The staff and I have all declared this our smoothest opening of school ever. In August we welcomed 2325 students back to our campus, over eight hundred of them freshman. We also welcomed three new assistant principals; Mr. Damian Powell is the upper grade administrator for students last name L-Z. He also is in charge of lunch passes, senior class, and athletics. Mr. Nick Rotosky is the upper grade administrator for students last name A-K. He handles student requests for parking, supports activities of our sophomore and junior classes, and plans and leads our school’s emergency drills. Mr. Voris McBurnette is an administrator for ninth graders in the Wildcat Academy with Kelly Aman. He supports clubs and activities, fundraising, and is our cafeteria/lunchroom coordinator, and helps staff keep their Blackboard sights up-to-date. The addition of these three outstanding administrators no doubt contributed to our smooth opening.
By now I am sure you have noticed many changes on our campus since last year. The spirit flags in our parking lot were the brainchild of Coach McInnes and Coach Davis. We have received numerous comments on how they contribute to a positive feel on campus. One of our sophomore parents has donated her time and energy bringing the beautiful blue clay pots and plants inside the front entrance and by the gym entrance for campus beautification. Our bus lot has been redesigned to enhance the dismissal with safety and efficiency as our motivation. If you have come to campus during the school day you have experienced our new sign-in process. We added Lobby Guard, a computerized check-in and check-out system that takes a photo of our guests. Certainly you have noticed that half of our POD’s have been dismantled and removed. We are hoping to reclaim some practice field space in that area.
This year we are spending a lot of time re-writing our school improvement plan. A school improvement plan is a data-driving plan of action of what our school wants to accomplish over a three-year period. Our SIP plan will include goals that are tried to increased academic student achievement. Our SIP team is made up of administrators, teachers, support staff, teacher assistants, parents and students and in March we will submit our newly developed plan. This is an exciting year – a lot of positive changes have already occurred with a lot more to come.
In Wildcat Spirit,
Dana King
Principal
