"Hey, Thanks!"

Oddly, the only sound that I can hear right now is the sound of my fingers tapping the keyboard as I type this entry. When I arrived at 7:30 this morning there were students in bunches all over the grounds. I could see the busses pulling away from the building and I could hear all of the chatter that comes with 800 middle school students and high school teens. The sound of the first bell (we call it a bell but it is actually a long beep), the morning announcements over the PA, and the “Good Mornings” going back and forth among the students, teachers, and staff. Now, at 5:45 PM all is quiet as I sit here and type.

As I walked the hall just moments ago, I noticed that new signs already adorn the walls. Our students moved quickly to get the word out that the Children’s Hospital Bloodmobile will be at Mahar on September 8, 2009 from 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM. The 11 x 16 signs can be found throughout the high school reminding students who are of age to sign up in the cafeteria during lunch. The teachers have gone home along with the students – but it is quite clear that they were all back in action today. The first day of school is done, and I have to say it went very very well.

Summertime in the administrative offices is probably like any day in any administrative office. Budget work, curricular preparation, human resources management, and networking happen in offices all over the world everyday. There is just something different about it when the students and teachers are buzzing around the building. There is a renewed sense of energy that exists on the first day of school that is hard to explain. My friends who work in the pharmaceutical industry, in hospitals, in law offices, and in sales can never understand this. Their last “first day” of school was so long ago that this is all foreign to them. When the students are here and the teachers are teaching our administrative team is reminded of the importance of our work.

Today I was walking down a hallway in the center of our building when I came across a young man with his schedule in his hand. He had a look of uncertainty as he looked once at the paper in his hand and at the classroom number on the wall. I stopped and asked him if he needed some assistance. He told me that he had to go to his English class in the high school and he did not know where it was. I took a look at his schedule and told him that I would walk him there. As we walked I had the opportunity to ask him his name and where he was from, and so on. He told me that he went to Athol Middle School last year and that Mahar was new to him.

I learned that he liked his middle school, but that so far he likes Mahar too. This young man is a soccer player and he is hoping to be able to make one of our teams. When we got to the door of his classroom I wished him well and just before his face went from conversational to nervous he looked me in the eye and he said, “Hey thanks.” As I walked back to my office I thought about the simplicity and the perfection of that moment. I had the opportunity to meet one of our students on my way from one office to the other. The best part of it was that the young man took a second to say thank-you. Some person, perhaps his parents, or maybe one of his teachers (I hope both) took the time to teach him to show gratitude when someone lends him a hand. To the person or people who taught this young man – please accept a “Thank-you!” from me.