There's nothing like the teachers' first day
back to start to really get excited about the upcoming school year. And
I'm sure it's like this in all districts, across all grade levels, throughout
the entire country. But I must say, no one does Opening Day quite like
Mountie Nation.
I was hired at Northwest 10 years ago, and since
the moment, it has always felt like home. So much so, that I even told my
principal that in my interview when asked why I wanted to come there. In
fact, it felt so much like home that I endured layoffs and pay cuts and hung
through the toughest of times with Mountie Nation, despite the fact that
others would tell me to get out. And let
me tell you, even though I have always been a proud supporter of my school,
Mountie Nation is nothing like it was back when I was hired 10 years ago, and
Opening Day is the perfect example.
When I first started, Opening Day was in a gym
or a cafeteria. There was an agenda,
recognition of employees completing significant year milestones, introductions
of new staff, and guest speakers. This is all still there, but now it is so
much more. Now, we walk into the First
Church of the Nazarene for our Opening Day, and it is a sea of red and
black. There is music, and food, and SWAG,
and videos, and posters, and signs, and balloons, and dancing, and socializing,
and a ton of fun. There is an energy in
that room that is truly indescribable. I
mean honestly, I could try, but you wouldn’t be able to really grasp it unless
you were there. At times, I am so struck by it all that it takes my breath a
bit and causes me to get emotional. In fact, I had 2 separate interactions with
newly hired teachers that just might give a little inkling to how unique it
is. Both of these teachers are new to
our school but have been teaching in other districts for quite some time. Both of them, separately, said something to
me along the lines of, “this is unbelievable…this is not like anywhere else.”
And it’s true.
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| Opening Day...this doesn't even give a slight idea of how awesome it is to be a part of. |
4 years ago, we gained a superintendent who had
a vision for Northwest. He has a larger
than life personality, and I think he wanted to make sure Northwest followed
suit. The day he came into our first
Opening Day, he told us all to strive for greatness, and we have followed his
lead and never looked back. In a time where it would be easy to look at all the
negative things about education, our superintendent challenged us to create a
positive culture, and so we followed his lead. We lift each other up, we
support each other, and we are a team.
In fact, this is so important that he and our curriculum director spent
a good couple hours just going over all the amazing things we have going on in
our building and honoring and recognizing the incredible staff we have. And
that’s everyone, from support staff, to teachers, to administrators.
Are we perfect? No. Do we still have things we need to improve?
Absolutely. But, in a time where it is
so tough to be in education, here I stand, ready to take on year 11, and I
couldn’t be more excited. I am so very
grateful to be in a place where we are striving for greatness, where we have a
positive culture, and where we are supported. I am so grateful to be a part of the
greatness, a part of the Mountie Nation.
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| Being recognized for 10 years with my teaching friend Abby Tanner |
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