This is Why We Love Our Middle School Principal

Because it’s all for the kids. Even the crazy stuff. Especially the crazy stuff. 💖

Knuckle Head

Malia has attended a different middle school than all the boys. There were some boundary changes that sent her to a school that was further away and where far fewer of her elementary school friends were going. At first, it was incredibly stressful. None of us were happy about the change. Malia in particular was equal parts angry and terrified as she started 7th grade. But the change ended up being so good for her and in retrospect, we are all glad that the Lord knew what she needed better than we did.

As a mighty 9th grader, her time in middle school is coming to a close and with that comes all the classic end of year activities, including the 9th grade awards night. Our other middle school handled things differently, and while there were awards given throughout the year that included an invitation for the parents to attend, the 9th grade awards were given during school hours with only the students in attendance. For Malia, however, the ceremony was a semi-formal evening event with parents invited to come and support their children.

The ceremony was handled differently than any other I’ve attended, but I think it streamlined the process. Rather than hand out awards by category, having students come to the stage multiple times if they received multiple awards, each student came to the stage alphabetically and was highlighted only once. A slide showing which awards each student received was shown for everyone, and after a photo op with the principal, they received a packet with all their awards included. The whole shindig lasted just over an hour, which was pretty great considering how many kids were invited.

Malia received multiple awards, including ones for math, language arts, fine arts (she is a choir kid after all), and the presidential fitness award. She was pleasantly surprised by how many of her peers cheered for her, and I was super pleased that she has so much support at the school. Considering the rough start and the small number of other kids she knew when she started, she has come a long way, made a lot of friends, and found her place in the little world of her middle school. Even the principal knows who she is, and in a good way! She is energetic and outgoing and over the course of the past three years, she has made an impression on him as he mingles with the kids during their lunch periods. There have been high fives, short greetings, and other such normal interactions, but Malia counts her relationship with the middle school principal by the number of times she has touched his head. Yes. You read that correctly. She had indeed touched the principal’s head on more than one occasion. Four, to be precise. 

The first two noggin nudges came to pass because the principal’s hands were filled with dirty lunch trays that he was helping to collect. That required a modification of the traditional fist bump turning it into a head/fist bump. The third was a result of a bet/dare with Morgan, one of Malia’s best friends. They were engaged in a water bottle flipping contest where the loser had to rub the principal’s head. As the loser, Malia was the one who had to do the rubbing. And the principal was the one who was good natured enough to let it happen. And I’m sure Morgan was the one laughing her head off. 😜 With that triple head/hand contact in mind, I jokingly told Malia that she should rub his head instead of shaking his hand when she received her awards. She did not go all wacky and do so during the actual ceremony, but after the formal portion of the evening was done, she sure did ask Mr. G if she could rub his head. And he sure did let her. 😂

Malia has done well in middle school. Not only has she found her place there and left her mark (the kids who were in the science class for which she was a T.A. first semester still call her “Closet Goblin” 😂), she has learned a lot both in and out of the classroom. She has grown up a lot and although I know she is nervous, I think she will do well in high school. She will be a little fish in a big pond again, but as she has done in the past, I suspect she will make new friends and find her place fairly quickly. At least I hope she will.

He’s Made His Mark

Last night was Daniel’s big night, but I need to add in a bit about Nathan. The principal of the high school came in partway through the concert. Nathan was sitting in the row behind Kevin and me, on the end nearest to the doors, so the principal sat right next to him. On our way out of the concert, the principal saw us with Nathan, identified us as the parents, and turned to talk to us. He said that although he is glad Nathan has chosen the high school that will be best for him, he is sorry to lose such a talented, amazing kid. He said Nathan will be missed.

There are 3300 kids at our high school this year. It is more than crowded, it is bursting at the seams. And the principal knows my kid. By name. And says he is amazing and will be missed. Although this school year has been incredibly tough for Nathan, he has still given it his all and has made an impression. A really good one. He stood out in a literal crowd. I’m well pleased with my second son as well.