Yes, I am very willing to exclaim, “Yay Summer!” with the same enthusiasm normally reserved for “Yay School!” However, I do want to note that I am willing to do so as, in the world of education, the two are not mutually exclusive.

I am looking forward to summer! I look forward to the change of pace that summer provides with fewer activities on my calendar. I look forward to some rest and refreshment. I am definitely looking forward to extended time with family and friends. I even look forward to working through my stack of books that seems to grow during the school year rather than shrink. But, it should be noted that I look forward to these so that I will be refreshed and renewed when the fall rolls around and I get to serve as Head of School at Westminster Catawba Christian School.

This month marks the end of my third year at WCCS. I consider it a great privilege to serve here – and am finally to the point where I no longer introduce myself as the “new” Head of School.   The “honeymoon” stage has passed. I am home here! This also means that it is time to focus our energies on looking ahead and growing OUR school into one that really does educate students to bless our world as disciples of Christ! We have made some progress, but there is much work to be done, even this summer.

During these upcoming summer weeks, we will spend a great deal of time in preparation for the 2017-2018 school year and beyond. We will be moving quite a few offices in the Upper School to increase the availability of our administrators in both middle and high school. We will be doing some re-organizing on the Lower School campus as well, looking to maximize space in early childhood and grow our people and programs in elementary school. We will be updating policies, particularly with regards to the safety, security and well-being of our students. And, we will be working to establish relationships with local ministries in the hopes that our students are able to start blessing the world as disciples of Christ right away. It is my fervent prayer that WCCS will continue to pursue the excellent Christian education worthy of the name of Christ.

Another change we are making is to this blog. If you do some digging in it, you will notice that this blog was established in the months before I began my formal service at WCCS – with the express purpose of introducing me to you, allowing you to “kick the tires” as you read my thoughts regarding a variety of topics. However, WCCS is so much more than me and my perspective. Therefore, beginning later this summer, we will be adjusting our blog to allow for a variety of writers to give those who read a much broader perspective of WCCS. I can’t wait to have teachers, staff members, students, coaches, and parents join me in writing on occasion. And, I believe that this will allow our readers to know more about WCCS, and, hopefully, more about the God that we serve here.

Yes, I am looking forward to summer. But, I am more excited about the fall! For now, I think “YAY SUMMER” will suffice!