Those Taillights Look Even Better

My oldest sister, Janice, had six kids of her own but as she grew older, there were even more grandkids to follow. And after an unusually hectic weekend with a houseful of kids, she often made this remark, "Those headlights looked good, but those taillights look even better". I felt the same way this week.

Just over a week ago there was a lot of excitement surrounding the arrival of the film crew and cast for LOL. Nearly everyone was excited to see the prop people make changes to the building, and to see all the trucks converge on the site late in the evening. Of course, the excitement only increased when onlookers actually idenified the trailer that Miley Cyrus would use while on site.

All in all, it was an enlightening experience. I never realized it would take 100-125 crew people daily to make what is considered a low-budget film (about $14-15 million). I also learned what the "grip" people actually do, and how different and clearly separate their tasks are from lighting, sound, location, and videography staff.

It was also gratifying to see current or former South students in the role of "extras", but I observed how boring and tedious the job of an extra can really be. They had to dress warm (fall clothes despite hot, humid weather) and walk the same route over and over again until the 'take' was just right. Believe me, it didn't look very glamorous.

However, after more than a week of having virtually the entire school operation disrupted for the movie crew, it was nice for it to come to an end. Today, there is some normalcy coming back in the building and we can prepare in earnest for student registration next week.

In summary, I found the movie crew to be easy to work with and very forthcoming with information, however, by the time they left on Wednesday evening, "the tailights looked even better".

In The Midst of Dust And Debris...

...there is a lot going on. If you ventured into our building right now, you would have to wonder if we could be ready for students in just a few weeks. The first floor hallway of the main building looks like a war zone because of demolition required for the ceiling and light project. There is plywood on the floor, plastic covering lockers and doorways, and dust and debris throughout. That's the bad news.

The good news is that most of the first floor is finished, and I'm sure you will be pleased with the final product. The ceiling has new white tile and the new lights are a major improvement, both with the level of brightness and the aesthetic appearance.

If you pulled up outside, it is readily apparent the S-lot and courtyard are still in need of major work. Contractors are here today working in the courtyard, attempting to have it ready for the movie shoot next week. Paving in the S-lot will also begin next week as we try to meet the deadline of registration week (August 23-27) to have it accommodate student parking.

I had a meeting with a teacher this morning who couldn't believe we'll "make it" in time for the start of school. However, that's how it has often looked during my tenure at South. We typically have experienced some sort of major construction project, but still manage to be ready for students and staff. And it looks like this year will be no different.

The summary is that much is going on and significant progress is being made. We are truly fortunate to live and work in a district that can support facility improvements, as it definitely has a positive impact on the learning environment.

We'll see a major difference in just a few weeks.

Busy, But Gratifying

Much has happened since my last blog. Specifically, the past two weeks has been a whirlwind of activity comprised primarily of teacher interviews. Over the past nine days, I participated in 63 formal interviews and countless reference checks. The good news is that we have identified a very strong list of teachers that we intend to hire.

Going into the summer, I knew we had many big shoes to fill because of the 17 South teachers that opted for retirement. My greatest fear was that we might not find the high quality candidates I was seeking. Those fears have been put to rest.

In some ways, we have been the beneficiaries of a troubled economy. Whereas many school districts have been forced to make deep cuts and reduce staff, we have vacancies available where those young, but experienced teachers can land.

This influx of new staff makes me excited for the school year to start. I'm anxious to see them intermingle with our returning teachers and to watch the synergy that will no doubt evolve as the tradition of excellence merges with new and fresh ideas.

I feel very confident our new staff will enrich the atmosphere at South. They bring great energy, enthusiasm, and a strong set of teaching strategies that will engage students with the curriculum. We truly have been blessed!

Just As Expected

Here we are headed into the Fourth of July weekend, and things look just about as expected. The S-lot has already undergone a major renovation. The old surface has been removed, the fencing taken down, and the entrance widened. The construction crew is heavily invested in the process of laying down the base, first sand and now stone. We anticipate they will start to pour the cement curbs in about another week.

The courtyard between the main building and S-building has also been dismantled. By that I mean that the old cement has been removed and the contractors are preparing the surface for new walkways. There is no timeline yet for installation of the new cement or replacement of some of the damaged landscaping, but we should be finished before the school year begins.

In the main building, the first floor hallway is primarily a construction zone. More than half of the ceiling tiles and old lights have been removed, plywood covers the floor, and plastic covers the lockers and entrance ways. As I write this, the electricians are updating the electrical boxes and installing new conduit as needed. We anticipate that around the first of August we will begin to see new ceiling tiles and lights.

The multi-purpose room is also busy right now, getting a pipe grid installed to hang curtains. This addition will increase the flexibility for that space, allowing the dance mirrors to be covered when necessary, and areas to be sectioned off. The curtains were part of the original design, but we had trouble getting specifications for the correct piping.

And beginning the week of July 12, we will be conducting interviews to fill the various vacancies in our building. We anticipate about 6-7 full days of interviews as we begin to pare down our list of candidates.

The vacancies were just formally announced on the website yesterday, and already I've received numerous qualified applicants. Hiring strong teachers is one of the most important aspects of our job, and we take it very seriously.

Wish us luck, and enjoy the Holiday weekend.

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.

A Good Time Had By All

This past Saturday evening, we held our annual Junior Prom at Assumption Hall. The weather was great, desserts were scrumptious, and the kids danced all night long. All that was missing was a real strong turnout from the junior class.

We typically have about 380 students in each class. If only half of the class attended, we would have done better than the 150 that attended the prom this year. And I specifically noticed that we had quite a few seniors in attendance, along with the typical number of freshmen and sophomores.

I'm not sure why this is happening, but for most dances, attendance has been lacking for a few years now. The exceptions are the Homecoming dance and the Senior Prom. At Homecoming, we typically exceed 1200 students while the Senior Prom will have about 400 in attendance. Of course, Homecoming is larger because it is an "all school" dance and it's held in the fall, not too long after school resumes, and it's less expensive.

Another interesting trend at this year's Junior Prom was that there seemed to be a preponderance of girls. One of the parent chaperones even suggested to me that girls may have outnumbered guys by about 3:1.

If it matters, declining attendance at dances is not just a Grosse Pointe issue. Many administrators around the state have been telling similar stories of reduced attendance at school dances.

It's probably time to look at doing something different as we go forward. Many schools have a combined Junior/Senior Prom, and a similar number only host a Senior Prom. In either case, we have to look at a potential change next spring.

One thing I know for sure is that the problem was not with the organization of the event. The venue was great, the music was appropriate, and the food was very good. The only downside is that many of the dessert offerings remained untouched, even as the evening was ending.

I believe those that attended had a good time. I think a strong barometer of the effectiveness of the music is the number of students that actually danced. And in most cases, 90% of those in attendance were dancing at any given time.

So we will take a look at potential changes in the near future. In two short weeks, we will host the Senior Prom. If we follow past practice, the turnout for that event will be much bigger. It is the culminating event for the high school experience, and if money in a tight economy is to be spent for anything, the preference usually goes to senior prom over the junior prom.

In any event, I am hopeful it is incident free like the prom this past weekend.