Our first week of school was fantastic. We were glad to see the students and they were happy to see each other. Opening school each year is like planning an elaborate wedding, giving birth, and planning a major military invasion all in one.  

Our staff works for almost six months to make that opening day go well.  

We check and double-check the schedule- every section and every room. By the time students report to their first class, all of our Wando Warriors are in the right places and meeting their new teachers.

As I walked the halls on opening day, it was amazing to see this sleeping giant come back to life and see our Warriors busy learning.  By mid-morning, it looked like we have been in school for months.

At Wando, our work is about kids! Every child is valued!  

We put students first and make all decisions using student needs as the first criteria. We know that the world they face requires a whole lot more than a high school diploma. We must help every graduate create a viable plan for the future, and prepare them with the tools and skills to succeed at the next level.

We welcome all who come through our doors. Our students come from our three feeder middle schools, local private and magnet schools and from public schools in other parts of the school district through the No Child Left Behind Transfer program.  In addition, we enroll several hundred students each year whose families are new to the area and who have settled in our community. Throughout the summer our guidance staff is busy registering these new students. Our current enrollment is 3200 plus.

On Monday, Aug.  17 (the day before the school year began here), I was in Washington, D.C. meeting with the Selection Committee for the National  High School Principal of the Year. The final selection will be made in September.

I appreciate more than words can express all the good wishes and encouragement I received from our staff, students, and members of the East Cooper community.  Being selected as a national finalist is a huge, humbling honor but the recognition is really about the work we have done at Wando.

As I flew to Washington, I reflected back more than 40 years when I first flew there to be a senate intern for Senator Strom Thurmond. I was a young college student who had no idea as to what my life would bring. At the age of 18, I had no plan to be a principal and was not even sure I would be a teacher.  I have been richly blessed in both roles and just hope our Wando graduates are as fortunate to find career paths that they really are passionate about and enjoy.

Creating a 21st century high school of this size which provides personal connections  for each student, and extraordinary opportunities academically, in the arts, and in co-curricular activities has required dedicated, committed teachers and staff as well as teamwork and support from our town, our parents, and our residents who do not have children in school.

Thanks to every one of you who support our students and our school.  These teens are really the future of our country and I am proud of them.  

Their potential is really endless!