Captain’s log, school-date 2010.09.08

7:55 A.M: The school was quiet and peaceful; the photocopier happily spewed out math lessons. A few teachers, PAC  team, and students quietly went about their business.  It seemed like it could be the perfect, first full day of school… 

8:37 A.M. …then the kindergarten parents arrived.  Amidst the tears and long hugs of consolation, the little ones comforted their moms and helped them deal with the separation; and before long the moms were huddled together in the coffee room with enough coffee and muffins to feed the whole population of Kyrgyzstan.  The Parents’ Advisory Council hosted a wonderful venue for parents to meet and get to know each other.

9:15 A.M. For some reason, perhaps because I was the only male teacher available, I agreed to lead the boys’ kindergarten, bathroom orientation.  The lads and I debated ancient questions such as, “How many boys may use a bathroom stall on any single occasion.”  We agreed that a hundred was way too many, and we settled on one person, per stall, per visit.  

1:09 P.M.  The grade 11 and 12 students gathered to learn English and plan their strategies for the course. I encouraged, by means of a homework assignment, the students to set challenging, measurable goals for the semester.   We began enriching our vocabulary with the word “perfunctory” from page 20 of The Great Gatsby.  We knew that life would be much better for all of us if we knew how and when to use “perfunctory” in everyday life.  On Friday we’ll be creating sentences with the word, “supercilious.” How fun is that!

5:45 P.M.  I locked the building and set the alarm.  As I reached my car I noticed a small truck drive up to the school.  A parent arrived to offer his help to LCA by trying to deal with a wasp nest near the school entrance.  “We have the most amazing school community,” I thought as we chatted while searching for the ubiquitous insects.  

6:23 P.M. I powered up my computer at home.  It had been a perfect day on which to start my principal’s blog.  Hope you enjoy my somewhat circuitous perceptions of working in the remarkable school community that is called Lighthouse Christian Academy.