Wow has time been flying here at DL-B! When I look back at the last month, I must say that it has been a very busy month here at school with all the volleyball games, National Honor Society induction, football games, and homecoming festivities! I want to thank everyone who took part in supporting our students and our school during these events this past month. Having said this, I must address how successful homecoming was this past month here at school; spirit days participation was at an all-time high, the volleyball team won during the week, the students were very well behaved, and the football team capped the week off with a win as well. This was a typical homecoming where I was very proud of our students and very proud to be a DL-B Laker!
In this month’s newsletter, we have incorporated information about the dangers and the worries that come from students and young people using e-cigarettes often called “Juuls.” The amount of use regarding the e-cigarette has been such, that we want to be upfront and informative that this is a problem that we are trying to combat and are asking for help from you the parents as well. We ask that you please discuss the dangers of “vaping” with your child. I have had meetings with our staff, other school administrators, our student advisory group, county administrators, sheriff deputies, our school board members, and parents about this concern and I know our school is not alone in fighting this problem. We are having a speaker come in this month and discuss what the dangers of vaping using electronic cigarettes are with our students. Again, I ask that you discuss this issue with your child, as I believe that our youth are being targeted by these companies to get them to partake in this activity. I feel it is part of our job as educators is to be diligent in finding ways to reach our students and I thank you for your help in this process.
When observing inside of our building and classrooms, I am very excited to attest that our students have been actively and eagerly learning. For those of you who do not get the opportunity to see how our students learn, let me tell you that as an educator one of the best feelings in the world is to see a student learn a concept, grasp material and retain it or reiterate the material to you or someone else. People often tell me that school and the way students learn are not the same as it was when they were going to school. I want to tell you yes the school and students are “different” from when we were in school; however I must say that our world has changed from when we were in school and that the students may not be learning material in the same fashion you were taught, however I will say that I believe much of the material our students are learning today is much more advanced from when we were in school and that in order to be successful in society our students must be ready to meet those demands. I believe that students will not be taught the same way from one generation to the next as our society’s needs and the demand of the outside world is always changing. Therefore, our school and academic rigor must not only match the demands of our society, but the necessities needed for our students to prosper.
If you have not been able to drive to Des Lacs this month, I will tell you that when you do make the trip, you will see that our building project has made significant progress in the past thirty days. The gym walls are up, the junior high wing floor has been poured and soon the entire building will be enclosed thus having the ability to control the temperature. We are still looking to move into the new commons/cafeteria after the winter break, and having our junior high students move up to the high school at the end of March of the beginning of April. This will allow for work to begin on schedule in Burlington, as classrooms will be renovated as soon as the junior high population moves out of those classrooms. The progress that is being made and the better facilities that our students will be using in short order is very exciting for us!
Finally, my quote for this month comes from Ronald Regan, “Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. You will have opportunities beyond anything we've ever known.” When reading this quote I believe it not only addresses our youth, but also all adults when trying to boost our youth for our ever-changing society!
