November 18th

The Supt Dish  

                                                        November 18, 2016   

The holiday season is my favorite time of the year. Thanksgiving is a time that offers us time to reflect on the many blessings we have.

As I reflect on the school year, we are blessed to have such a wonderful staff, a UNIQUE staff. Each of you has dedicated your life to making a difference in our children’s lives. Our students’ successes are due to the impact you have on their education and life. We have had many successes so far; several Ag Science teams have qualified for Area competition, students in elementary science are doing amazing experiments, girls’ cross country qualified for Area and two GHS students participated in the State meet, the Roarin’ Tiger Marching Band was the Sweepstakes winner, the fine arts department is performing the musical “Lil Mermaid” this weekend, our football team won the District and plays in Area tonight, and our girls’ volleyball team went undefeated in District and plays for the State Championship tomorrow!

We have faced many challenges and will continue to face challenges with strength, determination, and with confidence. This is something I remind myself ever day as we work together in achieving our goals. So far, we have met these challenges as reflected with our students’ successes. Challenges are what make life interesting, overcoming them are what make life meaningful.

During the Thanksgiving break, please take time to give thanks for the many blessing we have. We are fortunate to work and live in a supportive and caring community. As you reflect on the year, please remember the difference you make in each other’s life and the lives of our students. For those of you traveling, be safe on the highways.

November 4th,

The Supt Dish           

                                                           November 4, 2016     

It is hard to believe that almost eleven weeks of school are completed and Thanksgiving break is in two weeks. Time has flown by! Walking through campuses, I see many great activities in classrooms and students engaged in learning. Volleyball, football, cross-country, band and other extra-curricular activities are performing at the highest levels. Our fine arts department is preparing to perform their first musical in several years. Staff and students are working in teams and collaborating. It is wonderful to witness such tremendous pride.

Last year, I attended a leadership conference at Google headquarters in Austin. I must say that it was one of the most enjoyable conferences I have attended in recent years. We learned about what Google expects of their employees and many strategies they use in employee and leadership development.

One item that was shared is hiring UNIQUE people. Webster’s definition of unique is “being the only one; being without a like or equal; and distinctly characteristic.” Google defines unique as “something or someone is unlike anything or anyone.” An acronym that Google has is:

U – unwavering belief that anything is possible

N – needs feedback to learn and grow

I – innovative

Q – questioning skills

U – understands the perspective of others

E – emergent leader

Looking at our school district, we are blessed to have UNIQUE employees. You have fostered learning environments in which students learn to solve complex problems, work in teams developing teamwork skills, and are creating future leaders. We must continue our journey in reaching our goals. I am proud of what each of you has accomplished the first eleven weeks in

“Shaping the Path” for our students to be successful. Thank you for being UNIQUE! GISD, Preserving the Past, Preparing the Future!