Day of Caring

I bet that most of us would agree that we’ve got a lot of kids at Henley to whom much has been given. I think it was John Kennedy who said, “For those to whom much is given, much is required.”  Community and public service are values that I hope our students develop early and use often throughout their lives. That’s why having a project such as the Day of Caring is one that is so important to me. It gives our kids an opportunity to see people who are giving back to their community just for the sake of giving back. Last week, our Day of Caring volunteers spent the day with us building some beautiful benches that will be a key component of the Henley NEST outdoor classroom. I’m sure that many kids saw this work going on throughout the day and learned form it. One of the many aspects of Henley Middle School that I admire so much are the myriad opportunities we provide to our kids to experience public service. Several students gave up an activity period recently to spend some time giving back, in years past our green team would spend countless hours walking the building collecting recycling, and we always have more kids than spots available in our Henley Helpers programs at Brownsville and Crozet Elementary Schools. Each day that our teachers come to school they are shaping the future of our kids, our community and our country. The work that they do is helping to ensure that the values that have made this country great will continue for years to come. Our parents do an outstanding job of reinforcing strong values for their children at home.  Together we are making a difference.  I’m happy to be a part of this, and I can say for certain that I know our future is in good hands when these kids grow up and head out to make their mark in the world.

Middle School Dances

I hope that all of you will have a chance to come to a middle school dance during the time the you have young ones at Henley.  They really are a sight to see.  Dance is probably a misnomer—while there is some of that going on, there are a lot of kids playing basketball in the gym, goofing around in the computer lab, and eating pizza, soda and candy. Once in a while some actual dancing takes place, and if a young man and a young woman are actually courageous enough to get together for a slow song, it’s a rite of passage indeed.  Of course, at the middle school level, dancing to a slow song involves staying as far apart from one another as possible while still maintaining enough contact to consider it a “dance,” each student having their friend stand beside them while they dance so that each dancer can talk to their friend and not even have to look at the person they are dancing with, and at the end of the song the two dancer’s immediately going their separate ways, oftentimes with no parting words.  A sight to see indeed, and one that is quite different from what you may see at a high school dance.  The sixth grade social is this coming Friday—a great tradition at Henley that allows our nervous neophytes a little bit of a more relaxed atmosphere in which to experience their first dance.  This dance and the ones that will follow always remind me of how lucky we are to work with kids during their middle school years.  The changes they go through from sixth grade to eighth grade are tremendous, and not many people in this word get to watch those transformations every day.  What’s even more of an honor to me is to know that each and every one of us helps to shape those changes for our middle schoolers.  Our jobs are important both inside and outside of the classroom.  The work we are doing with kids will impact them for the rest of their days.  I’m happy to be a part of a team that understands this and takes the work so seriously.  Our sixth grade social is just the beginning for us this year.  If you get a chance, stop by one of the dances—it’s something that I would not want to have missed as a parent.

Back-to-School Night

It was great to see so many of you out at our annual Back-to-School Night last night.  This is always one of my favorite events of the year--a night when our parents take on the role of student and spend an evening as a middle schooler.  You got to see what class changes were like, how your kids navigate the hallways and make it to their classes on time, and had a chance to hear about all of the great things their teachers have in store for them this year.

Thanks, also, to those of you who were able to come to our State of the School presentation immediately preceeding Back-to-School Night.  In case you missed it, here are a few highlights:

• 90 faculty and staff members are at Henley each day to help you child have an incredible experience here as a student.
• We've got five staff members who are new to Henley this year--Lauretta Dezubay, Amy Effland, Natalie King, Erin James and Karen Spencer.
• Our kids rocked the SOL tests last year.  Schooldigger.com has Henley ranked as the number 2 public middle school in the state in terms of student achievement.  Next year we're shooting for number 1!
• Our academic focus this year will be on developing proficiency in lifelong learner standards.  We are also working toward creating innovative learning spaces that will maximize our students' potential.
• Our renewable resource center is fully operational this year and our outdoor classroom/greehouse/garden project is coming along nicely.
• Our SCA president provided insight about how to get involved as a Henley student.
• Our PATSO co-presidents discussed ways that you can get involved with the school.

One of my goals for last night's activities was for each and every one of you to realize that Henley is a truly outstanding school.  We take our jobs and our mission very seriously and strive for every student to have a rich, engaging experience in our school each day.  Hearing so many good things from parents about the positive start their children have had to the school year made my night.  Thanks, again, for coming out and for all of the support you give to help us make Henley such a special place.

Election Week!

This week brings our annual SCA election process. If you happen to stop by the school this week, I’m sure you’ll notice campaign posters, buttons and stickers around the school for all of the candidates that are running for office. This is always one of my favorite times of year—seeing so many of our kids want to take a leadership role among their peers, watching how seriously they take their campaigning, hearing their speeches and the visions that they have for the school. One of the aspects I enjoy most about these elections is that they stay so positive. It’s kids trying to sell themselves and what they can bring to school, with absolutely no mention of the terrible things that the other candidates have done or will do if they are in office. These kids have lots of great ideas about how we can make our school better—and it’s much deeper than no homework and longer lunches. The kids in the SCA really want to have a better school—they’ve brought us the pep rally, a new mascot to lift our school spirit, the annual canned food drive to help those in need, and our annual talent show, just to name a few. Each year we encourage our staff to let kids know just how important student government is to us at Henley. The seed we plant for service to school and community will continue to grow when we get them started at an early age. It’s going to be a fun week, and I can’t wait to see who our new leaders will be.