In the Books...

A Great Night to be a Wildcat: Another successful Junior Prom is in the books! My wife and I had a blast watching the students exit limos and fancy cars and head into the event. We have attended twenty-four junior proms together, and we agreed that over the years the only real changes for the boys have been shoes, ties, and vests and color and length of dresses for the girls. At the end of the day, they have been and still are, excited young adults on prom night. You should be proud as community members and parents at all of the compliments I received from limo services, restaurant managers and owners, about how polite and friendly our students were.

At the prom itself, prom goers had a great time taking pictures with their phones in front of back drops that were created by students and staff. The photo booth was also a hit! Around 10:45 p.m., and just after the prom king and queen were announced, graduate and successful singer Nick Sgroi (Sig Roy) surprised the kids with a two-song set. They loved it. After, he was gracious with his time and stayed for pictures and handed out free shirts.

Not sure how many other junior proms have had a top music act perform at their prom! By midnight, the crowd had thinned out and my phone stayed very quiet overnight; which was a good thing. All in all, another great day (and night) to be a Wildcat!

Showing Appreciation: Earlier in the week we celebrated Staff Appreciation Day. While there are individual days throughout the year to celebrate individual job titles, we feel that everyone in our organization has equal value so we should all be celebrated at the same time. Our Board of Education members take time out of their schedules (many take personal time and vacation days) to visit with all of our employees (even second shift) and thank them for their service. I think they enjoy doing this as much as our employees enjoy hearing from them!

We were all surprised by a Staff Appreciation Day video put together by senior Eden Strachan where several students from all grade levels were interviewed and asked questions about their time at West Genesee. I rarely show emotion, so I just tell people that I was chopping onions while watching it. When I thanked Eden for creating the video she said that she, "was really happy to do it because West Genesee is truly a great district". In my line of work, there is no greater compliment than one that comes from a student!

Time Goes Quickly: Advanced Placement exams began today and NYS Grades 3-8 Mathematics Assessments start tomorrow; which means that May is upon us. Next thing you know I will be writing about graduation. Thanks and enjoy the week!

Chris