Ahhhhh, Summertime!

So, Memorial Day Weekend 2007 is upon us and it looks to be a beautiful one. The pools are open, the grills are uncovered and I'm sure a few of us will soon be experiencing our first sunburns of the season.

I always love to go by our neighborhood pool on the first day it opens to see the excitement in the faces of the kids who have made it through another long winter and are ready to enjoy summer's bounty. There's no doubt that this is one of the most magical times of year to be a child. It's also one of the most exciting times of year to be a teacher. This is when we are able to look back and celebrate the many successes that we have enjoyed with our students. As we all know, these achievements come in many forms--a high score on an SOL test, a championship season on the playing field, a rewarding community service project, or a shy student whose teacher created an environment that allowed him to come out of his shell, become a part of the class and excel both academically and socially. I'm sure that all of our teachers at Henley are celebrating many outstanding accomplishments.

This weekend as we all reflect on the year, plan for some much needed downtime, and begin to chart our course for next year, let's also remember why we have this three-day weekend that kicks off the summer and take a moment to be thankful to all of those who have sacrificed to make this country what it is today. I am sure there will be many wonderful teachable moments for our children this weekend that can help them to understand what Memorial Day is all about.

With that said, let's fire up the barbecues, lather on the suntan lotion and get this summer started right! Enjoy the break this weekend, we all have worked hard to deserve it. And of course, remember that Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer--we've still got a couple of weeks of school to go:)