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!

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!

Way too long

The title of this entry says it all. It's been way too long since my last post. I could give any number of reasons for why this page hasn't been updated in several weeks, but they would all be pretty lame excuses. What it comes down to is the fact that I've put my priorities elsewhere during that time, and for that I apologize.

It's been an incredible few weeks at Henley and I hope that I can give a brief summary here of all of the events that have taken place. Let's start with some of the highlights that have meant the most to me:

• Make a Difference Day--This year's focus was a shoe and belt collection for a Haitian orphanage. Our students came through with around 200 pairs of shoes for these kids who have virtually nothing. Sometimes it's easy for us to forget just how difficult life can be for those who are less fortunate than many of us are in this area. It's great to see that so many of our families took the time to give.
• The annual Henley magazine drive--The drive ended about a week ago and was a great success once again. Our kids worked hard and raised a great deal of money for our PATSO that will be used to benefit all of the students and teachers at HMS in myriad ways.
• Cyber-Safety Forum--This was held at WAHS a few nights ago and really provided some important information to our parents and students. The figures they shared with us about the number of Americans using social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook were staggering. I think that many kids who use these sites don't realize that what happens on the web stays on the web. Literally. Forever. Colleges and employers search these sites to find out what they can about potential students and employees. Posting pictures or information that are inappropriate can have some real long-term repercussions. And of course, while these sites can be very beneficial to our kids, they can also be used as contact points for predators. Please make sure that you are monitoring what your children are doing on these sties.
• The first edition of the "J.T. Journal," our student newspaper has been published. I'm always incredibly impressed with the products that our journalism and yearbook students create.
• And of course, we have marked the end of our first marking period at Henley. Report cards will be coming out at the end of this week. One quarter of the school year is behind us, and as of this Thursday, Thanksgiving is three weeks away. The madness of the winter holiday season will be upon us before we know it.
• Finally, I've made the move into my new house and my transition to Albemarle County is finally complete. It's been a long few months since we first moved into some temporary housing in July, and, although we've still got a few boxes to unpack, it is truly wonderful to have a place to call home. Especially a place like Albemarle County.

Until next time, and I hope that next time will be very soon--Go Hornets!