It's All About the Pie

My blog is not always centered on education, family issues, or Sumner Academy, sometimes I like to have a little fun…so…here are some random thoughts on pizza.  We Americans love that pizza pie.  Did you know that…October is designated as pizza month?  Every second, Americans eat 350 slices!  About 93% of all Americans eat at least one pizza per month.  The National Restaurant Association estimates that Italian food is the most popular ethnic food in the country and that it is a thirty billion dollar industry.

Being the pizza lover that I am, I have rated the best pizza parlors I have frequented…

Top Five Pizzas Parlors for Mr. J.

1. Grand Lake Pizza, Grand Lake, Colorado

www.grand-pizza.com/

A braided dough crust and outstanding toppings are the highlights for these pies.  We were in Grand Lake two days and ate dinner here both days.  The second day we even waited two hours due to a power outage!  Now THAT is a great pizza!

2. Crozet Pizza, Crozet, Virginia

www.crozetpizza.net/

Housed in a very rustic building in Crozet just outside of Charlottesville, Crozet Pizza has all the ingredients listed on a huge blackboard.  You build your own pie according to which ingredients they have for the day.  Great sauce and those fresh ingredients highlight these pies.

3. Bilbo’s Pizza, Kalamazoo, Michigan

www.bilbospizza.com/

The absolute best deep dish pizza I have had (no travels have taken us to sample Chicago’s yet).  It comes to your table still sizzling.  That crust is crunchy on the outside edge and soft and doughy inside.  Terrific sauce as well.  This was a happening place of my high school years and remarkably is still around.

4. Mellow Mushroom, Memphis, Tennessee

www.mellowmushroom.com/

Fresh ingedients, lots of choices of ingredients and a tasty crust make this one the best I have had in Memphis.  I know this is a national chain, but I still love it.  Their selections of microbrews is also outstanding.

5. Luigi’s Pizza, Harrisonburg, Virginia

RIP

Sadly, Luigi’s went out of business since we lived in Harrisonburg.  It was a great place to go after the softball/soccer/football game for some wonderful pizza.  They had fun t-shirts.  If you went somewhere notable in the world and had your photo taken in a Luigi’s t-shirt, you got a free pizza (if no one else had done it).  We wore four Luigi’s t-shirts all day on a visit to the Four Corners one vacation!  They also let you play with dough regardless of your age.

Honorable Mention...

Pete and Sam’s, Memphis, Tennessee

http://peteandsams.com/

A Memphis tradition, Amy even used to go there as a child.  I have tasted a couple of barbeque pizzas in Memphis, but this one is tops in my opinion!


OK middle Tennessee friends, now I need your suggestions…will they be good enough to crack the top five?

Looking to the Future

I think we can all agree that every parent wants the best for their children.  The tricky part of this wish is determining just what is the best course for our children to follow.  I know Amy and I had long conversations about which paths to take for our son Tucker and our daughter Madelyn.

A fellow headmaster shared an article with me in which Tony Wagner, Co-Director of the Change Leadership Group of Harvard University, discusses what skills our children need for the future.

These are seven areas he discusses:

1. Critical thinking and problem-solving

2. Collaboration across networks and leading by influence

3. Agility and adaptability

4. Initiative and entrepreneurialism

5. Effective oral and written communication

6. Accessing and analyzing information

7. Curiosity and imagination

As I informally observe our classrooms here at Sumner Academy, I see each and every one of the skills listed in action in our classrooms PK – 8th grade!  Our teachers are outstanding at taking each child where they are in many different areas and nurturing growth in each.  It seems to me Sumner Academy was built on these seven skills and has been cultivating them for forty years.

At Back to School Night, I thanked each parent for the sacrifices they are making by sending their children to our school.  I know it is a financial struggle for many.  The investment in education however, cannot be taken away from you.  Other investments fluctuate with market influences and outside forces.  A Sumner academy graduation diploma from 8th grade is an investment which will last a lifetime.

Thank you for entrusting your children to us each and every day.

New Kid by Friday!

Do You Really Want a New Kid?

I was waiting for a prescription at one of the thousand Walgreen's locations locally when a book title caught my eye.  "Have a New Kid by Friday" written Dr. Kevin Leman.  The premise is to buy this book on a Monday and by Friday, all those annoying behaviors will dissipate.  All in five days!  I am really wondering why we are required to have a minimum of 175 days of school by AdvancEd (formerly Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) and SAIS (Southern Association of Independent Schools).  According to Dr. Leman we can make the necessary changes in five days.  I should not be so harsh to Dr. Leman.  He holds Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate degrees in clinical psychology from the University of Arizona and is a retired psychologist.  He has written books on topics regarding marriage, toddlers, and adolescents.  I am sure he has a wealth of information that I am not privy to and uses it to help families.  It's just that title that caught my eye.

From everything I can tell during my short tenure at Sumner Academy, I see our faculty and staff devoted to presenting a program of study here from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade which creates a well rounded, well educated leader.  While there may be some great ideas in Dr. Leman's book, we realize that it takes years of great parenting and schooling in building children. 

Trust us, as a school, to be in communication with you as parents when issues come up with your child.  Our faculty and staff is a fine mixture of veteran teachers and new educators.  Thank you for allowing us to help in building your child here at Sumner Academy.

Let's Get Organized!

Are you disorganized?  What about your children?  You have probably heard that a clean desk is the work of a sick mind.  While we know there are extremes to everything, there does need to be a certain level of organization present within all of us.  My desk is often piled with papers, articles, letters, etc.  Amazingly, I do know where everything is...it just takes a minute to put my hand on it.  I have listed below some helpful hints in getting children organized.  Remember however, as parents, we can be a role model in making this work!

(1) Talk with your child’s teacher.  Teachers work hard to develop their student’s organizational skills and their responsibility.  Ask your teacher how you can reinforce what is being learned in the classroom.  (2) Getting things ready in the evening will help out the morning rush.  Sign notes, check homework and get clothes ready before the alarm sounds in the AM.  (3) Check your child’s backpack every afternoon.  I know, there are probably some things in there you would rather not touch or see...but there may be important information waiting for you to read.  (4) Monitor homework progress.  If your child is becoming overwhelmed with homework, let the teacher know immediately.  Try breaking homework up into smaller portions and complete each step methodically.  (5) Create a calendar for your child.  If you have an evening family activity, your child should plan ahead to complete homework before you leave.  Deadlines are easier to enforce when it is placed on you child’s calendar.  (6) List making.  Once your child can read and write, encourage them in making a “must do” and “to do” list.  (this helped our daughter to remember to “scoop” after taking our dog Alfie out)  (7) A place for everything.  Your child can be responsible for putting away things they may have gotten out during the day.  (8) Pack rats have no place in an organized environment.  Set aside one day per month to go through things and toss what is not needed.  What about my Zambian coke bottle tops?  Collections are fine as long as you have a place for everything.  (9) Set up rewards.  Children love to be rewarded for their labors and being organized is hard work!

Like most things, being organized takes practice and diligence.  Take the time to discuss what it means to be organized and hopefully your family life will improve!  Now, if I can only find that remote...

Super Origins

As we begin school this week, I wanted to let you know about something new!  At our first faculty meeting of the year, the Sumner Academy teachers approved a new program on character education.  This year will mark the beginning of the Super Citizens Program here at our school.

This character development program is used school wide to emphasize qualities of a good citizen.  Students in grades 1 - 8 are awarded “Super Citizen” cards from classroom and related arts teachers weekly.  Morning announcements focus on character qualities, and teachers may follow-up with classroom discussions, activities and reminders.  Super Citizens are announced at the end of the day on Fridays.  Students who receive a Super Citizen award are given a card after the Friday announcement by the headmaster.

While an assistant principal in the Harrisonburg (Virginia) City Public Schools, I was asked to be on a statewide commission which looked at successful schools around the state.  We visited twelve schools and I was able to pick up lots of great ideas.  In one school in the tidewater region, I noticed signs everywhere around the school.  On lockers, in classrooms, the cafeteria, gymnasium, even in the stalls in the restrooms!  They were one word, RESPECT.  The principal explained that it was their character trait for the month.  She went on to explain that they highlighted a different trait each month and the teachers would make an award at the end of each month to the student who best typified that trait.

Sometime after the visit, I was named principal of Spotswood Elementary School.  As I began to roll those ideas around in my head, the first Super Citizen idea was hatched.  I planned to make it a weekly event instead of monthly and to add an announcement at the end of the week on Friday afternoons.  I designed a card to give to the students so they could take it home and share the good news with their families.  The announcements grew to be a much-anticipated event every Friday afternoon.  We even made the local news one Friday!

I was fortunate to work with four outstanding assistant principals during my tenure in Harrisonburg.  Three of the four have (or had) schools of their own and carried the Super Citizen Program to their schools.

The monthly schedule is as follows:

July/August - Respect, September – Benevolence, October - Responsible, November - Grateful, December – Self-controlled, January - Honest, February - Loving, March - Loyal, April - Forgiving, and May - Persevering.

The greatest joy I get is when your child(ren) get in their car on Friday and show off their card.  What a great sense of accomplishment and celebration!

Wayside Teaching

Once every three years, I am able to travel back to the roots of my training as an educator, the Commonwealth of Virginia.  The purpose of the trip is to attend the Teachers of Promise Institute.  This institute was started by award winning educators in Virginia who wanted to give back to the profession which gave so much to them.  Each year, teacher preparation programs in Virginia send their top seniors or graduate students for a two-day whirlwind of activity.  Former National Teachers of the Year www.ccsso.org/ntoy.html , State Teachers of the Year, and Milken National Educators www.milkeneducatorawards.com provide mentoring for these best and brightest about to enter the teaching profession.

It begins with a dinner celebration.  The mentees are presented with a special pin signifying them as a Teacher of Promise.  Usually a veteran educator will talk about how they were influenced by a teacher in their life.  A common theme that presents itself in these talks and the workshops that follow the next day is about something Frank Charles Winstead calls wayside teaching.  The concept is simple, the things we remember about our favorite teachers is not how they took attendance or how neat their grade book was, it is what they did to show a special interest in us.  These are wayside teaching moments.

For me, it was Mrs. Lane in sixth grade, who knew I was a reluctant reader at the time.  She went out of her way to find me reading material I would enjoy.  This included anything she could find on baseball.  I did not have to read what others were reading in class, she took the time to talk to me and find a way to get me motivated to read.

It is our mission at Sumner Academy to provide your children with a well-balanced and meaningful curriculum of study while here.  With our focus on small class size and meeting children where they are academically, I know wayside teaching occurs daily here.  In fact, I have heard many stories about wayside teaching moments from current and former parents.

If your child has experienced this, please take the time to share these wayside teaching moments with your friends, neighbors, and family.  YOU are the best marketing our school can have!

Fit to be “Tied”

I wear a different “kid friendly” tie each school day of the year.  My collection hovers around 300 with about 30 being Christmas ties.  I have several racks that I use to hold the ties.  When I take it off the rack, I wear it, then place it in a box for the next year.  After it comes out of the box, I wear it, then place it on the rack.  It took me a few years to work out this system.

The first “kid friendly” tie I bought was a red Mickey Mouse tie…that was back in the late 1980’s.  The second came with some help from two students at the time (Carla and Cathleen Meyerhoeffer) who picked out a blue and pink flamingo tie with me on a trip to Williamsburg.  I still have both ties and wear them in my rotation.

Several of my ties have been gifts from students, parents, and teachers.  I wish I could remember each tie and where each came from, but there are so many!  The students often ask for me to wear my double cheeseburger, Sponge Bob, and Scooby Do ties.  Last year I was presented with my first hotdog tie…certain to be a classic.  Two of my favorite ties include a Where the Wild Things Are tie given by a former assistant principal and a Curious George tie given to me by my daughter, Madelyn.  I once got a tie for each day of the twelve days of Christmas!

Perhaps my oddest tie moment came when I was at a principal’s conference in Washington, D.C.  There was a street vendor selling of all things – neckties.  I bought an alligator tie for $5.00.  That Christmas, my mother-in-law from Mississippi bought the very same tie for me for a present!

I try to be judicious and wear different college ties after a big win.  My collection in this category includes Virginia, Tennessee, Memphis, and Ole Miss (no Vandy yet!).  My largest collection of non-Christmas ties include, baseball, Sponge Bob and Scooby Do ties.

As the summer comes to a close, my excitement is peaking.  I look forward to sharing the many ties with our Sumner Academy community.