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The Graduation of the Netflix Generation

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  Good morning Kennedy Family. It is with joy that I address you, the 60th graduating class of John F. Kennedy High School. This week we have talked about and experienced the rich traditions of JFK, including our legacy families and alumni. Your many successes are now entwined with those lasting traditions and your class has been written into our history. Your time at Kennedy has also been marked by an extreme uptick in technology used at our school– in 6th grade, we became the first school in Trumbull County to be 1:1 devices, K-12 and the creation of our state of the art Think Lab. The following years brought on the addition of security cameras to assist Coach K with his ever-watchful eye over the building and new web-based resources like Google Classroom and edPuzzle became our everyday tools (here’s to you, Mr. Codispoti). This blending of tradition and technology reminds me of the label given to my generation, the Xennials. Many of the parents here were also born at this time.
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Earth Day Goals

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Nerd Alert.  (This whole blog post, just be on alert for some science nerd commentary.) I have always made a special note of Earth Day, being a former science teacher (majored in Earth Science). I take great interest in the power of processes and the changes that happen on the surface of the earth and deep within. Plate tectonics, ocean currents, cold fronts, and the rock cycle-- all miracles of how the earth formed and how it looks now and how it continues to be an oasis in the vastness of the universe for human life. (Yes, it is very hard to get 8th graders to get exited about the miracle that is the rock cycle). San Andreas Fault in California One of my favorite books is " A Short History of Nearly Everything ," a non-fiction account of tons of sciency topics written with a healthy dose of humor. A quote that I think about every once in awhile: “Consider the fact that ... every one of your forebears on both sides has been attractive enough to find a mate, healthy enough to
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School Start Eve

There's a certain electricity in the air at Upper Campus. It's the anticipation of students starting school.  My favorite holiday is Christmas Eve. The anticipation of Christmas morning is palpable. From the time I was a kid, waiting to see what was under the tree to today as a mom, hoping my girls are excited for the gifts I carefully selected--the anticipation is better than the actual celebration.  Tomorrow will be better than today, because I will actually see my "kids." But the anticipation is still pretty satisfying. The hope of a new year, with new students, new classes, new possibilities awaits. Who will rise to be the valedictorian of the senior class? Which sports will make a deep post-season run? Which teacher will shine in a new assignment? The possibilities are endless tonight. We have worked tirelessly this summer. From the early days of June putting together the calendar of events and master schedule, to hiring new teachers and creating new courses, to
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Commencement Speech 2023

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Good morning Kennedy Family. It is with joy that I address you, the graduating class of 2023. It is also with sadness, hope, love, and respect that I address you because, as Mr. Codispoti tells me, “you get too attached to the seniors.” and honestly it’s never been more true than this year. As Winnie the Pooh said, How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard. I’d like to start by sharing a story from the late 1900s. I was in middle school and we had the same English teacher for 3 years in a row. At the end of 7th grade, our final year in the building, she would write a poem about the students in the class; funny stories she would remember or things she admired about us. This was a big deal to the students and we could not wait to hear it. What I didn’t realize was that it was probably a big deal for her too. To grow close with a group of kids for a few years and see them leave is hard– and the better the students, the harder the ending. The pressure of a poem I’m
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How do you measure a school year

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🎶Seventy three thousand, eight hundred and seventy minutes Seventy three thousand, eight hundred moments so dear Seventy three thousand, eight hundred and seventy minutes How do you measure, measure a school year??🎶 In Masses, in lunches In homework, in cups of coffee In gym class, in dances  In practice, in games In seventy three thousand, eight hundred seventy minutes How do you measure a year in the life? It’s Fiddlesticks show week, which has got me all musical and sentimental.  It’s senior Mass week. It’s final WJFK episode. Its seniors last full week of school. It’s breaking my heart.  In August, the world was our oyster. We celebrated Mass 12 times this year, with 8th grade promotion Mass and Baccalaureate to come.  We danced the night away at Homecoming, Prom, and junior high Spring Fling.  We were district finalists in girls golf, boys soccer, boys basketball; state qualifiers in boys golf; state runner up in football; state champs in cheer (and baseball and track are still
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Behind the Scenes

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  One of the highlights of being a junior/senior high school principal is my time with seniors. They are pretty much fully formed adults able to have rational conversations...which is a real unicorn if you spend too much time with junior high kids. (As a parent of a 6th and 7th grader and former 8th grade teacher of 11 years, I say this with a lot of experience and love). Seniors have a jam packed year at Kennedy, filled with a lot of traditions. From the first Mass walking in the Kindergarteners, Homecoming Court, Senior vs Staff Volleyball Game, Senior Retreat, Prom, Baccalaureate, Awards Assembly, and Commencement to name a few. I don't cherish having a front row seat to it all--rather, I love the behind-the-scenes time I get to spend before those big moments.  Today was the Homecoming Court Speeches- each candidate speaks for a few minutes to the 9-12th grade student body, trying to win over votes with their friendly roasts of each other, taking a stroll down memory lane, and s
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Sometimes you have to let the baby cry

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A few people close to me have had newborns recently. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law had their first baby, my beautiful niece Josephine on Valentine's Day this past February. My high school best friend/college roommate and her husband had a sweet second baby boy in June. As a mother of two tween girls, it's been a minute that I have been in that newborn phase of parenthood. Holding their babies, many forgotten skills come rushing back. I was never great at manuevering the spit rag under those little jello necks but I am pretty adept at getting a burp out. I remembered packing to leave the house with ev.ry.thing in a bag plus a stroller and a carseat and change of clothes...and inevitably not having the one thing you actually ended up needing. When I changed a diaper, it reminded me of cutting off a onesie like I was a trauma nurse when there was a diaper blow out. My living room was filled with a different structure for every 2 month phase- the swing, the bouncer, the exosa
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