Year-End Odds And Ends

It's about 2:00 on Graduation Day, June 17. As I look onto the front lawn at the stage and chairs, I am put at ease by what is most apparent...big blue skies and a great temperature. It looks like we are most blessed with a terrific day and evening for our Commencement ceremonies.

Even though classes were dismissed for the summer earlier today, there is still a beehive of activity in preparation for this evening. Chairs are still being arranged, sound systems are checked, and flowers are staged. There is a lot of positive energy. It's an exciting time for more than just the graduates, as the families and our staff put a lot of emphasis on this day.

On another note, we have 17 teachers that will be taking advantage of the retirement proposal that recently passed through the state legislature. When that change was combined with the "early retirement incentive" from the district, it became an offer too good to pass up.

This is unfortunate for those that remain because by my conservative estimates, we will have more than 400 years of successful teaching experience walk out our doors for the last time tomorrow. So we have big shoes to fill. There will be many interviews conducted over the summer with the intent of finding replacements that can quickly get up to speed with our curriculum and course expectations.

Wish us luck with both the events of this evening and in finding replacements for such a terrific group of veteran teachers.

And many thanks to everyone for another successful year at South!

A Quiet Summer?

Every once in a while you can count on a quiet summer as a high school principal. Unfortunately, due to what seems like endless construction at South, that has rarely been the case here. This summer will be no different.

First of all, we will lose use of the S-lot for the entire summer because of a resurfacing project that is long overdue. That project will begin as soon as school is out and will likely last until just before school starts in the fall. Part of that project includes new fencing to match what is used along Fisher Road near the stadium. It will be a wrought-iron fence with brick pillars, to complement the rest of the fencing around the school. I think everyone will find that much better than the rickety chain-link fence that has been there for so long.

The courtyard between the main and S-building will also be renovated this summer. The cement is badly damaged due to all of the construction projects and must be replaced to avoid trip hazards. The Preservation Committee has also has plans to improve the look of that space with brick pavers and lights along the walkway.

One of the most noticeable projects, however, will be replacement of the ceiling and lights in the hallway of the main building. This is a project that has been years in the making and the first floor will be completed this summer; the second floor in the summer of 2011.

And as some of you may have heard, we are in the running as a film-making site for two different movies. Each movie has a high school theme to the story, and the production supervisors and set directors really like what South has to offer. If we are selected, both films are set to shoot sometime in August.

Finally, it appears I may be conducting many interviews this summer as the recent retirement package passed by the legislature has induced some of our more veteran teachers to retire. I expect that we will have at least 10-15 staff members retire by the end of June.

While their experience and wisdom will surely be missed, I don't begrudge them from moving on while they have their health intact. This also provides an opportunity for young people across the state to become gainfully employed in school systems statewide. After all, that was one of the major goals of the retirement package.

So needless to say, it will be busy around South. Just in a way a little different than previous summers. Let's hope all goes according to plan.