Dr. David Hopson
I was pleased to represent the district at the annual town meetings in Blandford, Middlefield, and Worthington and to have each of these towns pass the District’s request for the FY’15 budget (with Blandford passing it unanimously). With four more towns left to hold annual town meetings, I’m hoping that we can have an approved budget in place before the start of the next fiscal year.
For those of you who missed the last few events in the Performing Arts Center (Chester’s musical, the high school play, the middle/junior high school play, and the Spring high school concert and art show), you missed some great opportunities to see students performing well outside of the academic school structure. The night before Spring Break, students from Chester Elementary School wowed the audience with a wonderful rendition of “Really Rosie”, which was funded by the Gateway Education Foundation. The students who put on the high school’s play by moving Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” into a more contemporary setting did an outstanding job and accolades go to everyone involved, from the set, to the tech crew, to the actors and director. For the middle/junior high school play, “Robin Hood”, I also tip my hat to everyone involved for putting on such a great show, including the musical pieces of the play and the great transitions on the stage between scenes.
Not to be outdone, the musical performances at the high school spring concert were also excellent and demonstrated both the commitment to music by our students, but also the willingness of alumni to take part and help out whenever needed. I was also very impressed by the variety, quality, and creativity expressed by our students at the art show. From pottery, glass design, and woodworking to paint, 3-d drawings, and other art forms, the show highlighted the artistic ability of our students and the dedication of our staff in working with students to create such outstanding pieces.
The poise and professionalism of our students, whether on stage, behind the scenes, or showing their artwork is a testament to the reality that school is much more than just academics. These students aren’t just running through the motions; their level of performance is striking as is the fact that they seem to enjoy the activities and are comfortable in showcasing their talents. As we know from what employers want of new employees, and what communities need from their citizens, this ability to work hard, think creatively, produce a product, communicate, and collaborate is key to success. We can teach many facts but the ability to put knowledge, abilities, and skills into action is required in many situations and is difficult to effectively demonstrate in a purely academic environment. What we need are more ‘real life’ opportunities for students to demonstrate the mastery of these skills rather than simply adding more state and federally mandated assessments that only measure a limited subset of the skills and knowledge needed to be effective in life.
I hope that more people will come to these types of events, to be part of the community supporting children and the arts, and to see just how well our students do—not to mention having the ability to enjoy performances for a bargain price. Upcoming opportunities include the Shipman Memorial Concert on May 30, the GatorRoo Music Festival on June 7, and the Middle School/Jr. High concert on June 10—all at Gateway.
Again, my congratulations to everyone who was involved in putting together these events; I truly enjoyed each of them and commend everyone for their success in these arenas.
