It's Fuel Up to Play with Maurice Jones-Drew Day!

This past Tuesday, our whole school got to celebrate our award of a Fuel Up to Play grant sponsored by the NFL and the Florida Dairy Council. It was no ordinary celebration. As part of our reward we were paid a very special visit by our hometown Jacksonville Jaguars superstar football player #32 Maurice Jones-Drew. In true Chets Creek fashion we welcomed him BIG - there was music, banners, highlight videos, and cheers. Besides presenting our PE Coaches Estrella Bailey and Ray Robinson with a $1700.00 check Mr. Jones-Drew spent time talking with our Fuel Up to Play Fifth Graders and then the rest of the student body about eating right, exercise and the importance of determination. He was humble, kind and answered our students honestly, even when the questions were tough. I loved the fact that growing up he wanted to be an astronaut, that his favorite subject in school was Math, and that his childhood hero was his granddad! He had a great sense of humor and his message for our students was perfect - work hard, make good choices, never give up and you'll be successful at whatever you choose. I wish him much continued success in his future and he is welcome to come back to The Creek anytime!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

On the first day of school this year every Chets Creek student planted a seed for a cold weather crop.  They tended and watered them as they germinated and began to sprout.  After 6 weeks, the ones that made it that far, were invited to plant them in our school's garden.  Our fifth graders really took this challenge to heart and weeded and watered our garden throughout the past months.  Each day the teachers and kids gave up parts of their recess to ensure that we cultivated a bountiful crop.  The fruits of their labor began to provide just before our Winter Break when they harvested beans.  Several students got to take the produce home and prepare it for their families.  I heard one student roamed door to door in his neighborhood looking for someone with butter he could use to cook them in! :)  This past week their rows of broccoli and cabbage were ready to be picked and I got to take home my own stalk of broccoli to eat.  The cabbage are some of the most gorgeous I've ever seen.  Our garden grows big and beautiful and the lessons our students have learned are limitless.  I'm so proud of our "Farmers" and their "Learning Cultivators"!  Next up is a spring planting.  I can hardly wait to see what grows next...

It's Not the End of the World...But Almost

Last night the external hard drive I use crashed. Yep, my school one. While most would think losing everything on your computer is not good - for me it's near catastrophic. You see that hard drive houses every single document for Chets for the past 14 years. Just sit quietly and allow that to sink in for a minute. Every Connection, Memo, Letter, Form, Photo, Graphic, Agenda, Schedule, Sign, Survey, Data Chart, Powerpoint, etc - the entire electronic history of our school. It was my worst nightmare. I am proud to report that I have remained uncharacteristically mature about it, I have thrown no hissy fit...yet. :) My crisis management mode took over and I started immediately to try and identify allies who could help me attempt to fix it. Thank goodness there are people out there smart enough to do that kind of magical work. Right now all the data on the drive is being imaged - it'll take 9 hours - before they start trying to extract it. Hopefully, they'll be able to recover it all and at least if they can't there is an electronic "picture" of all 20,000+ items. A special thank you to Jim C., my hero, who is attempting to save the world as we Creekers know it! Stay tuned...

It's a New Dawn...It's a New Day

Happy New Year! I'm not sure I've ever been so excited to see a year end and a new one begin.  2010 was certainly one of the toughest I've had to endure to date and 2011 promises to be one of surprises!  Each year I always try to make and keep a few resolutions.  Like most everyone I know I have the very best intentions but often find myself abandoning them by the second week .  So this year I decided to keep it simple.  I made one resolution and made sure it would be of great benefit for me to stick with it.  The amount of email I get in a day is outrageous but I have decided that I will not sleep until each and every email has been dealt with for the day.  There is something so gratifying about seeing your Inbox at 0!  So far...so good.  Now as each new day dawns I don't feel overwhelmed and behind from the barage of emails that never stop coming.  What are you resolved to do this year?