For those of you who know me, I am very talkative....today, however, I was speechless. I learned during our monthly administrator's meeting that I had been named Principal of the Year. I found out via a telephone call from my father, who is a retired high school principal. As a matter of fact, he was my high school principal, and he serves as my daily inspiration for wanting to help children and teachers!

Sitting among an extraordinary group of talented and compassionate educators, I am completely humbled by this honor. As I looked around the room today, I am honored to work with the administrators in our district. No matter what negative press public education receives, these men and women continue to fight the good fight each day working to advocate for their students and teachers...and our Kershaw County community. It's our time to work together and continue to serve as a powerful conduit for what we feel is important - our students. Despite all the peripheral "stuff' whirling around in the world, state, and our local community, it is a great privilege to be able to get up and come to work and know that, in Kershaw County, we are all still working together to get to the finish line together.

My amazing faculty and staff greeted me when I arrived back on campus with a special "student-led" tribute. THEY truly make me look good each and every day. And, I am honored to work alongside them - Thanks to everyone for making today a special day for me....I guarantee that tomorrow will also be pretty special, too. You see, each day at DME is special!

Last Friday I had the great privilege of taking Mrs. Angela McCall to the 2010 Teacher Recognition Breakfast at Brookland Banquet Center in Columbia. All of the Kershaw County Teachers of the Year were recognized at the annual event. I was honored to celebrate with Mrs. McCall and enjoyed seeing her garner this wonderfully deserved recognition! It was also great to see Mrs. Melody Johnson, our Kershaw County District Teacher of the Year, being recognized as a state finalist for State Teacher of the Year!!! Great work, Kershaw County!!!!

Last week our fifth graders shared speeches during the annual Citizenship Assembly. The speeches were well-written and quite impressive. Here are some great excerpts from the speeches that Mrs. Holmberg shared with me:

“Citizenship isn’t something you do for a reward—it’s something you do because it’s right.”
Cheyenne Wheeler

“Citizenship is showing people what kind of person you are through your actions.”
Austin Howard

“Citizenship is caring for others, treating others with respect and participating in important events for our community and world.”
Cassie Szymanski

“Another part of being a good citizen is being a leader by setting good examples and making the right choices.”
Tanner Rapp

“Dr. Seuss once said, ‘Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.’ If we all simply do our parts to be good citizens, we can all create a simply great community.”
Jalisiah Sanders

Congratulations to Jalisiah Sanders who won the Citizenship Speech contest. This was an excellent opportunity to learn more about public speaking!!!

8 oz. macaroni, cooked and drained
2 cups grated sharp cheese
1 cup grated medium cheese
1 large can of Carnation milk
1 1/2 cup of milk
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
pepper
1/4 cup melted butter

Grease crock pot. Mix all ingredients. Cook on low for 3 hours and 15 minute, or until done, depending on your crock pot.

I met with our wonderful PTA yesterday. Boy, our Spring Carnival is really going to be a blast this year! They have been working diligently to plan and coordinate efforts to make this day a great event for everyone while working hard to raise some much-needed funds which will help our school this and next year with the purchase of supplies, such as math workbooks, copy paper, ink cartridges, etc. The dunking booth - at the request of our students - will be a highlight of the day. In fact, Kershaw County School Board Member Mara Jones has already "signed up" to be a willing participant! Of course, Mrs. Benson and I will take our turn there, too. Who plans to throw the first pitch????

On February 24, DME will start with a new group of safety patrol members...grades 4 and 5. Mr. Tinman explained their responsibilities to support and help our school with safety. Mr. Tinman instructed the safety patrol members to communicate with an adult nearby of any problems. Safety is our number one priority at DME, and we work together as a team to accomplish this goal.

Below are DME's safety patrol second semester members:

Derrick
Kes Jeffcoat
Caroline Seeley

Haigler
Courtney Bryant
Joshua Lumpkin

McCall
Austin Howard
Ashlynn Russo

Webb
Emerson Felton
Jarismary Polo

Wiseman
Dillion Almond
Tricia Robinson

Ashley
Darcy Belcher
Patrick Carolina

Clark
Kelsey Jowers
Tyler Waynick

Cook
Ahmad Bryant
Sydney Staley

Germano
Savanna Adams
Nasir Bryant

Peake
Cassie Steenerson
Brianna Kirkland

Good morning! We survived another rainy Monday, but I can't complain - the weekend weather was gorgeous. I hear that more rain is in the forecast today, though. Yesterday, we had Hats for Heroes in conjunction with our Relay for Life activities to raise funds toward our goal of $10,000 for the year. We are on the way to reach our goal....next weekend will yet provide another opportunity for your family to join our festivities at our annual Hot Dog sale at the Elgin IGA.

Join us next Saturday, March 13, for a hot dog....can you believe it's already March?