Weekly News and Notes

Well, everyone, this will be the last Weekly News and Notes to come out on a Friday this year. I plan on sending my final one out on the Monday before the last day of school. Next year, I expect to have some enhancements and additional contributions, and hope to also add in some sections where we celebrate the many things that are being done so well here at Medway High School, but more on that later.

First off, on a very personal level, thanks so much to all of you who offered me such kind words on Wednesday and Thursday. Truthfully, when my grandfather lost my grandmother last summer, I was concerned about how he would react in terms of his own will - after 61+ years, you can imagine it being tough on him. These connections with students and knowing that people gain something from his story really helps keep him going. He's already talking about coming back next year. The reaction from the students and from all of you is something that means a great deal on a very, very personal level, and for that I am very grateful.

So, back to business:

Our hiring committees are in full swing. We are finalizing candidates for foreign language, English, and history, and hope to soon have finalists selected for mathematics. We also are working hard to find someone for music. To the many of you who have been on screening committees, or have volunteered to have folks teach a lesson in your classes, we appreciate the time and sometimes inconvenient scheduling of these opportunities.

In truth, I have been in 20 interviews in the past month for the first round alone, a process that is exhausting. We are committed to bringing great to Medway, for our students deserve nothing less before them in a classroom and our staff nothing less beside them in a workroom.

Scheduling

I hope many of you will be able to stop by the scheduling forums next week. I have been working fairly non-stop on the schedule since early May, and I have learned a great deal about the process - enough to make this easier next year, and to know some things that will help make things better. Now, the schedule is imperfect, and we will still have students in study hall, but I hope you will at least understand some of the background as to some of the decision-making.

I've been thankful for the support of the department heads along the way, particularly with regard to teacher assignments and looking at schedules of best fit. Moving forward, I do expect to have some different opportunities with regard to the scheduling process, some of which I will explain next week.

Finally, I appreciate everyone's patience. I'm not trying to be patronizing - I know how tense not knowing what the coming year's teaching assignment is can be. I frequently found my schedule out in the middle of July or August, which was frustrating, particularly when I taught seniors, they left, and I had some more time at my disposal in June to meet with people and gather materials. So I feel your pain/tension - and will work to get these schedules established - and the process completed - more expeditiously next year, around MCAS, graduation, and summative evaluations, of course.

That about does it from me on this week - more to come with the final edition of the year. See you next week, and best of luck with getting everything together for finals!