September 29, 2017

Photo by Patrick Perkins on Unsplash

I hope you have enjoyed another great week in the MPS District! Before heading off on what I hope will be a great weekend for you, I just wanted to share a couple of highlights from the week as well as share a glimpse of a new adventure the District is planning to take this year.

Monday night’s board of education meeting was amazing as we recognized and celebrated various staff members. We recognized years of service as well as perfect attendance over refreshments. A big thank you to Vicky Charlesworth who was responsible for all of the scrumptious food. A thank you to her daughter Chelsea for helping out as well. Monday night was an enjoyable night – an important night – we must recognize our number one resource – YOU!

The energy in the buildings continues to be positive and filled with the sights & sounds of learning.

 I want to recognize the staff at the Thunderbolt Academy for their “Donuts with Dads & Muffins with Moms” event yesterday. It was a successful brunch that afforded the parents and staff an opportunity to get to know each other better. The parents were then invited into the classrooms where they could support their child during several learning activities. This is a great example of how the district has embraced a customer service attitude towards our community. Great job!

Do you have a lot to say? I mean, do you have ideas on how to help the District continue striving for World Class? Do you wish you had an opportunity to come together with others to think about the future of the District? More than just think about the future – actually plan for it? If so, you are in luck! We are planning a comprehensive strategic plan and community engagement adventure. This will be an opportunity for students, parents, staff members, board members, and community partners to come together and lay out specific goals for our future. So if you have ever thought “why don’t we try…” you must come out and help shape our District’s future.

Our adventure, working title - “Community Engagement & Strategic Planning 2020” will begin this Fall. We are accepting proposals to lead our strategic plan until next week. Following the RFP process, the District will select the provider. In addition, the President of SNJToday has agreed to be our community partner in the quest.  They will help us promote the events, they will assist in videoing and editing the process (which will result in a video series that provides full transparency of our strategic plan).

While we are only in the early stages of planning… it is shaping up to be a truly amazing experience. Imagine parents, students, staff, board members, community members, civic leaders…all coming together to create the district’s vision for 2020 and beyond! Regardless of where we have been, it is time to plan where we are going! I encourage all of you to be an active participant in shaping our future together.

Have a great weekend! Go Bolts vs. Williamstown (Saturday 7pm @ Williamstown). Best of luck to all of our student athletes competing, to all of our musicians performing, to all of Bolts in whatever they have planned for the weekend.

Regards,
Dr. G.

Dr. David N. Gentile
Superintendent of Schools
“Lead Learner”
@drgentile_mps (Twitter)
856-327-6001

#MPSWC (MPS World Class)
#greatdaytobeabolt

Published by Dr. Spike Cook, Millville, NJ