The Power of Rainbows....

As I left my office and walked down the hallway the other day I was struck by a very familiar sound literally bursting out of one of the English classrooms. It was a loud, almost brash voice filled with enthusiasm and what was being said was punctuated by raucous laughter. Rather than being unsettling, it was surprisingly comforting...Lisa Doyle was back! Back where she belongs among adoring students, energizing them and filling them with appreciation for literature and poetry, symbolism and simile, and the difference between a comma and a semicolon. For the last six and one half months Nancy von der Heyde has done an exceptional job filling some incredibly big shoes. She worked tirelessly to implement the curriculum and push her students to excel, knowing all along that some parents and students were less than thrilled she was in the classroom rather than Mrs. Doyle. Yet, she persevered and we all owe her an immense debt of gratitude. So now Mrs. Doyle is back, thankfully healthy and ready to finish out the year. We had a brief ceremony at lunch on Thursday to thank Ms. von der Heyde and welcome Mrs. Doyle back and, of course there was cake, a few moving student speeches, and lots of cheering and applause. Seemingly, all is right in our little CHS world! Pinned to my office bulletin board I have a photograph of the rainbow that magically appeared at a soccer game last fall on the day the school honored Mrs. Doyle. It depicts Mrs. Doyle standing triumphant, arms raised as if in defiance or in victory. From this day forward my view of rainbows has been forever altered. For the rest of my life every rainbow I experience will remind me of how fortunate we all are and that miracles do indeed occur. Welcome back, Lisa!

As if that excitement were not enough, we have a wonderful, new district web page! Months in the making, it was launched last week and, while it clearly is a work in progress, it is a tremendous improvement over what we have had for more than the last decade. Powered by Finalsite and the result of a significant amount of work on the part of our District Technology Director Deb Morgan, the new site is bright, colorful, and very polished. It is both artistic and functional, displaying lots of photographs of students engaged in learning on a number of levels as well as updated school news. It is also highly interactive and over the next several months plans include populating the site with a number of opportunities for students and parents to access and download forms and other information in a convenient manner. So if you get a chance, check it out at www.chatham.k12.ma.us and give us your honest feedback. Is there something that is missing or is there a link that might make your school experience easier or better. Please let us know because we are sincere in our aim to make this page your "go to" site for everything you need or want to know about the Chatham Public Schools.

So Spring arrives tomorrow and things are looking up at Chatham High School. It is hard not to be optimistic. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know how you feel.