WE ARE........PENN STATE.

This is it. It is the time I've been preparing for all pre-season....PENN STATE FOOTBALL. I have my tailgate chair washed, my portable grill cleaned and my sun tan lotion packed and I am ready to see PENN STATE defeat Akron tomorrow at Beaver Stadium.

Tonight is Football Eve at Beaver Stadium. I wonder if Mrs. Greevy will let my daughter and I go tonight to State College??

Read about Penn State Football Eve here.

Have you checked out the Little Lancers Blog???

Things are really hopping here at Schick and there is much to report. Tonight we had an open house for grades 1-5 and students, parents, and teachers filled the hallways and classrooms with the excitement of a new school year. If you haven't checked out the Little Lancers Blog, you'll need to. The address of the LLB is http://littlelancers.blogspot.com/ .

First Day of School

Well, the first day is up and running. Students are anxious, teachers are smiling, and Schick Elementary is hopping. The excitement in the air is contageous and I am finding out that this is the place to be. I've visited every classroom this morning and have met every student. I'm including a few pictures from the middle of our day and see for yourself the busy activity here at Schick Elementary.

Running the Bases...

I think the girls were inspecting
the warning track, but something
tells me they were wondering
where the bust of Howard J.
Lamade went...

Girls, you're running the
wrong way......

"Safe, Safe, Safe..."

What a great Little League game yesterday. Boy, when that California team gets hot, the really roll. What a exciting weekend. Mrs. Greevy, our daughter and I spent both Saturday and Sunday at all of the Little League games. We sat right behind the Chula Vista team both nights and boy, were those parents having lots of fun. Well, as a parent, my fun came after the game as my family was invited to go down on the field and my daughter and her friend ran the bases and the warning track. Those two three-year olds were having such a great time chasing each other and playing tag. What a cool honor for those two little girls to be on such a cool playing field.

Sitting in the Rain

We sat right behind the Chula Vista team tonight and had a great time, even though the rain delay began the second game at 7. My daughter and I had a great time watching the games, sharing jokes, watching Dugout, talking with people and staying dry under the stadium overhang. What a fun evening.

Did anyone out there go sliding down the grassy hill?

Teachers Make a Difference

Over the past couple of weeks, I've talked to a number of people who have sent words of congratulations on my new job here at Schick.

I have to tell you, yesterday I received a great joy in the mail. It was a card. On the front it said simply, "Congratulations." When I opened it, it had a really wonderful message and was signed by my first grade teacher, Mrs. Betty Kramm. Mrs. Kramm was a great influence in the early growth of my life and is always keeping in touch through notes. It is that kind of lasting influence that teachers make that students remember and appreciate.

I could go on about this, but I won't. I will tell you, however, that it really meant a lot to me that the night I was hired that my 8th grade Social Studies teacher, Mr. John Raymond was in attendance. That same evening Mrs. Kay (Rose) Weilminster and Mrs. Linda Woodling, my 4th and 5th grade teachers spoke to me on the phone as they were having dinner with my folks. It was meaningful to share that moment with them.

See, special people like teachers shape our lives (and are appreciated), even years after we've spent time in their classrooms. As we head into this new school year, it is time to shape lives and build those lasting relationships by being positive influences like Mrs. Kramm, Mr. Raymond, Mrs. Weilminster, and Mrs. Woodling.

Mrs. Jafee is Daffy!!!

My sister, parents and daughter came to see my new school last evening. I gave them the 25 cent tour. My three year old told my her mother later in the evening that she saw "the students' projects."

I think that she loved the library. I'll have to have Mrs. Cozza get her a library card here. Mrs. Cozza's library has lots of books, but some of the books could be updated. I'm hoping that parents and community members will consider donating a book to our library.

I'm going to donate Mrs. Jafee is Daffy. It is a book that my sister gave me when I became Vice Principal. If you haven't read the My Weird School Daze Series by Dan Gutman, you're missing some funny stories. This series is appropriate for kids between the ages 7-10.

A quick synopsis of the story reads, "The new vice principal of Ella Mentry School has some crazy ideas on how to teach kids. A.J. and the gang have to stand on their heads while they do math! They have to take a spelling test underwater! Everybody has to do yoga! Could it possibly get any weirder?"

I'm not sure I have crazy ideas like the Ella Mentry's new Vice Principal, but give me a few weeks...to finish reading this book. I'll let you know.