Hard Times

 I believe that everyone of us would have to say that we as a nation and all of us personally, are going through some hard times. This isn't the world we are used to and this isn't something that we have ever lived with before. It is new for all of us. We aren't comfortable with the isolation, the masks, the social distancing and whatever new rules we have to follow. All of us long for the "good ole days" and wish we could turn back time. However, this new normal is a reality for now. I am not sure how long it will be like this and I don't think many of the experts know how long it will be like this. What I do know is that we have the choice in how we will deal with it. Like all situations, I feel we can stay positive or we can be negative. The old saying, the glass is half full or half empty. I believe now is the time to say the glass is half full.

We are starting a new school year and all of us are hoping that things go well and we can continue to meet face to face for the entire year. I don't think any of us want to go back to virtual learning. Our school has had to make a lot of changes so that we can start school on time and have students in our building. This was not an easy task. I personally would like to thank so many of our staff and administration for the tremendous amount of work they did over the summer so that we can start on time and safely. I always hate to leave anyone out but I know the following staff put in a lot of hours and dealt with a lot of frustrations to get us where we are at today: Mr. Turner, Mr. Knott, Mrs. VanTilburg, Mr. Verhoff, Ms. Temple, Mr. Darrell Miller, Mrs. Gillett, Mrs Yearling, Mr. Compton, Mrs. Falk, Mrs. Lippi, Mrs. Owens, the entire front office staff and all of our maintenance crew. The different scenarios and situations that this group had to deal with is beyond comprehension. They were in constant contact with the health department and our school board to make sure we have the safest possible environment for our students and that we would be able to meet face to face. Once again, thank you to each and everyone of you. I am so proud to work for Vantage Career Center and my fellow workers.

I realize when the teachers and students return, things will be quite different. We now have four lunch times to deal with. There are new class time periods, 4A, 4B, 5A and 5B that we have to deal with. We will not all be eating lunch in the commons. I promise you, things will not go like you were used to last year. There will be bumps in the road and glitches that need to be smoothed out. There will be new problems that have to be solved or issues that haven't been thought of. I just ask that everyone be patient and know that things will work out. The bottom line is that we want what is best for our students. I want our seniors to have a great final year built with a lot of great memories. I don't want them to miss out on graduation ceremonies or our award ceremony at the Niswonger center. I hope we can make their final year fun and enjoyable and get their mind off of the virus, even for a little while. If all of us stay positive and not complain about some frustrations that we may encounter, I promise you this could be a great year. A positive attitude is contagious but unfortunately, so is a negative attitude. So even though we will be wearing mask, maybe not sitting with our friends at lunch or dealing with things we aren't used to, please let us all be upbeat. You know, we are only given 24 hours each day. Let us make the most of those hours and hope for a better tomorrow. 

Let me leave you with this final quote from Bob Riley, "Hard times don't create heroes. It is during the hard times when the "hero" within us is revealed".