New School Year is Close

It has been a while since I had a post. It has been a very busy end of year and summer. It is nice to see the construction is getting near an end. We are quickly getting ready for the new school year. It will be very interesting with several new staff members. I am looking forward to starting the new year, but I am not quite ready yet! I have a lot to do before students roam the halls.

Graduation - 2010

Well, we had our first graduation in our new gym on Friday, May 28th, 2010. Unfortunately, there are still some construction bugs to work out. The transformer that was installed by Consumers was too small so we could not fire up the chillers. This made it very hot with the unseasonably hot weather. The set up looked good and everything went very well. We look forward to many more successful graduations at Shepherd High School.

Students at Youth In Government

I am currently in Lansing with several students at a program called Youth In Government. This is a very cool program that allows students to actually serve all aspects of state government. The students get to use the House and Senate chambers. They get to use the committee rooms. They debate and pass bills. A youth governor reviews and either signs or vetoes passed bills. I would recommend looking at the following link to see what the program is about.

Click here to access the link.

The students arrive on Wednesday and leave on Sunday morning. There are some fun activities, but there is a lot of serious work. These students are debating important issues that impact our state. They have a chance to share their ideas and learn from others from Detroit to Gladstone. The conference is as diverse as the state. They also get to hear from current legislators about current issues.

Here is an update from the conference.

Our students did well. Luke Salisbury was honored as the Blue Legislature Lt Governor. Hadassah Huber received an award for most outstanding work in Written Press. James Newman was Honorable Mention as the best Blue Legislator. And Aaron Moore was recognized for his bill becoming law. There are nearly 800 students here and hundreds of bills, only a few of which made it into law!

Here are a few pictures from this year's trip.

Hadassah Huber and Aaron Moore are getting ready during a general session.

Luke Salisbury being sworn in as the Lt. Governor of the Blue Legislature. Luke had to run for this position at the fall conference in October.

Michigan Capitol Building

The Capitol Senate Chamber. The students actually sit in the seats, talk at the podiums, and vote on the bills!

House Chambers

Aaron Moore in Senate Committee

Me! A Self Photo Outside the Capitol

Aaron Moore speaking during his party caucus.

Hadassah Huber writing an article for the Written Press. At the conference banquet, she was recognized as the outstanding Written Press writer.

James Newman in Committee

Luke Salisbury in Committee

As Lt. Governor of the Blue Legislature, Luke had to sit at the head table for the conference banquet.

Hadassah, Aaron, and James at the Conference Banquet

Opening of the New Gym

Well, this week we were finally able to open our new gym area. Everyone was very excited. We had our opening game this Tuesday (2/16/10). Rather than write a lot about it, I am going to place a link in this post to the Morning Sun's video news article.

Click here to access the article.

It's Been A While

It has been quite a while since I posted my last Blog. I have had a hard time staying on top of things since late November. My dad passed away on November 22nd. Needless to say, it has been emotionally and physically draining, while also taking up a great deal of time to help with all of the paperwork, account transfers, estate issues, etc. My dad was one of my biggest fans. I know in this position that people aren't always going to like what you do. I have had people yell at me, threaten me and swear at me. But, I always try to do what I think is the "right" thing to do. It is easy to do what is popular, but it is sometimes hard to "do the right thing". My dad helped me with "doing the right thing." I miss him. He was so pleased that I was the principal at Shepherd High School - where he graduated, where my mom graduated and where I graduated. Of course, there are tons of other relatives, too, including my sister, folks from the early 1900s all the way to my children here now. I hope to stay more up to date as things settle back to "normal".

Parent Meetings

The counselors are conducting informational meetings for students and parents for next year's registration. There is a meeting for current 9th-11th graders on January 20th beginning at 6:30 in the High School Cafeteria. The goal of the meeting is to make sure that the students and parents have the information necessary to develop their educational development plans. The main topics are the Michigan Merit Exam, preparing for college, graduation requirements, scheduling of 2010-2011 school year, Michigan Merit Curriculum and graduation with honors. There have been a lot of changes over the years and big changes since parents were in school.

There will also be a transition meeting for the current 8th grade students. This meeting is also in the High School Cafeteria, but this meeting will begin at 7:00. In addition to some of the topics mentioned above, 8th grade students and parents will receive information about making the transition from middle school to high school. This is a good opportunity to get to know a few staff members in the high school as well as getting information to help plan for a successful high school experience.

Please consider attending the appropriate meeting if you have a student who will be registered at Shepherd High School Next Year.

Homework Perspective

I came across an article that I think might be helpful, especially to teachers and parents. The article is an interview with Cathy Vatterott, Associate Professor of Education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. In this interview, Ms. Vatterott touches on some of her findings from research related to education in the area of homework. There are some interesting points that I hope will cause any reader to pause and consider. Homework is always a topic in school reform and school improvement. This research based article can help provide some perspective on this discussion. Please take a few minutes to read the article liked below.

Click here to access the article.