Welcome Back!

On Tuesday, September 3, we welcomed over 5,500 students back to school throughout Isle of Wight County.  It was great to see so many smiling faces on both the students and staff as I visited schools. 

Smithfield High and Windsor High hosted an "UnFirst Day".  Students actually attended both their first and second semester for about 15 minutes.  The teachers had team-building activities planned as the the students learned more about their teacher and each other as they immediately began work on building relationships.  The day ended with a Pep Rally to kick off the new school year!

 

Several schools had groups of community members joining in on the welcome back festivities.  Westside Elementary had members from First Gravel Hill Baptist Church who joined with teachers to greet students with smiles and applause as they headed to class.

Hardy Elementary also had numerous groups on hand to welcome students back to school, including several retired teachers from Hardy, Little Zion Church Men's ministry, Smithfield Christian Church and the Hardy PTA.  The PTA hosted a "Boo-Hoo" breakfast for parents and volunteers.

Members from the Sheriff's Office also joined in on the celebrations at many of our schools. At Georgie Tyler Middle, Dairy Queen and Community Electric participated in the festivities.

We did have an issue with water at Windsor Elementary which left the school without water in the bathrooms.  We elected to move the students to GTMS so they would have access to toileting facilities. Teachers did a fabulous job of welcoming the children back to school and keeping them focused throughout the end of the day.  

Then, of course, we had an unexpected day off today due to Hurricane Dorian.

In spite of those two issues, it has been an incredible first week of school.  

I hope you will continue to follow my blog.  Each Friday, I'll share insights about issues and events related to the school division.  

A big Thank You to our teachers, administrators, and families for your assistance with a smooth start to the school year.  And as Dorian heads out to sea, enjoy your weekend and enjoy a few pictures below from the first week.

Windsor High

Smithfield High

Smithfield Middle

Georgie Tyler Middle

Westside Elementary

Windsor Elementary

Hardy Elementary

Carrollton Elementary

Carrsville Elementary

A Sweet Performance at Convocation: Willy, Charlie and the Oompah Loompahs

During our division-wide Convocation in August, Central Office entertained the group with a performance of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  In our version, teaching candidates for IWCS were put through several tests at the factory in order to see who was worthy of working for our school system.  Augustus Grump, the Boringard sisters, Veruca Brickbrain and Mike PBL, as well as Charlie and Willy, took us on an adventure, complete with a chocolate river, human blueberries, shrink rays and trap doors.  We even had our very own Oompah Loompah chorus!  Every member of Central Office participated in the production, whether in front of or behind the curtain.  It's our way of sharing an important message in a light-hearted way, while modeling the importance of taking risks.  I am so proud of the work of each person involved in the skit and I'm excited to be able to share the video of the performance with you.  We had a few microphone issues that were resolved about mid-way through, so you may want to select the closed captioning feature in order to catch all the dialogue.  Enjoy!

Going to Great Heights to Welcome our New Teachers

Our new teachers join us a few days before returning staff arrive, and each year I say a few words to the group.  But this year, I decided to shake things up a bit.  When I shared the vision and mission of Isle of Wight County Schools, I wanted them to understand that we mean what we say.  We go to great lengths--and heights--to prepare our students to be college, career and life ready.

So...I delivered my message standing on top of the tables, and had drummers banging their drums for emphasis throughout my remarks

I am happy to report that all of the new teachers are still with us-- none went running out of the room.  I think it's safe to say they have not had a welcome like that before.

As we prepare for a new school year, it's a good time to revisit our vision--to create a learning environment that will enable every child to discover his or her unique gifts and talents.

The video below contains excerpts from the New Teacher meeting.  Yes, you will see me on a table.  Yes, you will hear the drummers.  And I also had a very kind elementary teacher help me with my shoelace.

Enjoy!