Tharptown Elementary School

Wow! What I have seen at Tharptown Elementary over the past few days is nothing short of amazing! From the moment I stepped on the campus for the first time, I have felt so welcome and everyone has been so very helpful, patient, and kind. I am excited to be here and feel so blessed to work with such a great faculty and staff!

I have also witnessed the love and passion you have for your students and for teaching. I see the time and effort you have put into getting your classrooms perfect and how inviting the classrooms are for your. It is evident that you believe in your students and want to provide them the absolute best education. After all, our students deserve the best!

I have also been impressed by the amount of teamwork and support that I see from the faculty and staff. It takes a village to educate a child and run a school. Like I stated in the faculty meeting, it is only through teamwork that we can be successful. It takes all of us working together, supporting each other, and pulling in the same direction to achieve the level of success that we want to reach. Always take the opportunity to help someone out or encourage your teammate. Just a small word of encouragement can make a big difference.

Again, thank you for the warm welcome and for all you do each day for me and for the students at Tharptown Elementary. Thank you for stepping in and taking care of things without even being asked. I am looking forward to all the things you are going to teach me this year and can't wait to see all the great things that the 2019-20 school year holds for Tharptown Elementary!

I want to make sure all of you have my phone number. Please call or text if you are going to be absent from school, running late for school, or have an emergency. My number is

256-810-7287

There are so many heroes in a school. However, sometimes we forget to recognize the heroes that work behind the scene to take care of all of us. Over the past few weeks I have seen a true hero of Tharptown Elementary work tirelessly to make sure everything was ready for the start of school. I have witnessed Mrs. Butler work hours on end outside in the intense heat to make sure the school grounds were neat, pretty, and clean. I have seen her haul off loads and loads of garbage, books, boxes, etc. so that our halls were clean and ready for students. She has stayed well past time to go home, just to make sure everything got done and done right. She takes so much pride in her job and Tharptown Elementary and she is a shining example to all of us of what a true servant really looks like. My appreciation grows for her each day!

I encourage all of you to take time this week to thank Mrs. Butler for everything she does. Without her, it would be impossible for us to do our jobs!

I love walking around the school and seeing all the beautiful and colorful decorations on the doors, walls, and inside the classroom. I firmly believe that an inviting classroom environment is a great learning environment!

As I was strolling through the halls this week, Mrs. Petree's door caught my eye. I looked at the message on the outside of her door and thought about the power each teacher has each day behind those classroom doors. Teachers have the power to change lives behind those doors. They have the power to encourage kids and help them believe in themselves and their abilities. Behind the classroom doors, teachers have the power to grow students, both academically and socially and help them achieve a high level of success. They also have the opportunity to develop strong, trusting relationships with students that will influence them for a lifetime.

Never underestimate the impact of what goes on behind those closed classroom doors! Every minute you have in the classroom with the student is valuable and should be treated as a precious commodity and never wasted. Remember each day when your students enter your classroom door, you are driving the bus of learning and you can take the students wherever you want them to go!