Memorial Day is one of those days set aside each year for us, as a country, to reflect on those who have fallen in our defense.  This is not a day to be sad as we mourn those brave men and women. This is a day to celebrate their love of country which led them to stand on the front lines and fight for our country.  This is a day to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice and died to keep us safe. This is a day to reach out in our community and find a way to help. Look into volunteering to place flags or flowers on veterans’ graves.  Volunteer in our community and give back to those veterans who are still living. Find a way to make Memorial Day more than a day off. If you give just an hour or two, you’ll be part of our nation’s living history.

Some things always seem more difficult than others.  The end of a school year invariably looms out in front of us as we prepare for the last grades of the quarter and state testing.  Instead of looking at this time as something to worry about, try looking at it as something you’ve spent the last 150 days preparing for.  I know our educators are secure in the fact that they’ve prepared their students. As I continue to visit schools and classrooms, I see all the learning happening across the district and I’m confident in what our students know.  We are ready and we will end 2018-19 with a lot to celebrate.

May is National Physical Fitness Month and the perfect time for us as a district to acknowledge our Physical Education and Healthful Living Teachers.  These teachers really are the ones who keep their schools energized. They have committed themselves to showing students how to live a happy and healthy lifestyle - and not just in their classrooms or schools, but in every aspect of students’ lives.  If you spend any time with our PE and Healthful Living Teachers, their enthusiasm will rub off on you. When it comes to student health, they are relentless. Helping students make the connection between being active and healthy to effective learning is what PE and Healthful Living Teachers do.  They also love to show students how being active and eating healthy can be fun, which is difficult to do in our technology driven lifestyles. Please join me in thanking our PE and Healthful Living Teachers for their determination to help us all understand the importance of being active. Thank them for helping everyone to put aside their screens and to get up and moving.  Thank them for looking out for our health, even when we don’t do it ourselves. Thank you for your level of caring. We know you do it all out of love and respect for our students and us. Please continue to keep us moving.

This time of year can be full of stress for students, families and staff at schools.  If you feel yourself struggling, please remember all you have to do is ask for help and you’ll find it.  You don’t have to carry all that worry by yourself. As the end of the year gets closer, I know we will be proud of all we’ve accomplished in 2018-19.  CHCCS students have learned so many new things in their classes, making amazing discoveries with their teachers. Teachers have shared their wealth of knowledge with another cohort of students, helping them realize there’s more to learning than rote facts.  I know we’ll continue to work and reflect on the year right through June 14 and beyond.

On May 8 we celebrate School Nurse Day.  In CHCCS we are lucky to have a School Nurse at all of our schools.  This allows nurses to know their students, their community - which is so important.  School Nurses do more than hand out medicine and put on band aides. Their role in schools is much more complex and School Nurses are part of the team in our schools dedicated to the whole child.  School Nurses are also educators - they make sure everyone in their school knows how to respond to emergencies, how to handle food allergies, how to help someone in crisis, how to lead a healthy lifestyle.  Our schools are safer, happier places thanks to our School Nurses. They help provide the stable environment so many of our students need throughout the day. Today’s the day when we get to publicly acknowledge our School Nurses for the incredible job they do for students and staff every day.  So let’s all put our hands together and give our School Nurses the applause they deserve. From across the district, we say thank you for all you do for CHCCS!

How do you say Thank You to a teacher?  We all know they don’t do what they do each and every day for the money - their drive is children.  We know teachers aren’t in it for the glamour - unless you count the glitter that falls from the projects they do with their students.  We know teachers aren’t coming in each day to get recognition - they live for the notes left by students letting teachers know how they made the student’s day special.  As a teacher and educator, I know it’s not the usual things that motivate us. Teachers are teachers because they love what they do. Teachers are teachers because they are dedicated to helping students learn.  Teachers are teachers because they want to see a student’s progress from the beginning of school to the end. Teachers are teachers because there are only so many jobs where a good day’s work is rewarded with the smile of a child.  How often do former employees go back to the office and thank a boss they had five, ten, twenty years ago? Yet teachers have former students come by every year to thank them and let them know what a positive influence they had on their lives.  Students return to let teachers know what they’ve made of themselves. Students return because they have become teachers themselves. For all of these reasons and so many more, teachers return to their classrooms in August. Teaching is a calling and it’s not for the faint of heart.  It takes strength to spend the day teaching twenty-some elementary students. It takes determination to face a class of middle schoolers. It takes courage to lead a discussion in a high school class.

I spend a lot of days visiting classrooms across the district and I’m always impressed with the level of professionalism, collaboration and education happening.  I’m so proud to see students actively learning and participating. I’m so proud of the level of education teachers bring to students every day - no exceptions.

Maybe the best way to say Thank You to our teachers is to just say those two simple words:  Thank You. Let me be the first to say them, heartfelt and full of appreciation. I know I speak for all of CHCCS when I say Thank You.  For all you do, for who you are, for what you bring into the classroom. Thank you.

Well, here we are in May already.  We’re left with just one full month of school remaining.  And so much to fit into these next weeks. As we get ready to begin testing, I want to remind everyone the importance of being prepared.  Everyone has worked hard all year and I am so proud of you. The end-of-year events are another opportunity for you to show all the great stuff you’ve learned all year.  You know your stuff - just think about all you’ve learned this school year. I know you’ve got this and are ready for the end of the year.

Think back to your educational journey.  I’m sure there were several memorable people along the way, people who helped shape your journey as positive or negative.  I encourage everyone to get involved in our schools, to see the amazing learning going on in CHCCS classrooms today, to find the wonder in what our students are discovering at school.  To know learning is amazing.

I want to make sure each and every one of our students has a successful educational journey.  That’s not to say they won’t have difficult moments, but if those trying times are learned from, then they aren’t wasted.  Learning through adversity makes us all stronger.

I want to make sure all our students have the chance to have opportunities.  Regardless of where their family is economically, socially or culturally. Each and every student deserves to have everyone in this community as their advocate.  We can’t choose to only advocate for one student over another, one group over another. Instead, we need to make sure when we look at a problem, we find a solution that benefits all students.  Having student success for only a limited few isn’t really student success.

If you know a child is struggling, help.  Talk to their teacher, their parent or guardian.  Talk to their coach or principal. Talk to their friends.  Reach out yourself to show support for that student.

CHCCS has been working diligently on getting systems of support in place for all students.  We want to make sure no one feels lost, because we know inside each and every student is a wealth of talent and capability.  I’m asking everyone in our community to help with this. Help make sure students know their worth. Help all our students know the value of themselves and education.  Help give all students a hand in their learning.

For anyone who has worked in a school or central office, you know the importance of our Educational Office Professionals.  Our EOPs work quietly behind the scenes to make sure everything runs smoothly. EOPs wear many different hats every day, including nurse, teacher assistant, parking lot attendant, counselor, custodian and anyone else needed to get things done at their schools.  A lot of what EOPs do is not seen or known to the public - unless something urgent is needed and then everyone knows who actually gets it done. Having exceptional administrative support is like having a gold mine - it makes one rich beyond belief. I consider myself blessed to have wonderful EOPs to support me each and every day.  And I know I speak for all CHCCS administrators when I say thank you to our Administrative Professionals. You may not think we know all you do for everyone around you, but we do. You may think we could get through a day without your help, but we couldn’t. You may think what you do goes unnoticed, but it doesn’t. You are appreciated . . . more than you know.  CHCCS, please take the time today, and every day, to make sure you let the Administrative Professionals in your school know you applaud their efforts.

This is Public School Volunteer Week and I’d like to recognize the more than 1,500 Volunteers in our district.  We have staff, parents, UNC students, grandparents, retirees and everyone in between volunteering in CHCCS schools and programs.  For me, Volunteers are incredibly selfless people. They find time out of their busy lives to go and help people, who, in the beginning, they don’t know.   Volunteers have more than embraced the village concept - they invented it. Volunteers look at their community to find a place they can help fill in the gaps.  Volunteers share their knowledge, experience, enthusiasm and passion. In CHCCS, our students and classrooms are lucky to be the recipients of all Volunteers offer and more.  These tireless individuals who give back are repaid for their efforts by the smiles they receive from students. Volunteers are role models for us all. Thank you from all the many families and staff you have helped along the way.  Thank you . . . your contributions ripple through our community for generations.

Have you always thought about volunteering in our schools, but weren’t really sure how to get started?  Please go to our Volunteer website and find out what volunteer opportunity best suits you and your interests.  We need everything from classroom volunteers to mentors to support teachers and students.  If you’re unsure, I promise you, the smiles you earn make it worthwhile.