I would like to wish all of our parents, grandparents and students a Happy New Year and a heartfelt welcome back.  It is really great to see all of the kids back and ready to go!  The New Year to me is often about new starts.  The students don’t always say it but I know that they are like us adults in many ways.  They want to do better in the things that they struggle with whether it is making the honor roll, meeting math lab and AR goals, meeting new friends etc.   I think that as parents we sometimes think that our children only think about goals and their future if we remind them about them.  The truth is, that at a very young age, kids have dreams, ideas and really want to do well…they just sometimes struggle with getting it done.  Just like us.

 

Where I am going with this is to encourage parents to make an effort to blend what your goals for your children are with what their own personal goals are.  The trick is getting your kids to share with you what personal goals they would like to work on.  I know how tricky this communication can be because my wife and I have two teenagers whom with we are still learning how to most effectively get them to share with us their aspirations.

 

Being a parent is the toughest, best job on the planet.  I try to do my job from the perspective of a parent because I am a parent and because I think that this approach is what parents expect from a Principal.  My children are Mountain Vista alumni and they could not have been more prepared for high school when they left our program.  As proud as I am of what we do, I want our school to always strive to do better.  Please share with me what you like about us and what you think we can do to enhance our school.  Many of the outstanding programs we have are a direct result of parent feedback.

 

Remember, a good start is imperative to a successful second half of the school year.  I can’t over stress this concept because countless times I have seen students quickly dig themselves a hole and often never get out of it.  Help them learn good habits, be patient and good things will happen.