Happy new year to all of the Henley Hornets! I’m hoping that everyone in the Henley family enjoyed their Winter Break as much as I did with some opportunities to relax and spend time with family. I feel incredibly refreshed and ready to meet the challenges of the second half of the year!
So many wonderful events took place before we left for the holidays that reaffirmed all of my positive thoughts about our school. Not the least among them was our winter concert. The talent that is present in all of our performing groups is truly tremendous! Thanks to all of you who helped to fill the auditorium at Western Albemarle. I know that it meant a great deal to our students to be able to play to such a packed house.
Thanks, also, to all of you who took the time to remember teachers and staff members at Henley with holiday wishes. A few words of thanks go a long way at this time of year, and the appreciation that many of you expressed for our teacher’s hard work is always well received.
The new year brings with it a time for all of us to set goals and resolutions for how we are going to improve in 2008. I hope that all of our students at Henley are able to take some time to reflect on their year so far and to set some goals for the future. Many students may choose to focus on an academic goal, others may want to expand their circle of friends by sitting with some new people at lunch, some might resolve to become more involved in some of the school or county’s extra curricular activities. Having a goal for the year will help to provide a focus and motivation that will help them stay on track for the rest of the year.
We will be entering an incredibly busy time at Henley over the next few weeks. The semester will be ending next Friday and report cards will follow about a week after that. Many students will be taking mid-year assessments in their core classes to help us gauge our progress toward our goal of making our AYP benchmarks. Our scheduling process for the 2008-2009 school year is beginning and school counselors will be visiting classes to speak with students about course selection for next year. I will be visiting our feeder elementary schools at the end of the month to talk with them about coming to Henley next year. Anyone who would like to provide input on next year’s schedule is invited to attend our PATSO meeting on Monday, January 7 at 7:00 in the Henley library.
We are hitting the ground running in 2008! I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to see the success that our new year will bring! Happy new year and Go Hornets!
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving!
There’s always a higher level of excitement in a school as we approach one of our three major holidays of the year. Henley is certainly abuzz with that excitement today. Our students and teachers have worked hard to get through the first three months of the school year and we should be proud of the work that we have done.
I know that many of you in the community will have family come to town or will hit the road this week to visit loved ones. I wish you all safe travels and hope that you can truly enjoy the time that you spend with your family. I know that this is a time of year when students and teachers alike need a break and need some time to just relax. To help facilitate that, I’ve asked our teachers to not assign homework during our three major breaks (Thanksgiving, Winter, Spring). Two exceptions to this policy would be long term assignments that, with proper planning and a lack of procrastination, students could have completed without working over break, and make-up work that students need to complete due to absences.
This time of year tends to bring out the best in everyone in terms of taking care of those who are less fortunate than others. The commitment Henley teachers and students make to our community this time of year is outstanding. A fine example of this is the annual canned food drive that concluded last Friday. Through our students’ hard work and generosity, we were able to collect 4,445 canned goods to help feed those in need. What really makes the canned food drive at Henley special, I believe, is that the food we collect directly benefits many of the less fortunate members of the Henley community. On Monday and Tuesday of this week, local families in need were invited to come to Henley and take some of those 4,445 cans off of our hands and into their pantries. Too often when we make charitable donations we don’t see the benefits of our philanthropy. In this case, the benefits are clear, and I’ve enjoyed being able to see the joy on the faces of those we are helping out. The remainder of our cans will be delivered to a local food bank to help others in need of assistance.
I hope that everyone has a happy, healthy and safe holiday this week. I know that I’m looking forward to some time off to spend with my family and to a wonderful meal. Enjoy it, everybody.
Go Hornets!
I know that many of you in the community will have family come to town or will hit the road this week to visit loved ones. I wish you all safe travels and hope that you can truly enjoy the time that you spend with your family. I know that this is a time of year when students and teachers alike need a break and need some time to just relax. To help facilitate that, I’ve asked our teachers to not assign homework during our three major breaks (Thanksgiving, Winter, Spring). Two exceptions to this policy would be long term assignments that, with proper planning and a lack of procrastination, students could have completed without working over break, and make-up work that students need to complete due to absences.
This time of year tends to bring out the best in everyone in terms of taking care of those who are less fortunate than others. The commitment Henley teachers and students make to our community this time of year is outstanding. A fine example of this is the annual canned food drive that concluded last Friday. Through our students’ hard work and generosity, we were able to collect 4,445 canned goods to help feed those in need. What really makes the canned food drive at Henley special, I believe, is that the food we collect directly benefits many of the less fortunate members of the Henley community. On Monday and Tuesday of this week, local families in need were invited to come to Henley and take some of those 4,445 cans off of our hands and into their pantries. Too often when we make charitable donations we don’t see the benefits of our philanthropy. In this case, the benefits are clear, and I’ve enjoyed being able to see the joy on the faces of those we are helping out. The remainder of our cans will be delivered to a local food bank to help others in need of assistance.
I hope that everyone has a happy, healthy and safe holiday this week. I know that I’m looking forward to some time off to spend with my family and to a wonderful meal. Enjoy it, everybody.
Go Hornets!
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Honor roll
As many of you know, our first marking period came to a close a little over a week ago. Last Friday report cards were sent out, and I can tell you that there must be many parents and students who are very happy with what they received. I was looking at my honor roll list this morning and saw that 58% of our kids had nothing but A's and B's on their report cards. What a great way to begin the year!
Really, though, this doesn't surprise me. I learned very early in my time at Henley that we have an incredibly talented group of students. Many of our highest achievers not only excel academically, but are also involved in multiple activities outside of school including sports, scouting, and music, amoung others. These children should all be commended for the work they have done so far this year.
I would be remiss here if I didn't also give a great deal of the credit for our students' success to the incredibly talented classroom teachers that we have at Henley. The time I value most at school is the time that I spend in the classrooms seeing our teachers at work. They are truly following the new "three r's" by developing positive relationships with the children in their classes through rigorous and relevant instruction. Their job is a difficult one that sometimes goes unnoticed and unappreciated and I encourage all of you to take some time to let our teachers know just how well they are doing and how much you appreciate them. Words can't express how good it feels to open an e-mail message first thing in the morning that has a positive message from a parent.
Way to go, Hornets! Every time I introduce myself as the principal of Henley Middle School each and every one of you make me incredibly proud to hold that position. I look forward to your continued success this year and cannot wait to see what the future brings.
Until next time...Go Hornets!
Really, though, this doesn't surprise me. I learned very early in my time at Henley that we have an incredibly talented group of students. Many of our highest achievers not only excel academically, but are also involved in multiple activities outside of school including sports, scouting, and music, amoung others. These children should all be commended for the work they have done so far this year.
I would be remiss here if I didn't also give a great deal of the credit for our students' success to the incredibly talented classroom teachers that we have at Henley. The time I value most at school is the time that I spend in the classrooms seeing our teachers at work. They are truly following the new "three r's" by developing positive relationships with the children in their classes through rigorous and relevant instruction. Their job is a difficult one that sometimes goes unnoticed and unappreciated and I encourage all of you to take some time to let our teachers know just how well they are doing and how much you appreciate them. Words can't express how good it feels to open an e-mail message first thing in the morning that has a positive message from a parent.
Way to go, Hornets! Every time I introduce myself as the principal of Henley Middle School each and every one of you make me incredibly proud to hold that position. I look forward to your continued success this year and cannot wait to see what the future brings.
Until next time...Go Hornets!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
