IMG00892-20110211-1024.jpg

Another great morning @ Starved Rock State Park with the AHS Biology Club.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Appreciation

This week is National School Counselor Week. A week designed to spotlight the work of school counselors everywhere. School counselors are responsible for many duties each day. These duties change from day to day and hour to hour. They deal with the social aspect of high school. They often oversee testing and schedule changes. They provide information to students and parents concerning post-secondary education, training, and careers. There are days where they may tackle 15 to-dos and then there are days where one or two student issues may take all day. Being a school counselor is a very time intensive profession. 7a-4p is not enough time to do what is required. All high school counselors I have ever known take work home. Carl Ryan was a counselor @ JHS when I was in school. He was a great guy who always made himself visible and available during the school day. He would answer questions, offer advice, and share stories. Judy and Margo @ Taylorville HS are two more outstanding counselors I have worked with. Each specialized in different areas and each did what was best for kids and the school. Our own Mrs. Benz is dedicated to our school and our students and their needs. Joann has a lot on her plate: 340 kids, their issues, their future plans, testing, tech issues, data gathering, college planning, assisting me and the list goes on. She handles each responsibility like a caring and knowledgeable professional. So, I say "Thank you" to Mrs. Benz and all the other school counselors out there for all of their efforts with our kids!
Have a great day.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

A Friday Night W

Sitting @ Lutheran HS enjoying a soon to be AHS win. Great crowd followed the Warriors. Goat, Liz, the Brazilian, Becca, Kelsey and Sarah are all here cheering on the Warriors. Mitch is playing great on his birthday. Remember our Lady Warriors have SENIOR NIGHT tomorrow @ 7pm.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

We're Back!

Well, school is open and running as normal as can be expected after a 3 day lay-off in the middle of the week. Many students commented on "finally" being back. There is a bit of socialization-withdraw that takes place when routines with specific people (friends and classmates) are interrupted without warning. I am sure that a 1 day fix prior to the weekend will cure any ill effects they were feeling. My offer to use Saturday to get caught up wasn't well received :) Have a great weekend. PS: Latest forecasts have anywhere from 2-5 inches of snow headed our way Sun-Tues. Central Illinois weather - give 5 minutes and it will change!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Mr. Jamerson Continues to Enhance the Athletic Department

Mr. Jamerson made use of a little down time to create an AHS Athletics Blog. Check out the link on the Principal's Page or the HS homepage. You will find up to the minute schedule changes and other useful posts. You can also follow game updates on Twitter and Facebook. Mr. Jamerson has added technology to his many roles at AHS. I hope you all take advantage of this new outlet for AHS sports information. Thanks Mr. J.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Wednesday 2/2 No School

Due to the worsening weather conditions, there will be no school on Wednesday 2/2 in the Athens 213 district. Having just come in from outside, I hope you all stay safe and as comfortable as possible over the next several hours.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

SNOW DAY

This morning it didn't look like the blizzard was coming. As of now, it is about noon and the snow has been falling about 3 hours and the wind has picked-up. I hope that all of you are making the most of your snow day (provided you didn't have to work). We are trying to make the most of it. We made a real breakfast for once @ our house. Now, we are finally taking time to help Emma with a few of those "crafty" time-consuming Christmas gifts that she received pleny of. Painting pottery bowls is the current activity. We will probably move on to finishing the latch-hook pot-holder later :) The rest of the day will be spent on family movies, PlayStation 3 throw-downs and college basketball on TV. Stay tuned for any info about school tomorrow. Have a great day!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T