School home page for the 2009-2010 calendar. Click here to jump to this page. If you look at the left side of the page, the section has two calendar links. One is "Calendar" and the other is "Text Only Calendar." The first will show you the 2009-2010 calendar in a monthly calendar format. The other simply lists the significant calendar dates for the school year. You can look at one of those links for the specifics, but the adjustments call for a longer school day by 20 minutes and a shorter school year to allow for the summer work that is needed yet this year and what will be needed next summer.

Another big item out there is the state of school financing. We are potentially facing massive cuts in our state aide. As of now, some of the reduction will be offset by federal stimulus money. But, that will only help with the short fall for the coming year and will only cover a portion of the reduction for 2010-2011. After that, there is no stimulus money left to offset the reductions. I encourage you to research this funding problem and contact your government officials as you see fit. Those who have been in education for many years view this as the worst financial crisis for schools they have seen. Please keep an eye on this topic.

I hope the summer is going well for everyone!

Brief Summer Update

I hope that everyone is getting a good start to the summer. It took a while for the warm weather to arrive. As I write this, it is probably the hottest day of the year. It is supposed to be in the low 90s today. If you have not had a chance to drive by the school, it is really looking different. The office area was being torn down about the day after school let out. One day I drove by and saw a Bobcat in the office tearing things down on the inside. The new gym area is coming along well. The tall walls are starting to go up. It looks big! The lights for the football field were installed shortly after school got out. They have started on the concessions area and bathrooms at the sports complex. There are crews all over. It is exciting to see. The elementary work is coming along well, too. Starting in the fall we will have a very different feel with all of the physical changes to the buildings.

Click here to see a few pictures from June 23, 2009.

Michigan Merit Curriculum Interview

The link below is to a radio interview that was done by WCFX in the spring of 2009 regarding the Michigan Merit Curriculum. The interview included the superintendent from Mt. Pleasant, the superintendent from Beal City, and me. We left a link to interview on the high school web page for several months, but we are moving it to the blog to make room for some other items.

Click here to hear the interview.

Have A Great Summer!

It has been a great year! I hope everyone has an enjoyable summer. My family is doing a lot of traveling, but I hope to use much of the summer to prepare for a good start to next year. The summer will go by quickly! It will be exciting for people to back to school after having been away for the summer because the construction is moving along so fast. I hope they continue to make good progress. I want to be able to start next fall in the new office!