Wow. Summer went by really fast. But that’s ok because I am really excited to be back in school again and ready to take on another school year. There are many changes that have taken place over the summer to get our school ready for this year. Some changes involve people and some changes involve stuff.

First, welcome to our new staff members. Mr. Schurke, our new Assistant Principal comes to us from Ingraham High School in Seattle where he was a Science and Aerospace Engineering Teacher. Ms. Marty, our new Learning Support Teacher, last worked at Martha Lake Elementary School. Ms. Becker, our new Attendance Secretary, joins us after working as a substitute secretary throughout our district as well as working as a nurse at Children’s Hospital. We’ll also be adding a new English Teacher very soon. We are so excited to have these new staff members join our school.

Second, I wanted to share with you some of the new things that happened here at MTHS over the summer. First, our whole building now has new carpet. After 20 years, it was time and we are really fortunate that the district was able to find the resources to replace our badly worn and stained carpet. One of the things we all need to do is help maintain our new carpet by not eating or drinking in classrooms. Bottled water is fine, but other drinks and all foods need to stay in the Hub. Our building also got a fresh coat of paint over the summer. All the walls were washed and repainted. Finally, there has been extensive work done to help improve our heating and ventilation system. Hopefully this will help reduce the number of rooms that are really hot or really cold depending on the time of the year.

With all the work that has been done to help make our school one that looks good, we need to do all we can to keep it that way. This is our home for 7 hours or more every day of the school year. I want us all to treat our building well and help maintain it so we can continue to have a facility to be proud of.

Finally, I share this message every year but it bears repeating. The start of each school year is a chance to do it over again. A chance to have a fresh start. Last year is in the books and the new year that lays ahead of you remains wide open to make it whatever you want it to be. If school was hard for you last year or you did not pass some or all of your classes, make it different this year. Attend your classes. Turn in your homework. Ask for help if you don’t understand something. Resolve to do better in school. Get involved. Go out for a sport. Join a club. Find something to do that gives you a reason to be here and to be connected to your school in a positive way. Find out what you need to do to get into college. Apply for scholarships. Make this school year a great one.

Welcome back and I hope each of you has a great start to the new school year!