Appreciate What You Have

Appreciating our Mothers: It can be easy to just type "Happy Mother's Day" as a Facebook status, as a quick Tweet, or a post on Instagram. With a little extra elbow grease most can even paste a picture of their mom to go along with that Tweet. One thing I have learned over time, and was especially reminded of last week, was how fortunate a person actually is to still have their mom around to celebrate Mother's Day.

Forty-eight hours before Mother’s Day, I was handing a high school diploma to a senior in front of her mom who was expected to pass away at any moment. She unfortunately did not make it to Mother's Day. To read an article about this on syracuse.com, just click here.

What was amazing was that even in dire sickness, this mother still kept everything together for her family. That is what moms do, and that is why they are such amazing people.

If you are fortunate to still have your mother with you and TRULY didn't get a chance to thank your mom yesterday, you have some homework to do today.

If your mom has passed on, I hope that you, your family, and your friends took a moment out to remember all of the things that made her the most important part of your lives. If you didn't, you have homework as well! When I write about Mother's Day next year, I will be checking your work!

Ceramics Team Wins: Last week our high school Ceramics Team made school history by winning the "Feats of Clay" event at Onondaga Community College. They have worked hard and are extremely creative and it all paid off. Congratulations to all of the participants and to our Ceramics teacher Mrs. Schrader!

Teamwork: Also congratulations to our ninth grade team who worked together to offer a "Renaissance Festival" to third graders from Stonehedge Elementary School. This is the second year of the full festival and the event has helped to promote teamwork, responsibility, and true authentic learning!

Honors Breakfasts: Congratulations to the hundreds of students in ninth through eleventh grade who were recognized for being on the high honor roll for nearly every semester of their high school careers. It was great to enjoy the moment with their parents, and I am looking forward to celebrating academic success with the seniors later this month.

Wrapping up the Mini-Forums: Last week we also hosted the last two mini-forums about substance abuse for the school year. The first was about Treatment and the second provided NARCAN training.

They were both very informative and close to 200 people received the NARCAN (antidote to a heroin overdose) training convincing me that our community coalition is really doing some positive and much needed work right now. I am proud to be a part of something so important. To view news coverage on this event by News Channel 9, click here.

Simulated Car Crash: Believe it or not, this coming Friday is the Senior Ball! On Friday morning we will be holding a simulated DWI crash in the circle at the high school. We have community partners from area emergency agencies as well as the district attorney's office, Buranich Funeral Home, Meyers Towing, clergy, the county medical examiner, and for the first time since 2009 and weather permitting, a helicopter.

The event takes place from 7:20 a.m. to 8:20 a.m. so please do NOT be alarmed if you are driving on West Genesee Street during that time and see an "accident" unfolding. We want to thank all of these agencies and the community for volunteering their time because it does make a difference!

Thank you for the continued support and enjoy the week!

Chris