Reflections on Graduation 2019

Another year come and gone for our 2019 graduates! The week was full of Awards Night, Senior Banquet, senior breakfast, rehearsal, processionals through district school buildings and Commencement services.  Our 101 graduates took advantage of every last moment to spend together and celebrate.

Staff was able to celebrate one last time with the class by providing breakfast before rehearsal.  This is a tradition we started several years ago to be able to have some unstructured time with students to say our last goodbyes before their final rehearsal and day.

 A variety of Baccalaureate services were held in the New Hampton area Sunday morning before graduation in the afternoon.  Students were honored both in services and at morning meals.

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And this year was different, special and more difficult for me.... As I reflected Sunday evening after the celebrations were over for the day, I realized that oftentimes I am required to separate my roles as a Principal Mom. I truly believe that my most important job title is Mom. I am also blessed to be a step-mom to two, one of whom walked across the stage yesterday.

Every year, graduation is an emotional time for me. I know I do not have a poker face and wear my emotions on my sleeve regularly.  I have come to terms with the fact that any thought that is in my head is usually also on my face.  However, I try to remain stoic when it comes to the two that are in our building.  They know we keep the expectations high, and they generally stay under my radar.  It is probably embarrassing to have your step-mom be the principal. And by probably, I mean it is.

However, this week has been very different. Very difficult. And very special.  I knew I had very few moments left with Miss Jenna in the high school.  She was never going to put her lunch in my office fridge again. She was never going to ask me to write a check if she forgot.  She would never again come to me in a panic because she didn't get a form signed and needs my help, quick.  And to be honest, I will miss each of those moments.

These are all my kids. I care for each of them.  But this one- the one who made my voice break when I said her name yesterday- helped make me a mom. She paved the way for her brothers.  She taught me humility when I didn't know what to do or say. She taught me patience when I learned to keep my mouth shut and let her experience being an adolescent girl. She is everything my parents told me I would deserve after living through my teenage years. And for all of that, Jenna Murray, I need to thank you. 

Teacher Appreciation Week, Building Update, and a few Thoughts on the Ambulance Service

Teacher Appreciation Week!

I want to give a shout out to our teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week, though they deserve it every day of the school year.  Our teachers work hard to help every child be successful.  It takes a lot of time which is evident as it's not unusual to see teachers here before school, after school, and on weekends making sure everything is just right so their students have the best chance for success.  If you see a teacher, be sure to say Thanks for all they do.

It is teacher appreciation week, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention our other staff members.  All of our staff members do a great job to provide great things for our students.  From our food service staff who have been adding options and working with the kids to find what they like and want to eat, to our teacher associates who work with our students to provide that extra support to get them through the day, to our office staff who greet everyone who come to our buildings and make it a friendlier place, to our bus drivers who get our kids to and from school and to and from their activities even when the roads or the weather aren't the best, our school nurse who handles all the illness and medical concerns of our students and sometimes staff, and finally to our custodians who keep our facilities looking great and fill in for bus driving and anything else that needs done when called.  Thanks to all of our staff for everything they do to make our district great.  I appreciate it.  

Building Update

Progress continues with the building project.  We had a delay in the cafeteria area because of the local fire inspector, but that has been worked out.  The State Fire Marshal's office had okayed the plans, but when construction started the local inspector came in and said he wanted something different.  They've worked out that issue, so they have been back to working in that area.  I suspect they will be pouring that floor and have it completely enclosed within the next week or so.  Here are a few pictures of progress so far.  

Ceiling grid and cabinetry is being installed in the upper floor.

Marker board and cabinets in a classroom space.

The gym ceiling is painted and basketball hoops are installed.  

They're installing student lockers as well.  

The front entrance is coming along nicely.  

The north end of the new cafeteria.  Lot's of natural lighting.  

Ambulance Thoughts

I attended the Chickasaw Ambulance Council meeting on Tuesday night.  As a school district with over 1,000 students in attendance on a typical day, student safety is always on our mind.  Unfortunately, there are times when an ambulance is needed and it's always been good to know when the time comes we have a service close by.  In addition, they are here on standby for our football games and other times to help with the education of our students.  After attending the meeting Tuesday night, I would say the one consensus of the group is we need an ambulance service.  Before I go any further, I want to say thanks for the Ambulance Council for working to find a workable solution.  I also want to say thanks to the Chickasaw Ambulance service for providing a valuable service to the school and community.  When we've called they always come.  I'm not here to say if the proposal that's out there is good or bad, I really don't know, but here are the facts as I see them.  1) We have only one proposal that involves a payment of $365,000 per year.  2) MeryOne is not interested because they would need more money than this to operate.  A couple of questions that are out there is how do we pay for this and how much will it cost each of us?  

After doing some research, it appears the most practical way to pay for this is for the supervisors to put a referendum before the county voters to see if Emergency Medical Services should be an essential service in Chickasaw County and provide a tax to pay for it.  Iowa Code allows Property Tax or a combination of property tax and Income Surtax to pay for this.  The amount of income surtax appears to be limited to just 1%.  In addition, the vote would have to be held every 5 years to continue the tax.  If we use the $365,000 of the current proposal, that would cost just under forty-five cents ($.044712) per thousand dollars of assessed valuation.  If we combined it with a 1% income surtax, that would reduce the levy down to just over thirty two cents ($.3226) per thousand dollars of assessed valuation.  If we use the .44712 per thousand rate, a person whose house is assessed at $100,000 would see a property tax increase of $24.82 per year.  If we also use the 1% income surtax, that would reduce that same house's property tax increase to $18.11 per year.  

Is this too expensive?  I have no idea, I trying to provide more information to continue to move this conversation forward.  The board of supervisors is the entity that would make the final decision on whether this should go before the voters or not.  Finally, if this was put on the ballot in November, or really anytime between now and then, the taxes would not be collected until the 2021 fiscal year.  So, the cities and county still have to find a source of funding for the next fiscal year.  

This is not an easy issue to tackle, but it is certainly an essential one.  I encourage you to attend the various meetings to learn more and make sure your voice is heard.  We all know the issues, I hope this helps to move toward some solutions.    

Pushing Through May-- Lots Happening!

 As we head through May, seniors are working on finishing their coursework, but that does not mean learning has slowed down.  Students in anatomy class dissected kidneys this week, looking at how the structure works and the specific aspects of the organ.

Students in Algebra 1 are working through the proficiencies found in the essential standards as they prepare to transition to Geometry next year.  The use of guided, collaborative and independent work scaffold the learning in the curriculum driven by Mrs. Manson and Mr. Richards.

Manufacturing 2 is working collaboratively to finish up project to prepare themselves for further work in Industrial Technology next year.  These foundational skills will help students be successful in the variety of course offerings in the CTE area.

Fundamentals of Art students are also prepping for upcoming art classes while working on clay pieces. They touch on a variety of media to get ready for a full range of options of art classes available to them after the foundational course.

And we cannot forget taking care of the community and serving others.  Students from Iowa BIG North spent an afternoon volunteering at the TRIBE track day at the CWC. They worked with NHES 4th graders in a variety of track events and built bonds with students to show that we all work together to make New Hampton better.

Prom Weekend

Prom, Coffeehouse, and Snow!

 Despite one last (we hope!) round of winter weather, Prom 2019 went on as scheduled.  The hard work of the committee paid off with great decorations and use of venue space.  Throughout the 48 hour panic around snow, preparations continued.  There was many beautiful pictures in the snow and the timing turned out to fit our needs perfectly!

Students spend prom night at the New Hampton Golf Club not only dancing to our in-house DJ, Mr. Richards, but also played cards and pool in the large space provided.

 After a night of dancing and post-prom at the high school gym,  the NHHS music department has their last big event of the year with the Coffeehouse concert.  The music boosters sponsor the event with desserts and coffee while our three musical groups share their spring work with the community before state large group content this upcoming weekend.

 Students who have attended prom traditionally wear their dresses and tuxedos to the Coffeehouse concert to again share with the community their weekend celebration.  In addition this concert highlights our senior music students as serves as a parents' night for recognition.

Emotions often run high at Coffeehouse as it signifies the "beginning of the end" for our seniors as the Class of 2019 enters their last month of classes and prepares for graduation.  A big thanks to those seniors and their contributions to the NHHS music department the last four years.  You will be missed!