Message from the Principal – November 17
Change – During my relatively short time at Midlakes (14 years) I have come to recognize that in education, especially in this climate (political and fiscal), that one thing is a constant and that constant is change. Our society is changing rapidly, technology in many ways is a catalyst for change but there are other reasons as well. Regardless, I believe that we must prepare our future citizens to thrive in the face of change and capitalize on the opportunities which inherently exist during moments of transition. It is those individuals who demonstrate the ability to adapt to and impact positively the transitions which we face who will find themselves favorably positioned and making the most significant contributions in life. Below are a couple of recent changes we have experienced at the middle and high school.
1. The High School has a new Dean of Students. Mr. Mitchell was called up from the Middle School Dean of Students role when Mr. Moyer accepted an Assistant Principal position in the Sodus School District. We wish Mr. Moyer well and appreciate his impact while he was here. Mr. Mitchell has taught in the middle and high school here at Midlakes for several years and he has also coached the boy’s and girl’s swim teams. Mr. Mitchell is currently pursuing his administrative degree and has already transitioned into the role smoothly.
2. The Middle School Dean of Students (vacated by Mr. Mitchell) is now Mr. Giancursio. Mr. Giancursio is a long time middle school English teacher and has recently taught Academic Intervention Services at the high school as well. Mr. Giancursio will be pursuing his administrative degree in the coming months and has also transitioned into this role smoothly.
*Both Dean of Students transitions were handled with care and consideration. Mr. Moyer spent a good deal of time with Mr. Mitchell as Mr. Mitchell spent a good deal of time with Mr. Giancursio making sure everyone was fully up to speed on procedures and expectations already set forth for the school year. I want to thank both of these individuals for stretching themselves and positively impacting our school community to a larger degree.
3. Recently I have experimented with an adjustment to the bell schedule. With more shared staff between the middle and high school I was looking to find efficiencies for a number of management reasons. In all we spent three different days looking at various bell schedules. In the end I decided to stick with a bell system that has middle school students passing in the halls at different times from the high school students. Class lengths will remain the same as will lunches (actually all lunch’s will be 30 minutes in length where high school only had 28 minutes previously) and passing time will also remain the same. Although there will be slight adjustments to when the classes start and end, it will hardly be noticeable.
So back to my comment on change and being able to handle it; our students are impressive, they handled the adjustments with grace and continue to be a pleasure to work with each and every day. I hope you all enjoy the holidays as they approach and stay warm!
Yours in Education,
Mr. Jamie M. Farr
Principal – Midlakes Middle and High School