Tuesday, September 13, 2022

View From the Front Office

 

VIEW FROM THE FRONT OFFICE

 

In our 34 years of wedded bliss, vacationing with extended family members has ALWAYS been the norm. This year we decided to shake things up a bit and vacation with just us - no kids and no other family members. After ten days, two weddings, over 1500 miles, and celebrating my Sammy Hagar “I Can’t Drive 55”th birthday - we’re still all smiles! We even had to break out the paper road map as some of the areas we traveled did not have cell service and Google Maps couldn’t point us in the right direction.

During this little excursion, we had plenty of time to talk without many distractions or what I refer to as white noise. This white noise is what either distracts us from what is important or masks the true message. Webster defines it as “meaningless or distracting commotion, hubbub or chatter.”  In one of my favorite sci-fi movies Contact, this white noise is most evident when a message from outer space is discovered.  After filtering through the white noise (the distractions) they were able to identify the true meaning of the message. In this case, it was the “blueprints” for space and time travel.

Being able to tune out the white noise is so important. It seems we are inundated with white noise which we can now also classify as “misinformation” or even negativity.  By tuning out the white noise, we are able to focus on the true message. My focus for the 2022-23 school year is to keep the white noise to a minimum and focus on our true message - providing the best learning environment and experience for the students and staff at Exeter-Milligan. By keeping the focus on others, as opposed to ourselves, we are able to keep that perspective and balance. We cannot be egocentric and do what is easiest for ourselves. As an educational leader, I have to balance not only what is best for the students and staff but also what is best for the district as a whole. Sometimes this balance is difficult and not everyone gets what they want. Please keep all this in mind as we move forward and work together to make E-M the place to be.

We start the 2022-23 school year with some new members of the pack.  Please take some time to welcome Miranda Hornung (Ag/FFA), Kelsey Yates (2nd grade), and Ashley Arbuck (3rd grade).  We are excited to have them join the E-M family and look forward to them sharing their strengths with our students and staff.

Probably the most exciting part to the start of the new school year is the new playground. It is SO close to being completed and I can’t wait to see the smiles on the student’s faces as they enjoy the new equipment. A great big thank you goes to the school board for their unwavering support for this project. It was not an inexpensive venture, but they saw the need for the new playground equipment that will meet the needs of all our students.

The start of my 15th year at Exeter-Milligan (31st overall in education) is just around the corner and I am just as excited as if it was my first. Here’s to a fabulous 2022-23 school year and let’s all tune out that white noise and keep our focus on where it should be - the students!

 

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