Happy summer, everyone!! I need to apologize for not posting a
May blog; it was an extremely trying spring for my family and me as both of my
parents passed away within six weeks of each other. I’m sure many have felt as my family
did: even at ninety, we weren’t ready to lose them. I am thankful that the love
and devotion they showed to each other has been passed along to all of their
children, grandchildren and great grandchildren; getting together has kept them
in our midst – and we wonder… does this action help us heal or does it serve as
a constant reminder of something we no longer have? While I’m sure that the
saying is true and that time heals all wounds, the interim is particularly
painful and seemingly interminable.
Summer employees—administrators, secretaries, guidance counselors, and
maintenance personnel—are extremely busy as the days zip by. Greg Shaffer
and his staff work very hard in the heat of the summer to get buildings and
grounds in top shape for the beginning of the school year. Administrators
are hustling to prepare schedules, staff development activities, and bus
routes/stops; they are restocking supplies, tending to curriculum updates and
distributing updated records across grade levels and schools, as well as
between districts. Then, based on population shifts, they order materials for
the coming school year. Added to this school year is training for Skyward,
our new Student Information System; secretaries, administrators and selected
staff will be going through several days of training. To support successful implementation of Skyward, the Board
has approved the position of a Technical Services Specialist who will be the
point of contact for all Skyward trainings, assistance, and troubleshooting
issues; this person will assume other technical district related duties, one of
which will be registering all new students throughout the school year and
during the summer.
Greg and his grounds keepers have been very active aerating,
fertilizing and rolling out existing fields to get them in tip top shape for
fall sports. The Board has set a
July meeting for the specific purpose of discussing and voting on the hiring of
a grounds consultant to develop plans for a new multi-purpose field. This will not happen overnight but will
be a work in progress as we continue to be the hub for our district’s families
and community members. Concurrent
with this plan is the Interactive Playground project – and the playground is
being assembled as I write this blog.
It will be quite impressive and should be a great addition to the
Central Cambria area.
Congratulations to the 115 seniors who recently graduated and to their
families for being a part of their educational lives. My interview with a cadre of seniors was enlightening and
informative. Central Cambria has
graduated a wonderful group of seniors.
Their influence and presence will be greatly missed; I’m confident that
we’ll hear great things about them over the years.
By now my wonderful wife Judy has now been retired for a year and has
managed to keep busy watching grandkids, consulting with various educational
agencies and teaching as an adjunct professor. She has always been active and I am glad she is able to
enjoy retirement on her terms. (By
the way, honey, what’s for dinner tonight?)
On the subject of sports, I am again excited for the Pittsburgh
Pirates. They are only a couple games out of first place in their
division as they continue their winning ways. Judy and I recently
attended a Pirates game at PNC Park and they really look good this year. The venue at PNC is awesome; I would
encourage you to make a game if you can and enjoy baseball. In football news, OTAs (Organized
Training Activities) are now over for football rookies and training camp starts
July 25 – I wonder if Judy will let me fly my Steelers flag; probably not, as
she always tell me “not until you smell fall in the air” (even though I did see
a yellow leaf yesterday).” Soon enough I will be watching the Black and
Gold rebuild their defense and get back to their winning ways – I hope!
Enjoy your families and what is left of June… go Bucs!
Dr. D.
