Over 2,000 Employees Kick-off the 2010-2011 School Year at District Convocation

All EM-S ISD offices and campuses were closed Monday morning so all 2,068 District employees could participate in the 2010-2011 Convocation ceremonies, held in the Saginaw High School gymnasium. This year's theme was Better by the Minute.

Convocation is the only time in the year that all employees get together under one roof. "Convocation is like a big pep rally for all of the employees. It is a time for us to celebrate and kick-off the new school year," said Kristin Courtney, Director of Communications. Interim Superintendent, Weldon Hafley, set the stage for this next year by talking about what Better by the Minute means. Hafley said, "Today, we are here to celebrate our achievements and to cast a vision for the future success of our District. Our Convocation theme is Better by the Minute. Although investing quality time does bring good results, "better" isn't always about data, or improved test scores. "Better" is also about who and what we become in the process."

Employees played games like the TV show, "Minute to Win It" and the winner won a Flip video camera donated by Troxell Communications. The EECU prize blimp circled the crowd and dropped prizes. Troxell Communications also provided Flip cameras for seven other lucky winners.

Board President Dick Elkins spoke and made the popular announcement that everyone was getting a raise. The Board approved a 2% raise for all employees at the July Board meeting. He also spoke of the Board's confidence in the Interim Superintendent and talked about the process for hiring the next Superintendent for the District. He said that the Board hopes to have a new Superintendent in place by the beginning of January.

"I speak for all of your Board members when I say that we are extremely proud to be a part of Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD. I am excited about our forward direction and what this upcoming year holds. You are in great hands with Mr. Hafley leading the way and we, as a Board, have full confidence in him and are thankful that he has agreed to serve as our Interim Superintendent," Elkins said.

Convocation wrapped up with a video that reminded employees that they succeed when students succeed and that they can do far more united as a team than they can do on their own. Employees had district in-service training Monday afternoon and Tuesday and are scheduled for campus inservice training the rest of the week.

A Principal's Perspective on Starting Back to School

Even though the halls may be absent of students throughout district campuses during the summer months, work doesn't stop for school district administrators. Many times as school district administrators we often get the question "what do you do during the summer break? You can't be that busy when the students are out of school." In reality, the summer is a really busy time for school districts. Whether a campus is undergoing major renovations during the summer, or just managing the tasks associated with wrapping up one school year and preparing for the next it's a busy time while the students and teachers are enjoying their well deserved summer break.

With that thought in mind, we asked Ed Willkie Middle School Principal, Melanie Caldwell, to share a principal's perspective on starting back to school as we all gear up for the 2010-2011 school year to begin later this month. Here's what she had to say...

"With the start of back to school, there are many tasks to be taken care of by a variety of people on our campus. The custodians spend all summer cleaning and waxing the floors to bring the building back to "brand new". In the office, we have a check off list that we work off of to make sure we don't forget anything. We order office supplies, restock spirit wear, print off information for residency verification, do mail outs and call outs to parents about upcoming events, check out athletic uniforms and equipment, plan 6th grade orientation, and many, many, other tasks. I would say as a principal, my greatest task is preparing the master schedule. This is a cumbersome task which takes a lot of time to make it the best possible situation for the majority of all the students. Since we have teaming at Willkie, it makes the master schedule even more challenging, but our philosophy is that it is what is best for students. The master schedule is like a huge rubric's cube, but teaming is worth the time I devote to making it work.

We also spend our summers attending training to assist us in providing the best possible experience and education for our students. My role is to take the information I learn at these trainings and work with my staff on the best practices to implement, so that we can do our best to reach every child where they are and take them to where they can be."

Photo: Ed Willkie Middle School hallway taken by Jana Burns, EM-S ISD Director of Special Programs.