Going off the radar screen for a while...

Today is my final day with Henrico County Public Schools. I'm packing up my office, and packing up my house and family for the big move to Albemarle County. Certainly I'm excited to be moving to Albemarle and to get started at Henley, but it's hard to let go of a place that played a major role in my development as both a teacher, a school leader, and as a person. There are many, many people who helped to shape and influence my ideas about education and doing the right things for kids, and I will deeply miss them and their guidance.

Let's think for a minute about the experiences and emotions that we feel when we are going into something new. We ask questions like, "Will I fit in?" "Will I be able to meet the expectations I have set for myself?" "Will I be able to build relationships in my new surroundings the way I built them in my previous environment?" "How long will it be until my comfort zone returns?" There are so many unknowns that we face as we try something new, but the rewards that we reap from taking that risk and by getting out of our comfort zone can be tremendous.

I guess there are really two thoughts that can sum up how I'm feeling today. The first is directed to the eighth graders who have just left us and to the sixth graders who will be arriving in August: "I feel your pain." But really, it's not pain, it's excitement, I hope. We're going to experience a great journey together next year, and I'm determined to quell my trepidation, to try something new and, most importantly, I think, to have fun. The second thought is probably the much more important one for many of us at this time of the year, and it brings me back to the reason for the title of this post: "I need a vacation."

And I'm going to take one. My family and I will be heading to what I believe is one of the most relaxing places in the world, Brewster, Massachusetts on the shores of Cape Cod Bay. It will be a week of Cape Cod League Baseball, trips to Emack and Bolio's for the world's greatest ice cream, lazy days on the beach, and maybe even a couple of lobsters or a bowl of chowdah. We're all going to relax, rejuvenate and have some of that much needed family time that we all know is so important, but seems harder and harder to come by each year.

I hope that all of you are following my example and taking some time to connect with your families in some way this summer. So, until July 4 I will truly be off the radar screen, and then on July 5 it's full speed ahead.

I'll talk to you again in a couple of weeks, and, as always, Go Hornets!