Greetings, Dragon Nation!

Once again, it is a pleasure to have the opportunity to share a few thoughts with you as we start rolling through the new school year.

I sincerely hope that each one of you had an amazing summer.  I know that many of you traveled, spent time with friends and family, and took some time to relax and re-charge.  While all of us at school got some time off, many of us were working to plan the new school year and prepare for everyone’s return in August.  I would like to share a few things about the new year with you.

Many of our initiatives can be directly linked to our school’s Strategic Plan (available on the school website).  A few years ago there was a recommendation from the School Advisory Committee, which has several students as members, that we invest in a position to coordinate community engagement with a focus on areas of equity, diversity, inclusion, and creating a welcoming environment for all.  We hit the jackpot and were able to hire Ms. Aparna Harger as our new Coordinator of Strategic Engagement.  Ms. Harger graduated from Wake Forest, taught French for many years, and was a DEI coordinator at her previous school.  Her office is in room 240 and I would encourage you to stop by and help welcome her to our family.

Also related to Goal #1 of our Strategic Plan, for the past two years the professional development provided to the staff was focused on cultural competency.  We are building on that work and focusing on the areas of mindfulness, mental health, and wellness.  It is important to remember that while we are all high achievers and tend to push ourselves, we also need to remember to take care of ourselves.  In a world that moves at the speed of light, we need to re-train our minds to slow down and be in the present.

The Walker Way also grew out of the same goal of the Strategic Plan.  One of the pillars of The Walker Way, Community, defines us and binds us.  It represents our sense of place and belonging to something bigger than ourselves.  Being part of a community such as ours comes with responsibilities.  We must work to support each other in times of triumph as well as times of challenge. Every one of us is a valued member of our community.  We all belong here, and we all deserve to be respected.  I challenge each of us to live up to this standard and strive to support our very special community.

Finally, I want to sincerely thank each of you and your families for their support and thoughts over the past several months as I have dealt with a relapse of lymphoma.  I am very happy to report that the CAR-T therapy has worked, my scans are clear, the cancer is gone, and I am back in remission! It was that Walker Way sense of compassion that helped build up my personal sense of courage!

Thanks again to Jabberwock for giving me another forum to stay connected with you. Until next time, stay safe, stay strong, and go Dragons!