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Dr. David Hopson |
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December 17, 2007 I’d like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a wonderful and joyous holiday season and hope that each of you is able to reflect positively on personal events of the past year. I am grateful for the support shown to the school district by our communities this year. Our staff continue to work diligently to improve the schools for the betterment of our children and appreciate all of those who volunteer their services within the schools. Together we are making a difference. This year has brought both sadness and joy to the Gateway community. We’ve experienced the loss of family and friends through natural causes, accidents and war but have also seen the community respond to these losses and take appropriate steps to console the families and help those left behind. We’ve seen some strange weather, some stranger requirements from our state and federal governments and experienced the fact that the paperwork reduction act does everything but reduce paperwork. However, this has been balanced by positive gains as measured by the state and federal government through MCAS and the No Child Left Behind Act for Gateway schools and students. The district also continues to face difficult decisions regarding the budget and the amount of money that the towns expend to support education, yet we were fortunate to get some ‘pothole’ funds to help close some of the gaps. Overall, if I were to weigh the plusses and minuses in the district, I’d say the scale would tip in favor of the positive. I say this as I think back upon the senior holiday concert and luncheon and view the musical performances, the meal preparations and the student assistance in welcoming and serving our guests—all done wonderfully. I also remember the dedication, hard work and successes of our fall sports teams and more recently the payoff for the girl’s varsity basketball team as they celebrated their first win in five years—you’ve got to give all of our student athletes credit for persistence, hard work and good sportsmanship. We’ve got the holiday concerts (middle and high school) that promise to be more excellent examples of performance and we just completed the Middle School Playwright program that offered another wonderful series of student-written performances to the public. The range of activities within the district, the number of Advanced Placement Courses offered over the years, the number of on-line courses being taken and the success of our graduates point to the fact that we do very well at meeting student needs within the limited resources that we have as a very small school district. I’ve mentioned previously that this doesn’t mean we get to rest on our laurels but it is certainly better for children to build from success rather than failure. There are a number of other ‘good’ things happening in the district related to schools, student performance and meeting increasing expectations. Take time to reflect upon and enjoy the natural beauty of the hilltowns, the support of neighbors and friends, the small town atmosphere and the ability to serve the community and have a direct impact on local government. We all may have complaints and concerns, the news media may only provide negative information and the world certainly has its share of troubles, but if we stop for a moment we’ll see that there is still much good in the world. As we close out 2007, ensure that you take time to enjoy life and do something positive for someone else—each day is a new beginning and a chance to do well. You could do worse than follow Benjamin Franklin’s advice as we start the new year—“Be civil to all; sociable to many, familiar with few; friend to one; enemy to none.”
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