Earthquake in Haiti

A 7.0 earthquake has devastated the poor country of Haiti. The Estes congregation has supported an orphanage in Haiti for several years, and it had just been decided that the Henderson congregation is going to join them in this work rather than return to Guyana. It is very difficult to see the people suffering in Haiti in particular the children. One of the children at the orphanage that Estes supports was killed when the earthquake caused a wall to collapse on him. One of the children at East Chester is trying to collect 1,000,000 pennies to help the children in Haiti.

Week 1

1. One of Tennessee's longest serving politicians died following a brief illness. Somerville native John Shelton Wilder, Sr., died Friday, January 1, at a hospital in Memphis at 88 years of age. I remember Lt. Gov. Wilder attending many, many Freed-Hardeman events over the years.2. Alabama wins the National Championship!!!! Roll Tide Roll!!

Principal Reflections

We only went to school three days this week because of weather, but that's ok. I wanted to take some time to think and reflect on the first half of this school year I've spent as principal of East Chester Elementary School. Somehow the word principal doesn't describe me. First of all I feel extremely lucky to work with the faculty and staff at East Chester. Since I student taught at East in 1989 I've wanted to teach here and be a part of this special family. The teachers at East Chester genuinely care for each child that comes through our doors. A lot of behind the scenes work goes into seeing that these little children's needs are taken care of. I can honestly say that everyone employed at East Chester works very hard to provide the very best educational experience possible for each of our children. My job is now very different from the job I've loved for 20 years. The day still flies by, because I am still extremely busy with a variety of jobs. Spring and I try very hard to be in as many classrooms as possible each day. I love being with the children, but whenever I visit a classroom, I miss my classroom very much. I gave so much of myself for 20 years that I almost feel lost when it comes to the chores that come with keeping a classroom running efficiently. I know that I've made many mistakes in the first half of this school year, but I hope that the children feel the love and genuine care and concern we all have for them. Each day I end announcments with, "Let's all work hard today and remember to do the right thing." If the children can learn those two important ideas at East Chester, hopefully they will do well at the middle school and later in their lives. I'm very lucky to be at East Chester.

National Champions!!!!

Well, its been a long season. I remember the night we played Virginia Tech to start the season. I felt pretty good about most of the games until the Tennessee game. Boy, it took some luck AKA Mount Cody to win that game. Then we survived the Auburn game. I wasn't sure how we would do against Florida, but we dominated that game. I was really nervous before the national championship game because the "experts" were picking Alabama and that usually means that we don't play well. We were out of school Thursday and Friday because of weather, so it was very nice to get to relax (haha) and enjoy the game. Becky, Carter, and Laura Beth came over to watch the game along with Lee, Margaret, and Terry who have watched every game with us this season. We were not thrilled with the way Alabama started the game to say the least (winning the toss and not deferring the kick, fake punt, etc.) and then we were really concerned when Colt McCoy had to leave the game. We all like him, and certainly didn't want him to be hurt. We also didn't want to hear all the people say that Alabama would have lost if Colt McCoy had've played the whole game. Anyway, the end of the night when the National Championship Trophy was presented to Coach Saban was SWEET! Roll Tide Roll! I can't wait until next football season starts!!!!