My first Borgia Birthday

-
As a young man, I was always jealous of the kids at school who got to celebrate a birthday on a school day. On those days, the birthday boy or girl would receive dozens of "Happy Birthday" wishes, and often the whole class loved the birthday student because he or she brought a birthday treat for all to share. Not to mention, the teacher usually gave the birthday student some sort of special treatment...or so it seemed. My birthday is on July 24. So, I did have some years where the teacher would recognize my half birthday in January. However, I never felt as special as I assumed those other kids felt who celebrated an actual birthday at school. 

When I became a school administrator, I no longer had to wonder what it was like to be at school on my birthday. I was here on Wednesday, as we still have a lot to do to get ready for the school year. However, my first Borgia birthday was much more than a routine day. 

On Wednesday, I got my first real taste of what it means to be part of the Borgia family. I was the recipient of dozens of birthday wishes from our Borgia staff, students, and parents. The volleyball team even made me a poster. Mr. Wingbermuehle also put together a little midday party for me where we had some German chocolate cake, as well as a second cake featuring vanilla pudding, expertly made by Mrs. Vossbrink. To top it all off, the staff gave me a "Knight" whose sword is topped by a silver lamp shade. They also gave me a gift certificate to our spirit shop, so I can better represent Borgia everywhere I go! 

My wife and kids also visited on Wednesday, and they made me a St. Francis Borgia picture comprised of photos of items that look like letters. These photos were all taken around Washington, most of them coming from Borgia High School, or from the St. Francis Borgia and Our Lady of Lourdes parishes. 

Some people may think I am odd for wanting to go to school or to work on my "special day." However, my first Borgia birthday could not have been more special. This place feels like home, and the people here feel like family, already. Thank you to all of you who made Wednesday special for me, and thanks to all of you who will make everyday special here in the future.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Build Culture, One "Pin" at a Time

-
This year, our principal came up with a fun way for the administrative team to appreciate teachers. She purchased three different types of "pins" that principals can distribute to faculty or staff. We have pins to give teachers who make notable contributions to our PLC teams and we have pins for adults who go above and beyond for our students. In addition, we have an "apple" pin to give to teachers following a good lesson. We didn't make an official announcement about these pins. We just started distributing them, here and there, in November. As a result, faculty and staff have been pleasantly surprised when we have had something to share, aside from some positive words.  Earlier this month, I put an inordinate amount of time into a presentation. It was the type of presentation that did not require extensive preparation. In short, we had decided that students weren't taking our district writing prompt seriously. The sophomores who had to participate did
Read more

Leaving "The Rope" on the Ground is Easy with Powerful Practice

-
Among the messages featured in the CPI family of posters, the reminder not to “pick up the rope” is among the most-appreciated. The poster, which reads “Don’t Pick Up the Rope” features a boy holding a rope in a tug-of-war; he sports an intense look on his face. Unseen is the person on the other end of the rope, deciding whether or not to engage in the tug-of-war with this young man. Unit Five in the CPI Nonviolent Crisis Intervention course really focuses in on this idea of avoiding “picking up the rope.” It’s easier said than done! Unfortunately, our clients (and even our colleagues) can put us in situations where we have a hard time leaving “the rope” on the ground. When a person is confronting us, demonstrating defensive-level behaviors, it is a challenge to keep our composure. However, this unit gives us some perspective and some helpful advice. First, this unit covers “precipitating factors,” defined by CPI as “factors that influence behavior.” I teach this topic with the
Read more

Pro-Life Allows 600,000 to become 1 Team

-
One of the great things about going to high school is the opportunity to be part of a team. Whether a student chooses to play a sport or not, he or she has the opportunity to show up and root for the team. When Borgia wins "State," we all win State. Especially at Borgia, team spirit is plentiful.  Sometimes, we have the opportunity to rally around other causes much like we rally around our teams. And in the case of the Pro-Life trip, the team is much bigger than our students experience with the other teams they support. The Pro-Life Trip experience, however, begins with Borgia rallying together as a team. This past fall, our campus minister Andy Halaz put extra energy into helping students to recognize that the Pro-Life trip is an opportunity to come together spiritually. We wanted to fill a bus with Borgia students going to Washington D.C. to march for this worthy cause. We succeeded! This was our first victory as a team.  In doing so, we had to remind students that a trip t
Read more