As the final “flush” of the year, I thought the above quote was QUITE appropriate. We have an amazing year! I am so proud to say that I work alongside of you! You are a great team. This is the time of year of so many goodbyes. You will be saying goodbye to kiddos, goodbye to parents, and goodbye to coworkers. Some people out of those groups won’t be back here in Hound country next year, so it is even a bigger and harder goodbye. But, the joy is that we are going to say HELLO again and OFTEN! I hope that we find ways to stay connected with students, parents, and of course each other. I have heard that each goodbye makes the next hello closer….I am excited to hear about what the future holds for so many of you. I am very sad to have to say goodbye to some of you guys, but I know that the horizon holds something even greater for you. Please make sure we know about it when it happens for you! We want to celebrate all of your successes with you.
I wanted to take a minute and first say “thanks” to all of you. You had a new principal with a new vision/mission, and you jumped right in. I had a great year, and I learned so much from you. I appreciate your hard work and your flexibility. We accomplished some great things, and we are making real estate agents much happier as the community is loving you guys! You are rockstars in their books, and in mine too. So, I thank you for being able to stay out of the negative elements of our jobs and focus on the positives. This summer will be a great time to unwind and focus on relaxing and refocusing. I hope that you get to do EVERYTHING you want and much more, and I hope you get to fully reflect on the good you did this year. We can all improve, and there is for sure a time to reflect on that too. But, all too often, that is the only aspect we reflect on, and that isn’t healthy. Look for things you did right and you are proud of….find ways to replicate it and build on that energy. You have amazing strengths and talents, and I know you will find more and more ways to use them effectively.
I also wanted to highlight some key players that are moving on from us this year…I know we all know who won’t be joining us in the fall, but I wanted to say “thanks” to them personally as well.
Lana Kulpa – She is for sure an icon in this community, and it is amazing the amount of lives that have been touched because of her dedication to students. She has dedicated the lion share of her experience/time/sweat/tears to Huggins, and this community will never be able to thank her fully. She is choosing to take some time to be a daughter now. She is going to continue her serving attitude, but now it will be for her dad.
Karen Parris – She is also another “legend in her own time” because of the amount of time she dedicated solely to the students of Huggins elementary. She has taught in no other LCISD school, and she is quick to make relationships with students and parents. She is leaving big shoes to fill, and she seems able to adjust to any situation quite easily. One of the qualities that everyone talks about with her is her amazing sense of humor. I am personally privileged as a parent to have had a child in her class, and I thank her for touching so many lives.
Elizabeth Stevenson – We were glad to get a glimpse of the magic that can happen in Ms. Stevenson’s classroom. She was with us this school year in a whirlwind of change for her family. New state, new home, new job, and oh yeah new baby! She jumped in ready to go from day one, and she came back guns blazing after her time off with the baby. She has so much enthusiasm, and she is a great fit anywhere she goes. She is wanting to be closer to home, so we are most likely losing her to the Maroon or blue track. They needed a little gold on that side of town, and we know she will be back to us one day!
Jamie Macleod -- One of the biggest shoes we are having to fill next year is for our beloved nurse. How can you easily find someone that can coddle a Kindergartner for a scraped knee, can scold a 5th grader for ditching class, can use an ice pack to solve 100 problems, can see through a veiled stomach pain to find a true issue, and has the medical knowledge/advice for the one million of possible ailments floating around this place. Then throw in the fact that she is amazing at communicating with parents on so many levels. Yep those nurse booties will be tough to fill! She has wrangled with parents and stood her ground in tough situations, and she has hugged kiddos while sweating in that Hound costume on multiple occasions. We wish her the best in looking for that slower paced job…
Delana Jones – I would think that you could easily make the argument that there is no one on campus that wears more hats than Delana. When trying to write interview questions for her replacement, we found that her true job description doesn’t cover near enough. She works with ESL students, helps in the office, pulls students, answers phones, staples, files, copies, and that is all before her first cup of coffee! She is leaving some fast shoes to fill, but I know she is ready for the next step in her career path. She will be continuing to train others, so if you need a good personal trainer, give her a call. And, she will be working with a family company that is growing quickly, so she will get the joy of working from home.
Sandra Hodges – I will for sure miss seeing her smile everyday next year. She is truly and quite literally like a Timex watch – she “takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’” We are so grateful to her kind spirit in working with our PASS kiddos. I love her ability to put her arm around a student who is upset and watch their body language immediately change. She is able to be a positive presence in their lives that unfortunately don’t have that presence at home. She will be joining the maroon track as well next year at Polly Ryon Middle School, so she is moving from being a Hound to being a Longhorn!
Nick Palacios – I will miss having Nick around. I don’t like losing testosterone around the building! We all know what Nick puts up with on a daily basis, and we can’t thank him enough for being able to “play Gumby” the way that he has. He is amazing at being flexible with his schedule to accommodate the needs of the student….which change VERY quickly. He is able to stay on top of paperwork while staying on top of behavior and academics. He is heading across the district to Jane Long to work with their PASS students as well as with his wife. They will save on gas on their short commute too! We wish him the best, and I am sure all will be great unless he offers his wife TOO much advice….
Elana Lang --Words can't express how big her shoes are to fill! She has a tremendous love of Science that kids can't help but catch on to. She is amazing at making learning fun and hands on She seems to have a way of joking with kids that draws them in, and it is clearly evident that she loves children. She is following these 5th graders to the 6th grade campus to keep an eye on them for us...
Elana Lang --Words can't express how big her shoes are to fill! She has a tremendous love of Science that kids can't help but catch on to. She is amazing at making learning fun and hands on She seems to have a way of joking with kids that draws them in, and it is clearly evident that she loves children. She is following these 5th graders to the 6th grade campus to keep an eye on them for us...
Words can’t express how thankful I am to each one of you….make sure to find time to thank them as well! They will be missed!
I hope everyone has a wonderful last day with the kids, and a great summer! The mush and flush will resume in 13-14!
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