The Musical at the High School is a Success: Congratulations to the cast, crew and everyone involved with the high school musical,
Once Upon a Mattress. The sets, coordination, direction, and acting were exceptional. The musical had many funny parts, and it was great to see student actors and actresses able to deliver a punchline. Kudos!
A Busy Week: We were busy last week. Wrestlers, divers, cheerleaders, basketball players, and Stonehedge's Winter Wonderland kept the buildings hopping after hours and over the weekend.
During the day there was a great "Vocabulary Parade" at East Hill Elementary School, and we held our tremendously important District Strategic Planning as well.
Planning Strategically for the Future: The Strategic Planning team consists of students, parents, teachers, assistants, administrators, and Board of Education members. Collectively, and with feedback from the community and expert panelists, they develop the strategic vision for next school year. Once all of the information has been updated, the new plan will be linked to our website and made available to everyone.
Most of the plan from last year (you can find the current plan by clicking
here) will remain intact. The group did decide this year to make a conscious effort to revamp how our guidance counseling services are delivered to children. With our changing demographic, increases in abuse and mental illness in our community, and increased diversity, it is time to make a significant change to separate our true guidance counselors from our socio-emotional counseling so that everyone is served in an equitable manner. We will be working this spring to update our K-12 counseling plan to reflect the wishes of the Strategic Planning Committee.
I would like to thank all of the participants, specifically the students and a panel of 2007-2015 graduates who helped us to understand what we have done well, and where we could improve from the perspective of a graduate.
Substance Abuse Coalition Next Steps: This week the Community Coalition on Substance Abuse will be meeting to review the survey data from our recent forum and establish a clear direction as to what next steps will be.
We have heard from many surrounding schools who want to use our forum format in their respective communities. We have been more than willing to share material with the understanding that raising awareness to an issue does not fix the issue. We will be targeting how we can reduce the amount of substance abuse and crime in our community. We will also use our collective strength to pressure lead decision makers on the treatment end. We WILL make a difference.
Thank you and have a great week!
Chris
