End of the Year!

Don't worry, I work all summer, but the fact of the matter is that I really miss having the kids and the staff around.  I will enjoy the nice Summer evenings and the weekends, but I can guarantee you that I will be all cranked up for school in September.

I would like to thank all of you for your continued support and trust. There is absolutely no way we could have done what we did this year without the efforts of all. While I am certainly hoping for more of a "normal" year next year, at least we know that we can get things done when the chips are against us.

I will probably not use Twitter too much this summer because without the kids and staff around there won't be much to Tweet about! I will probably blog a few times to keep you in the loop on projects that we are trying to complete this Summer, as well as any changes in the budget or academics that come from the state that I think you would benefit from hearing about.

I do want to thank Bonnie Russell, our Publications Director, for helping me with this blog, the Twitter account, and our Facebook page.  I have asked her to include some pictures from events this year that maybe didn't make it to the paper, Communicator, blog, Facebook, or Twitter.  Enjoy and have a great Summer.

Chris

New Week

In the 17 years that I have been involved in education this has probably been my most enjoyable year. We have done some really great things, all while a state budget spirals out of control. Our community has been incredibly supportive, our students have performed exceptionally well, and we have grown closer togetheras a staff.

Personally, I got to do some really cool things. I got to attend the White House Correspondent's Dinner in Washington, DC where I was in the same room as the President of the United States and hundreds of famous people. I also got a chance to meet Gerry McNamara, who to me exemplifies leadership in an athlete, and last week I got a chance to play "PIG" against Kris Joseph when he visited Stonehedge Elementary School. (I actually played well enough that he felt that he had to dunk on me to win!)

Our Lady Wildcats fought hard over the weekend and came up just shy of a trip to the state lacrosse championship. They battled through two overtimes and lost in what is called "sudden victory", which is the new politically correct term for "sudden death". The loss didn't bother me and shouldn't bother you either. We are in a culture where sports is all about winning, and you aren't going to find a more competitive person than me. However, this particular group of young women demonstrated character, poise, and drive during this entire season. The senior leadership was unbelievable, and they will be ready for whatever challenges life gives to them. 

Graduation was a very special event as well. I personally enjoyed myself more this year than last year because I had a relationship with many more students than last year so it was nice to know the students who I was shaking hands with. Congratulations to our graduates!

Exams, field days, exams, and more exams! Have a great week.

Last Day of Classes

I have to tip my hat to the staff and students at the high school for what was the smoothest last day of classes that I have had in 10 years. I appreciate the respect that the students have shown this year, and I am looking forward to graduation this weekend where I get to shake their hands, look them in the eyes ,and congratulate them on jobs well done.

The Girls Lacrosse Team is in Cortland this morning to compete for a chance to play in the New York State Lacrosse Championship game tomorrow. Best of luck to our Lady Wildcats! I will have Twitter updates tomorrow morning if they are fortunate enough to play in the championship game.

Graduation rehearsal is later this morning and I am pleased to report that it appears that we will have a higher percentage of students graduating than we have had in the past. Thanks to our at-risk program and counseling, we also have some students graduating this year who "dropped out" as far back as two years ago who decided to give it a go and get their high school diploma. Congratulations!

Next week I will update you about recent news from the State. Aside from the State budget fiasco, the State Education Department, under the watchful eyes of a skeleton staff, is poised to make some major changes to testing and scoring. I want to do some additional research before I give my "official" opinion, but the way it looks we could see some of the biggest changes since the "Regents Action Plan" of the early 1990's.

That is too deep a topic for now though.  Today is for getting around to buildings, attending graduation rehearsal, and playing SU Basketball star Kris Joseph in a game of PIG later in the day. I hope I can still hit a jumper in my suit!

Have a great weekend.

Chris

The Bizarre and Unexpected

This is the time of the year when our kids might do some squirrely things. Final exams, oncoming summer jobs, the possibility of summer school for some, graduation, and just plain work load can stress kids out.  Don't be surprised if your child chooses the next few weeks to show you a different side. Managing this can be equally difficult for parents and staff alike. The best advice I can give is to take a deep breath, assess the behavior, deliver a firm, fair, and consistent consequence, and move on. My experiences tell me that making more of these types of goofy situations, make future goofy situations worse. You can also encourage your child to get sleep, eat well, and try to exercise, even if it means walking the dog around the block. In 17 years of being in this business, I can honestly say that I have always seen some new situation arise during this time of the year!

This weekend will be incredibly busy. The music awards will be held on Friday night, boys and girls lacrosse as well as boys golf all square off this weekend, and I wish them the best of luck. 

Have a great weekend and talk to you next week.

Busy Week!

First let me say a few words about Kaleidoscope: excellent, awesome, fantastic!

I will now say a few words about Memorial Weekend: thank you to our veterans and active personnel for allowing us to have the weekend that we had.

This week is mega-busy. We have concerts, awards assemblies, retirement gatherings and Sectional play.  The just released Sectional schedule is below (everything else is on our main calendar):

• Tuesday @Cortland State - Girls Lacrosse vs FM 4:00 p.m. (Finals)
• Tuesday @ CNS - Boys Lacrosse vs Liverpool 5:00 p.m.  (Semifinals)
• Wednesday @ Hopkins Road Field - Girls Softball vs Liverpool 5:00 p.m. (Semifinals)
• Thursday @CNS - Boys/Girls Track State Qualifier 4:00 p.m.
• June 5-7 @ Cornell  - Boys Golf States (Luke Smith and Connor Salanger)
• Saturday @ West Genesee Turf Field - Girls Lacrosse Regionals 3:00/5:00/7:00 p.m. (if we win on Tuesday we will play at home on Saturday)

I will update what I can, when I can, on Twitter.  Unfortunately, I have conflicts each day but that is what this time of the year is like.

I will update again on Friday. Fasten your seat belts!

Chris