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=Check out the new 'Welcome Back' message from Ryan "Hollywood" Marsh and Kim!=

= = = = = = = __Update Alert__: Our remaining schedules are now posted. Please review and offer comments (we're O.K., suggestions, oversights, etc). Many thanks! =

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(Video clip inspired by H.K., M.A.M., & T.M. -- We're all growing together. Thanks!)

(Ummm .... The clip may not be working probably. I'll work on that! .... Actually, maybe it is. "Wait for it, wait for it ..... !!")

(It looks like you'll have to join Wikispaces to add to our discussions -- it's free and easy! No obligation, and you'd already be well on you way to establishing you own class wiki!)

=**Summer Greetings, Woodland Friends!!**=

I can't even begin to tell you what an amazing experience I have enjoyed since becoming part of your district!! More on that later, but how about you?? I know that many of you have been busy in the school district throughout the summer participating in training, work groups, etc. Many more of you have been in and out of WHS over the summer, checking in, working on your room, and the like. Many thanks to everyone who popped by to say 'hello' and reintroduce themselves to me. Between the sensational photo album and video tour you put together for me in the spring (as well as that welcoming extravaganza), the work that I have done with many of you over the summer, and the visits, I feel like I have come to know many of you already, even before the school year starts. Thank you SO much for the opportunities!!

Speaking of 'thanks' ..... As you would imagine, Ryan and Kim have done a great deal to bring me up to speed and support me as I learn my way around Woodland Heights. A great many thanks to them for that. Thanks also to Michelle for all of her hard work and enthusiasm supporting and promoting our work, and for doing such a nice job updating our website as well. An enormous 'thanks' has to go to our custodial crew for their tireless efforts to get our school building ready for opening. WHS absolutely sparkles, inside and out, and we are so fortunate for Ben, Corey, Scott, Zachary, Garrett, and Bill.

There are a number of news items I'd like to share with you at this time on this page, and the associated links on the column to the left -- yes, there are only two weeks remaining of this fabulous summer vacation, and it is time to start getting serious about school.

First of all, new talent. Our school will never be the same without Lisa, Holly, Gina, and Joanne. Almost any comment I made about their contributions would seem hollow and trite, so I'll refrain. You all know what they have meant to this school and this community, and their new directions will take a while for us get used to. With that said, I have to tell you that I am excited beyond words for the opportunity to live and work with you at Woodland. From my first contact with your (our) school and district, I have been overwhelmingly impressed by the caliber and professionalism of the staff, and the direction of the school and district. Laconia and WHS are absolutely rocking, and it is an extremely exciting time and place to be. I fully expect Molly (Counselor), Jessica (Nurse), Ryan (Student Service Coordinator), Catherine (Preschool), and our new Attendance Coordinator and Behavior Specialist to make enormous contributions to our school and community right out of the gate. Though we'll all be 'growing together', and we'll need to be patient and supportive with one another in the time ahead, there is no reason for our new talent to hesitate in making an impact within our school community right away. These new staff members will help us take our game 'to the next level'.

WHS2.0 will be what we make of it. Our school is in the beginning stages of a redesign based on both opportunity and necessity. You have done so much over the years, and there is still so much to be done. If there is one constant in education and society, it is CHANGE. As professionals in this industry, we need to remain flexible and open to opportunity at all times. If we aren't moving ahead, we are falling behind. We need to be 'opportunitists' and take advantage of anything that can help us meet our mission more effectively and efficiently. In the coming year, each one of us will be challenged and supported to grow individually and collectively, together. There is no doubt that we can do great things here at WHS over the coming year. We can do it, yes we can! (.... and we will.)

At this time I'd like to rest your fears about the future direction of our school. As I see the coming years unfolding, WHS will be a place where we will work collaboratively, taking advantage of all of our talents, resources and experiences to bring Woodland Heights 'to the next level' (whs2.0). On our staff there are vast resources of collective experience and a vast wealth of expertise, as well as a boundless horizon of new ideas, technologies, approaches, and potential. It is my goal (one of them, anyway) to help make WHS as exciting, dynamic, and fulfilling for each one of you as we wish it to be for our students. 'Movement' is exciting and energizing, are you ready to get rolling??

I hope that you will enjoy and relish these last days of summer with family and friends. Hopefully your batteries are fully charged (or awfully close to it!). I also hope that you will be able to anticipate the coming year with great energy, excitement, and optimism. The time ahead is full of possibilities, and each one of us will have enormous opportuninties to positively influence the lives of others. That's what we all got into this business for, right? Let's make the very most of every moment, every opportunity!! I can't wait to get started with you!

Warm regards, your colleague and friend,

Dennis