Administrator's Corner
Archived Posts
Welcome to the Administrator's Corner. Shawn Gonyaw, Principal of Marion Cross School, and Greg Bagnato, Student Services Coordinator will post their weekly messages here. The intent is to keep you updated on important topics that are happening at school.
These posts can also be found in the weekly Who's Wise Words newsletter, which we highly encourage you to read. We hope you find all this information helpful, informative and fun. We encourage you to reach out to us with questions and comments.
Regards,
Shawn and Greg
Most Recent Post:
Week of May 4 - 8
Message From the Principal |
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Dear MCS Families, This past weekend I took a trip to Morrisville to pick up bees for my apiary. As I was putting them in the hives Saturday afternoon I thought about how often things do not go as planned. Last fall I had six thriving hives and was able to harvest 20 quarts of honey. In anticipation for winter I did the necessary mite treatments, wrapped the hives, and made certain each hive had enough honey to survive. Our wild winter temperature fluctuations in December and January brought rain, which translated into moisture in the hives. A sudden temperature drop turned the moisture to ice and killed the bees in four of my hives. The other two were thriving right up until the first of April and overnight one hive completely perished. The final survivors in hive #6 were few in numbers, but surviving...until just last week when they too perished. This left me with two choices - consider myself a failed beekeeper and quit or take time to reflect, look for opportunities for growth, and move forward. I chose the second option and installed new bees last weekend, who are thriving this weekend .
You might ask why is Mr. Gonyaw sharing his bee woes? I see a correlation with our current situation. We began this school year with all the necessary ingredients to have a fantastic, and typical, school year. A few weeks ago we were thrown a curveball, and just like the fluctuation of winter weather for the apiary it has caused uncertainty and upset. How we choose to perceive this situation and what we can glean from it are fully our choice.
This week I met with a group of parents with children in grades 4-6 at a parent chat on Zoom. It was evident to me that many families are making the best of this situation. It was mentioned that for some this is an opportunity to teach children independence. Others mentioned that they have enjoyed the added time that is spent learning together as a family. All present indicated how much strong relationships between children, families, and teachers has made this situation better for all involved. This week also had an increase in positive email communications coming my way, perhaps due to teacher/staff appreciation week. The MCS building has had an increase in teachers coming to prepare materials for children. Across the board, teachers miss the daily in person interactions with children. However, they have all mentioned what lessons have been learned and how our current situation has changed their thinking in one way another. Throughout the communications that came my way this week was the theme of people making the best of a tricky situation. I am confident that just as my apiary was given the opportunity to rebound and will soon be back to six (or more) thriving hives, so will MCS rebound. We will come back as a stronger system and community having all learned valuable insights. Teacher/staff appreciation Thank you to all of the families and organizations who made this week special for MCS staff members. On Monday we were treated to a slideshow highlighting positive photos and messages. Throughout the week teachers received thoughtful notes. Many of you participated in special parades and the PTO organized Pie Day with the support of The Blue Sparrow. On behalf of all of us at MCS, I would like to send out a huge thank you! Class Placement Thank you to the many parents and guardians who took the time to send me your perspectives about class placement for your child(ren). This coming Wednesday teachers will be working to make class lists for the coming school year. We will keep your preferences in mind during this process. Report cards will include class placement information. This will allow your family to leave the school year with this piece of knowledge. Parent Nights As the weeks progress and we are distanced from one another, we thought that it might be valuable to have check-in time. Katie, Nurse Pam, Mr. Bagnato, and Mr. Gonyaw will be hosting bi-weekly check-in times. The forum will be through a zoom meeting. The four of us will be available to hear any questions, concerns, or celebration that you would like to bring. On Thursday we hosted 4-6 grade family members. Next Wednesday we will host K-3 families who wish to join. Below are the links to join the meetings. The same links will work for future gatherings on the same days at the same times. Topic: K-3rd Grade Parent Check-In Time: May 13, 2020 05:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://sau70.zoom.us/j/ Meeting ID: 918 8664 7425 Password: 485858 Topic: 4th, 5th and 6th Grade Parent Check-in Time: May 12, 2020 05:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://sau70.zoom.us/j/ Meeting ID: 992 5039 4755 Password: 394550
Wishing you well, Shawn |
