The BC Ed Plan...Where are we?

Last Friday's announcement from the BC Ministry of Education (the BCEd Plan and document) has people all around the province talking.  What does this mean?  How is this different from what is going on now?  How is implementation of this change going to happen with teachers in job action?

An important question for those of us in schools is, "What are we already doing that fits within what the government is proposing, and where do we go from here?" (Acknowledgements to Gino Bondi, who has posted a similar thread for John Oliver Secondary School in Vancouver, on his blog, Learning the Now).  While many are frustrated by the lack of clarity and the timing of such an announcement (complicated by the labour unrest in education), I believe there is some good in the proposal from the Ministry, because we are already engaged in several of the practices required.  I have written previously of some of the potential roadblocks to any sweeping change (in blog post Personalized, 21st Century Learning).  But now that there are some specifics to the plan, we all need to look at where we are in order to frame the discussion of where we need to go.

In reviewing the document, the Ministry has pinpointed 5 pillars in their plan:

• Personalized Learning for every student
• Quality Teaching and Learning
• Flexibility and Choice
• High Standards
• Learning Empowered by Technology

When I look at our school (J.N. Burnett Secondary in Richmond, B.C.), I see Graduation rates over 96%.  I see highly professional educators constantly reflecting upon and refining their practice, updating assessment strategies to incorporate Assessment for Learning, and working hard to support the diverse needs within our school, specifically the English as a Second Language learners.  I see truancy and misbehaviour rates at remarkably low levels, and a social responsibility/awareness among the students and staff that is exceedingly impressive.  I see technology all around the school, with wireless Internet accessibility, and teachers and students using mobile devices and other technology tools in classrooms.  I see standards of learning and achievement reflected in high provincial exam results and significant numbers of students making the academic honour roll and being recognized for maintaining high scores on report card Work Habits.  I see students able to choose a path for themselves, based on interests and areas of strength, with a wide range of elective courses, on-line learning opportunities, as well as work experience and outside-of-school credit avenues.

All these things tell me we need to stay the course with our professional development projects, expanding the pockets of cutting-edge assessment and instructional practices.  We need to continue promoting cultural and environmental awareness campaigns, and to celebrate the exceptional things our students are doing.  To move forward, areas requiring more attention include continuing to promote creative, critical thinking and supporting students in their pursuits of individual interest, providing greater flexibility and depth within coursework.  We also need to expand our abilities to utilize the available technologies, and incorporate more of them into our classrooms.  We need to continue to "personalize" learning, so that our students become more engaged and less concerned with credentialing.  And we must carefully consider the structures of our school in order to enable greater flexibility and choice.  In all, I am proud of where our school is, and encouraged by our willingness to grow and continue moving forward with 21st century learning.  The Plan put forth by the government does not intimidate, rather it excites because I see our school well on its way.

The B.C. Ministry of Education is looking for feedback from parents, students and educators.  If you have suggestions or thoughts, provide them here.  As stated in a previous blog entry, education in British Columbia is entering an uncertain and tumultuous time, but the discussions being initiated by documents like the B.C. Education Plan provide us an opportunity to reflect, give feedback, and hopefully make the system that much better for the student in its care.  Be sure to share your opinions.

Be Your Best!

Earlier this week, my wife and I had both of our children undergo a fairly routine medical procedure, but one that required our children being put under general anaesthetic.  The anticipation of it, and the subsequent surgery and recovery has been an ordeal for the entire family. 

Being at BC Children's Hospital most of the day yesterday was an interesting experience that made me think about my family as well as the work we educators are involved in.  I saw my children, my wife and myself wrought with worry, concerned with how the procedure would go, and how we could best help alleviate the stress and discomfort.  I saw the very same look of concern on every parent and child in the waiting room, post-operative room and recovery room.  All were understandably worried and relying on the staff at the hospital to treat their child as the most important thing in the world.  The staff at BC Children's Hospital were truly amazing.  They handled our entire family with tremendous care.  Despite our children's procedure being quite routine, we were greeted by friendly and calming nurses, anaesthetists and doctors, and they truly made us feel like the procedure our boys were about to undergo was the most important thing the staff was going to do that day.

We need to remember that as teachers, we are entrusted with the most important things in people's lives...their children.  They trust us to do the best job possible, just as we had to trust our nurses and surgeons.  Students often come to school with all kinds of preconceived notions and dispositions, just as they come to the hospital full of dread and worry.  We need to be able to see that discomfort, address it, and make students feel safe, important and well cared-for, just as the staff at BC Children's Hospital did for our family and all the others I observed yesterday. 

While the consequences for a mistake may seem more immediate and severe for medical practitioners, educators are charged with no less-critical a task.  We can take a chance and try something new if we feel it might lead to a better result, while surgeons usually do not have that luxury.  We have the opportunity to re-teach or try it again if students didn't understand what was being taught.  But how we go about our work requires that we remember how important the job is, and what the students and their parents are hoping to get.  We need to be our best!  Parents and their children are trusting us to make the experience of school a positive one, just as they do when going to the hospital.  My children, wife and I owe a huge debt of thanks to the staff at Children's Hospital for doing that for our family. 

Thank you.

Personalized, 21st Century Learning

Throughout Canada, and across many countries around the world, the movement for reform in education is significant. Many authors and experts are discussing terms like "21st Century Learning" and "Personalized Learning".  The group of Secondary Principals in the Richmond School District decided a few weeks ago to begin reading and discussing the terms as part of their professional development.  We started by looking over the Ministry of Education's Interactive Discussion Guide.  Since going through it, I have engaged in several conversations with colleagues, staff and students, and have done further reading on the topic (21st Century Learning on the Ministry site, and The Premier's Technology Council Vision for 21st Century Education as well as blog posts like "The 'New' Ministry Initiative"), and while excited by the rich conversations and thinking the topics have resulted in, I have more questions than answers about how "Personalized, 21st Century Learning" is going to evolve.

If I am honest with myself, while I am aware of the definitions, I am less clear on how I see these things ultimately manifesting themselves in our schools.  I have seen literature that discusses the Eight C's (Critical Thinking, Creativity, Collaboration, Cross-cultural Understanding, Communication, Computing, Career plus Caring for Self and the Environment) and Three R's (Reading, Writing and Numeracy) of 21st Century Learning, and understand that for learning to be Personalized, we need to provide options and choices for students, and supply them opportunities to explore areas of interest and strength embracing tools like technology.  But until we are comfortable with what these things will look like in practice, we may struggle in helping move our schools any closer to achieving that goal.

B.C. Minister of Education, George Abbott released earlier this week his Plan for Education Transformation, and after digesting it, and reliving the conversations I have engaged in the past couple of weeks, four issues come forward (though I am sure there are several more)...

1. As indicated above, I am unsure what these things will look like, and I do not think I am alone.  Many people are aware of the definitions, but are not sure how things will need to be done differently in order for us to move schools effectively into 21st Century Learning.  I am confident that much of what our teachers are doing, and have been doing for lengthy periods of time, are personalized and geared toward the 21st Century (peer teaching, progressive assessment strategies, the evolution of Distributed on-line learning, cross-curricular unit planning to name only a few) but it is not clear what the government expects schools to look like.  Perhaps this is deliberate, because each context is different.  But I have been asked in conversation, "How is this different from 'Student-Centered Learning'?" and, "What about the student who doesn't know yet what his/her areas of strength and interest are, or who is only interested in one thing, which may change as s/he grows?" or, "What will we be giving up in moving toward this system, and how is that considered better?"  These are all excellent questions that we are struggling to answer.
2. Two of the most important skills from the Eight C's are critical thinking and creativity.  Inherent in becoming a creative, critical thinker is a willingness to take risks.  One of the greatest obstacles facing students and educators today is the societal pressure to achieve marks.  We live in a "data-driven" world, where it seems we need to quantify everything with numbers, including our students' learning.  I have had numerous conversations with students over the years, listening to them fret over their marks and stress over pleasing their parents and getting into university.  Many post-secondary institutions in B.C. are moving toward "broad-based" admissions policies, schools are moving forward with assessment-for-learning strategies that don't penalize risk-taking, and the Ministry has taken some focus off exam results by abolishing optional Provincial exams.  But there still exists a reluctance for students to take chances and look for unique solutions to problems due to a fear of being incorrect, and having that response negatively affect their standing.  The fear of "getting it wrong" needs to be alleviated, freeing students to think creatively and take some chances.  This is a big shift away from where we are now for parents, students, educators and institutions and needs to be our highest priority.
3. Money continues to be an issue.  Some educators I have spoken with are hoping that Personalized Learning  will result in a reduction of the chasm between the wealthy and the less affluent, but wonder where the money will come from.  While money is a factor everywhere, and can not be used as an excuse for not moving forward, much of what 21st Century Learning is supposed to be about requires technology hardware, and comes at a cost.  Our school is still struggling with out-of-date hardware and software, and keeping up with the rapidly changing technology world is an almost impossible task.  The concern is that without appropriate technology supports in schools, the gulf between the haves and have-nots will increase rather than be reduced, since only the affluent will be able to access those technological advantages.
4. Most important in any efforts for change is buy-in from parents, students and teachers. Deep change like what the government is suggesting requires it, but as a colleague pointed out to me, teachers in B.C. are dealing with job action and contract negotiations and aren't feeling particularly appreciated or supported.  Telling them to improve and change how they do things may not be well received at this time and will not be successful "without fully engaged and committed" parents and professionals.

There is little doubt that the future of education is unsettled and intimidating yet exciting and full of opportunity. Students, teachers and parents need to think differently about the purposes of education and it's goal of preparing students to become productive members of society. Starting the conversations and improving and sharing practices that lead to "Personalized, 21st Century Learning" (and commonly understanding what these terms mean for professional practice) are critical in creating schools that are best preparing tomorrow's leaders with the skills they need. If you have suggestions for how you see these terms coming to life, and how you intend to overcome the obstacles in your schools (I have ideas, but admittedly, they are vague), I would love to hear your thoughts.

World Teacher Day

Today was a great day.  I had the opportunity to connect with several staff and students, and after what has seemed like a hectic first month, it was a welcomed change.  The Bill 33 consultation process and paperwork is complete, some of our SADE reporting and Class Size and Composition data has been extracted and analyzed, the timetable appears to be balanced and 1701 reporting has been taken care of.  These are only a few of the first month's priorities.

Today was a day for me to get into classes, and connect with staff and students.  I also got the chance to express some of my appreciation for all that the people of our school do.  Since it was World Teacher Day, I purchased donuts for the staff (a small token), and with some students, delivered them to classrooms around the school with a heartfelt "thank-you".  Tomorrow, I am hosting an appreciation lunch for the members of Student Council who assisted us during the first week homeroom classes with the tasks teachers could not perform due to job action.  I also got to observe a couple of excellent lessons today, specifically one of a teacher going through the evaluation process where she very effectively got students talking about bullying and ways to combat it, employing all kinds of technology (powerpoint and video examples for her own discussion, as well as promoting student cellphone use for their own anti-bullying PSA videos), and she handled the class with an easy aplomb.  It was a pleasure to be in the room and throughout the hallways during the day.

It got me to thinking about the impact of teaching.  Being World Teacher Day, I wanted to show some gratitude to the teachers at Burnett, as well as the inspiring people who have helped shape me into the person I am today.  I know that there is a call for reform in education, and as we move forward into a largely unknown future, we do need to look at constantly improving how we go about our business.  That does not mean, however, that everything we are doing and have been doing is wrong.  I look at the experience I had as a student, and recall it fondly, but when I compare it to the experience I see today's students getting, and the people they are becoming, I am exceedingly impressed.  Students today are even more tolerant, literate, creative, thoughtful, and socially and environmentally aware, to list only a few of the skills we see in our students each day (check out blog posts by Chris Wejr and Cale Birk on this topic).  Much of that must be attributed to how they are being taught.

I would also like to take the time to applaud the efforts of some of the more influential teachers I had while growing up.  I always enjoyed being at school, and the things I learned and the experiences I had created positive memories, and lessons that will last a lifetime.  Acknowledgements to Chris Kennedy for his post, A Little Bit About Mrs. Caffrey, that has inspired my reflecting.

• Mrs. Webster-my grade 1 teacher.  I was new to the area, having just returned from the United States.  I didn't know many people, but her classroom was so welcoming and warm, I could not help but become comfortable with her and my classmates.  
• Mr. Porter-my grade  4 teacher.  A year I will never forget.  I was hit by a car in early November, and nearly lost my life.  Mr. Porter helped both my friends and myself get through a very difficult time.  Always the teacher, when he learned of my accident, he used the skeleton hanging from the door for Halloween to talk about what had happened to me, and performed an anatomy lesson of sorts to inform the class of which bones had been broken.
• Mr. McTavish-high school PE teacher and rugby and basketball coach.  A man many of us looked up to and tried desperately to impress.  A national level rugby player and fantastically inspiring coach who put countless hours into the lives of the students in his classes and on his teams.  Extolling the virtues of discipline and hard-work, his lessons still resonate with me today.
• Mr. Hallett-high school Biology teacher.  A teacher passionate about his subject area, but more importantly, someone students saw as a real human.  His sense of humour outdid all the others, as he dressed in black on test day.  It was his challenge to us to see if we could outperform his exams.  He honestly wanted us to.  Most indicative of his impact were the number of students, past and present, who showed up at his funeral a few years after our class graduated.
• Mr. Auman-high school basketball coach.  Provided me opportunities in something that I loved, and nurtured my thirst to learn, improve and chase my dream of playing the game that has helped develop so many of the life skills I value most.
• My parents-the ultimate educators.  Their teaching continues today, as I learn from them how to raise my children.  A nurse and and a professor, they have dedicated their lives to helping others, and have always worked hard doing so.  They set the bar for my sister and me, have supported us beyond measure, and we are fortunate to have had them be the role-models they are for leading a happy, successful life.   
• Too many others to list-coaches and mentors from my young adult life until today.  Constantly asking me questions, provoking my thinking, pushing my efforts and modelling the ethics required to make things happen.

So to all of the fantastic teachers I had growing up, and to the wonderfully dedicated and talented educators I see all around me at Burnett Secondary, keep up the important and inspired work that you are doing.  Please know that you are making a difference in the lives of many, and that you are greatly appreciated.  Thank you.

Grade 8 Retreat

J.N. Burnett's Grade 8 class just returned from three days at Cultus Lake's Camp Stillwood, on a retreat designed to bring the grad class of 2016 together.  The weather cooperated and students had a memorable time, bonding with one another, working with the fantastic Leadership 11 and 12 students who were guided by Ms. Cain, and making memories that will last the duration of their time in high school and beyond.

Here as guest bloggers, writing about the experience is  one of the Leadership students who played such a huge role in making the camp happen (Jeevan Sandhu), as well as a series of Grade 8's who wrote about their experiences at camp.

After months of hard work and preparation from both staff and students, the annual grade 8 retreat has come and gone. Ms. Cain, Ms. Meralli, and Mr. Blair worked alongside the leadership classes to ensure the trip was perfectly planned and executed. What seems like a short three day vacation for most onlookers is actually lots of work considering the fact all information has to be gathered, organized, and then used to make activities for the grade 8’s to enjoy. 

Nonetheless, the day arrived and by 7 am the gym was full with nervy yet excited grade 8‘s. This would be the first trip away from parents for a lot of the grade 8’s so lots of tension was expected. The teams were organized with there group leaders ready to get going onto the cozy charter buses. Once Mr. Blair gave the green light everyone including the half asleep teachers boarded the buses to start a long and eventful day.

The bus ride was about 2 hours long but in no time at all we were pulling into the gates of Camp Stillwood. After everyone got out and gathered their belongings we had a first meeting in the main room. By now all teams had received their colourful t-shirts and we had just met the camp supervisors. Mr. Blair had a few words to say about expectations and within minutes everyone had been to their rooms and grade 8 students were all over the place enjoying the campground facilities. 

The first official event of the day was lunch. This was the first of many delicous meals we were provided with by the kitchen staff at Camp Stillwood. The meals were unique because it forced students to go and sit with lots of people they have never met before. This provided a great bonding time for leaders, teachers, and especially the grade 8’s.

The first activity that we had planned for the students was a campground wide scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt had leaders taking their individual groups around to each station. At each station was located a teacher who provided the group with a task to do. If the task was completed successfully the group would receive the next clue. In the end not all teams finished the race but the message of the scavenger hunt ‘Don’t stop believing" was evident.

The first night was finished off with mini games in the big dome and a movie in the maple lodge. The games in the dome were enjoyed by all participants and suprisingly energy levels were excellent up until bedtime. After two hours of either watching The Blindside or running around in the dome, the students were treated to chocolate chip cookies with sugar loaded hot chocolate as their late night snack. As guessed many students were anything but sleepy after that snack. Nonetheless everyone was put to sleep.

The second day was just as jam packed as the first. Activities were planned all day requiring students to sing, dance, draw, paint, run, play, and watch. The four stations were: drama games with Tombert, Mr. Leslie and Mrs. Macdonald in the ampitheatre, sports challenges with Mr. Gomes, Mr. Ghuag, and Mr. Blair in the fields, watching Glee with Ms. Davis, Ms Meralli, and Ms. White in the maple lodge, and lastly making photo frames with Ms. Takada, Ms. Schneebelli, and Mr. Almas in the arts and crafts room. These activities took up all the way until after dinner.

The last event of the day was the charades marathon in the dome. At first their were games including the 13 grade 8 teams and the one dreaded teacher team. The teachers were reigning champions for the past 3 years. After 5 rounds of that it was the teacher team that came out victorious. However the teachers were challenged to a rapid fire round by the leadership group. It was a hotly contested game but in the end the  more equipped and superior team came out on top. The leadership students were now champions after a close 5-4 victory. After all the tears were shed and jokes were made, it was time to sleep.

The night was short but not boring, to say the least. Mr. Ghaug, Mr. Gomes, Mr. Blair, and Tombert tried there best to scare the downstairs boys cabin, however to much shock not a single soul was awoken by these attempts.

Morning came fast and the day was going to be much shorter than the last two. After breakfast, cleanup was done in all rooms. After cleaning up the grade 8s were given their last bit of free time at the campsite. It was time for them to meet at the maple  lodge in no time. The maple lodge is where we sat and watched the amazing video that Mrs. Johal spent hours to make. The video was followed by Mr. Ghaug saying a couple words on the past three days.

Upon leaving the maple lodge we took our great big group picture. The picture was taken in order from colour to colour in our groups. After the big picture we headed into the cafeteria for our last meal as a big group. We left the cafeteria saying out thank-you’s and good-bye’s and headed towards our buses. 

Whether it was beating teachers in charades, getting pranked by Mr. Gomes and Mr. Ghaug, or just enjoying the meals with the group, I know the leadership group cherished every moment of the trip and I am confident that all teachers and grade 8’s would agree with this statement. 

Special thanks to Mrs. Johal for putting together the amazing video above.....

It was the people made Grade 8 retreat so epic, awesome, exhilarating and amazing.  The people that I got to know, the people who inspired, the people who I ate with, and even the people I annoyed when I was rustling at night.  I couldn’t forget the leaders.  The leaders who pointed us to the right destination when we were lost, who offered a helping hand, who forced us to go to sleep and who beat the teachers at Charades.

 -Hui Zhang  

After and during the grade 8 retreat, the grade 8’s were more comfortable and united with each other than before.

 - Ann Gee 

Camp definitely affected my grade 8 year.  At camp we made memories that will last a lifetime.  I wish we never had to leave the retreat, I really miss being there.  Waking up every morning surrounded by friends, staying up late talking, playing games around a campfire and especially getting to spend time with and getting to know our classmates was just amazing.  The camp leaders really made it all the more fun, and when I’m in grade 12 I hope to get the opportunity to come back to camp and do what they did for us.

 - Joceline Savoie

The grade 8 retreat was amazing, fun and changed my life.  It was the experience of a lifetime.  At first I was scared of being in high school with all the big kids and changing classes, but the grade 8 retreat has changed my mind.  I made tons of new friends, and I learned that grade 12’s are not as scary as they seem.  The retreat taught me to believe in myself and never give up.  I think this lesson will be very useful and important in my high school life.  The leadership students were great, amazing, awesome, indescribable! They helped me and taught me life lessons through the retreat  that is why in the future, I want to be a leadership student.  I want to do what they did for me, to the future grade 8’s.

 -Elaine Leung 

After the retreat, high school doesn’t seem such a bad and scary place as it did before.  I really hope that the next year’s grade 8’s will go on the retreat because it is a thing to help us get used to high school.

-Mizu Lee 

The grade 8 retreat was a great experience for me to have fun with my peers and meet new friends.  Besides having fun, it was also a time to show some leadership and responsibility.  This camp experience has affected me greatly because I learned how to take care of myself, be independent, and putting aside my own shyness and say hi to people I don’t know yet.

 -Michelle Chan 

Congratulations and thank-you's to all the people who worked so hard to make the camp a success. It surely was!!!

Remember to Breathe....

As a new Principal, I am going to try and reflect every week or so on the experiences I have enjoyed as I continue to learn on the job.  The first couple of weeks have been bumpy and challenging, but at the same time exhilarating, exciting and enjoyable.

Every year start-up seems to be frenetic as we get things settled in.  This year is especially challenging since I am new to this role and there exist some complicating factors including; Phase 1 of BC teacher job action, our office staff losing its head secretary to retirement, our day custodian having to take an extended leave, our senior afternoon custodian also retiring and our brand new Administrative team learning the structures of the school, meeting the staff and assuming new roles.  It has been a little harried to say the least.

As in every year start up, counsellors are working frantically with students to adjust timetables and balance classes.  We attempt to prepare for the upcoming Grade 8 retreat (a 3 day camp in Cultus Lake's Camp Stillwood), we have begun our Bill 33 preparations, and we continue to rework the timetable to serve our ever-expanding ESL population.  To the students, thank you for your patience and understanding, and I remind you to slow down and enjoy time with your family and friends and allow the staff at school to work to get you all the things you need.  We do have your best interests at heart, and will do all that we can to give you what you have asked for.

Despite being busy and feeling a little overwhelmed at times, the first couple of weeks have gone quite well and I am now starting to find my feet.  I do, however, need to remind myself of the same things I have asked the students to remember.  In a conversation with my wife this weekend and recounting several of the issues we have faced in the first week with students, I found myself speaking incredibly fast, and she told me that I seemed more "wound up" than normal.  She was right, and I think many of my conversations with people in this first week have been a little too high-paced.  I need to slow down, listen and remember that "this, too, shall pass".  The staff at Burnett is extremely professional, caring and hard-working, and they will do all that needs to be done to support the students in our care.  I need to be able to listen to them and provide them the supports to do their jobs properly.  This needs to be done on all levels, including staff working with students and each other, and students working with their peers, their teachers and their counsellors.

I can not thank the people around me enough for their patience, support and hard work.  There are too many to list, but you know who you are...  Within the next week or so, most things should be resolved and the normal pace of life in high-school should resume.  In the meantime, take care of yourselves, slow down, and for all of us (especially me)...Remember to breathe!

Welcome back!!

Every Labour day long weekend, students and education professionals all around North America nervously anticipate the start of a new school year.  For many of them, this is the REAL New Year (not January 1st-see Chris Kennedy's blog post "Happy New Year").  For as long as I can remember, I also eagerly looked forward to the start of school, often times with great trepidation.  Who will be my teacher(s)?  What did my friends do during the summer?  Are there any new students to the school?  Who will be coaching or trying out for the basketball team?

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Like most years, I was in the school over the weekend, putting together some last minute preparations for Tuesday morning.  While there I saw scores of students showing up at the front window, checking to see which homeroom they had been assigned.  All of them seemed genuinely excited, and a little bit nervous (especially the Grade 8's).  I spoke with several of them, tried to ease their anxiety, and welcomed them back for another year of school.

A great deal has been written and discussed about the need for reform in education today, and I agree with much of it.  I have always felt, however, that the strongest reason for schools existing in the form they continue to is the social element.  Students need to be able to come together, share stories and ideas, learn from one another and engage in the most human of activities, interacting with others.  Seeing students gather to share their excitement and support one another, I was reminded that school is the ideal place for this.  While we do have many issues we need to address and improve within public education, our strengths, including providing a safe place for human interaction, have never been more important or better offered.

Like the students, I get excited and anxious with the start of every year.  This year, I may feel this way even more than usual.  As I have written previously, I am beginning a new role and have assumed the responsibility of Principal of Burnett Secondary.  The unfamiliarity I have with the role, the greater responsibility and the additional complicating factor of job action facing the BC education system this year as teachers enter contract negotiations, add to my anxiety.  But despite all the uncertainties, I am extremely excited and very much looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.  I think that most students feel the same way.  They are unsure of what the future will bring, worried about making the right impressions on their friends and teachers and feeling the pressure that seems to escalate with every year of school.  This anxiousness can be overwhelming, but is not necessarily a negative.  It signifies a chance to start again, to recreate one's reputation or image and a little discomfort reminds us that we are growing and challenging ourselves.  I relish that feeling and hope that our students appreciate it for the same reasons I do.

Of course, no one describes the experience of the first day of school better than the folks at "Sesame Street"...

So, to the students and staff of J.N. Burnett,

"Welcome back".

Have a great year!!!