Saying Thank You to a Senior's Teachers

My youngest son graduates high school today. Below is a letter of thanks my wife and I sent to  each of his teachers during his 12 years of school.  Writing the letter not only let us show our appreciation to his teachers but it also allowed us to remember all of the wonderful people that has helped shaped my son into a fine young man.  Good luck Lucas, your Mom and Dad are very proud of you and love you very much.

"If a man loses pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured, or far away."   Henry David Thoreau

From the first day of school, Lucas has gone to the beat of a different drummer, and Beth and I want to thank each of you that have both embraced this and allowed him to prosper.  We also want to thank each of you for the role you have played in his life.  Lucas has obtained a wonderful education that we would put up against any school system in the country.   His education has been well-balanced between the core content and the arts, and because of the efforts of each of you, Lucas is ready for the next stage of his life.

 It has been a pleasure to type each of your names into the recipient line.  It has given us time to reflect on all the hard work each of you has done both in and out of the classroom that has benefited our son's life.  Many of you have spent additional hours after school as he has prepared for plays, concerts, academic team meets and all the other extracurricular activities that have made his education complete.  Field trips, AP workshops and review sessions, club activities--none of these efforts have gone unnoticed, and he has been blessed to have each of you in his life.

 As the school year winds down and we all start to become exhausted from all the demands of our profession, we wanted to let each of you know that because of your efforts,  you have made a difference not only in our son's life but in many students' lives.  Thank you again for all that you have done, and have a great end of the school year.

Sincerely,

Chip and Beth Southworth

Seven Questions of Great Significance

We have conducted Team Competitions for 14 years, and the Seven Questions of Great Significance has been the final event every year.  The beauty of this final activity is that it allows teams that are behind in the competition to catch up, and it allows teams that are in the lead to wager wisely and still win.

Team Yellow with the correct answer

Before the competition we create seven trivia questions and create a category for each question. Questions should be considered that are difficult but the teams should have a chance at answering.  I always tried to create questions that teachers at least have an opportunity to answer.  Here are the actual categories and questions from this year's competition. Feel free to answer in the comment box below.

Great teamwork in action

Category	Question
Presidential Trivia	Name the first President born in a hospital.
Kentucky Derby	The winning horse of the Kentucky Derby receives roses, what type of flower does the winner of the Preakness receive?
Infinity	Who was the voice of Mr. Potato Head in Toy Story?
Mad	On April 1st of each year, Alfred E. Newman celebrates this birthday. (Looking for an age).
Over/Under/Push	Joe Pat Covington (Assistant Principal at Scott County High School) has 400 friends on Facebook. Is the real total Over/Under/Push
WWF	How many "s" tiles are there in the game Words With Friends
Georgetown, Ky Economics.	Toyota is the biggest employer with 7,900 employees Scott County Board of Education is second with 1,045 What is the third biggest employer (with over 800 employees)

Teachers can wager 5 points on the first category up to 35 points on the seventh question.  The wagers are made on the category before the team members see the question.  The picture below shows the winning team from this year' competition and the wagers made on each category.  

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner 

Cow Patty Bingo

Successful leaders create a culture that allows for creativity and the desire for employees to take chances.  Too often we get in a "rut" and it is important to have people in your organization that think creatively.  

Lucas Gravitt

Below is a blog from Lucas Gravitt and his "Cow Patty Bingo" fund raiser for the Scott County High School's Project Graduation.  Lucas was willing to try a different slant on fund raising and the blog describes an event that may go down as one of the most original ways to raise money ever.  

Bev - gives cow advice

If you would like to donate to a Project Graduation to help keep our graduates safe and have a great time on graduation night, please contact Mr. Gravitt at Scott County High School.  Any donation of time or money will be appreciated.  

Tonight, Project Graduation made $1,840.00 in donations by hosting Cow Patty Bingo.  We held the event at the county park, had parents to volunteer to use field chalk to line out the grid, paint on the numbers, and we had a cow who volunteered from the local petting zoo.  After all tickets were sold ($20 each), we let the cow loose and let him "go".  It only took about 40 seconds before his tail started to rise.  After he walked around for a bit, he went and we had a winner!  The prize was given by two local businesses, this way 100% of the ticket sales goes straight to Project Graduation

Action Shot 

We have a winner

.  The lucky winner receives 7-night hotel accommodation at any Wyndham Resort (owned or affiliated) in the world.  The winner is a parent of one of our seniors!  

We are quite happy for our first cow patty experience and the spectators in attendance demanded that we schedule another one in two weeks!