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Good morning, all - we’ve had a good week at LHS. We have a number of clubs, activities and other student generated efforts pictured in the Weekly where the goal is to help and assist those who need it the most. Youth-in-Action, YPA, Council, the Diversity and Inclusivity Club, as well as Big Buddies have all made efforts to put their good will into action through volunteering, participating in food drives, spending time reading with Hanover St. School students, and other acts of kindness that serve the community. To understand the impact that you can have by giving a bit of yourself to others is a powerful takeaway to learn at this age, and we are fortunate we have students who want to pursue these experiences.

I also want to congratulate the Wet Paint Players, along with their collaborative partners, the Upper Valley Circus Collective, for putting it all on the line this past weekend at Lebanon Opera House…what a show!

Winter sports kicks off tonight with the boy’s basketball team hosting Kingswood. I hope everyone has the chance to enjoy the weekend.

It was a relatively quiet week at the high school. I was in a number of classrooms and as always, there were positive interactions happening between teachers and students. The winter sports season is up and running and folks are excited about the Wet Paint Players musical, Water for Elephants, happening tonight, tomorrow night, and Sunday afternoon at the Lebanon Opera House. I heard the dress rehearsal went off without a hitch and all involved in the production are excited for opening night. Winter has arrived for sure - stay warm and enjoy the weekend.

I took the opportunity to visit the “Hangar”, the site of the ongoing plane build. I don’t know why I was surprised, but the level of collaboration, partnership, and productivity taking place among students, staff, and volunteers was off the charts. Pieces of the plane, near to completion, were mounted safely on the wall, out of harm's way. Machine tools were buzzing, and earnest discussions were taking place among all parties about what the next steps were going to be - problem solving on the fly.

To have an opportunity to participate in a Project Based Learning experience at that level is not the ordinary, but it has provided a model that we can reference when encouraging more PBL opportunities be made available for students in a more traditional classroom setting. Walking the halls regularly and having a chance to witness the different interactions students have with their teachers and their peers, how their seats are arranged, the classroom material they’ve been asked to process, is worthwhile to see. The best examples of learning happen when students have been introduced to what it is they’ve been asked to do, they've prepared in advance, and then work together, share ideas, think critically, and then be able to show evidence that good work has been done. This type of learning happens every day across the curriculum, and although planes aren’t being built in every room, the skillset necessary to accomplish a feat like that is being practiced throughout the building - the hope is that examples become even more widespread and the competencies necessary to be a good team player are enhanced. I want to take this chance to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving - enjoy the weekend.

A quick Take Flight update with wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving

At this time of year we are charged with the important task of trying to put together a budget for next school year that encourages student learning and reinforces the social and emotional health of our students, while also acknowledging our fiscal responsibility to the taxpayers. Having to differentiate between budgetary needs and wants a year in advance is no easy task, but it is good and necessary work and demands that we follow a thoughtful and consistent process. The budget system we have in place of building from zero and identifying, as specifically as we can, the items and services necessary to run the school, has served us well. Although we have always labored over the budget creation process, our discussions have focused now more than ever on ways to reduce expenses and find ways to reorganize resources to meet student needs while spending less. Because of a growing student population at the middle school, we are projected to have a 30-student increase at the high school next year which puts us at approximately 670 students, the most students we’ve had at LHS in nearly 15 years. Our class sizes will increase at some level, but we are excited that we remain a destination point for students not only from Grantham, Plainfield and Lebanon, but also surrounding communities, evidenced by the doubling of tuition students in the building over the last seven years.

Detailed budget documents are available on the district’s website by clicking here. The district will present the budget in detail and welcome community feedback at the annual budget work session on Saturday, November 22, beginning at 8:00 a.m. at Lebanon Middle School.

As always, please feel free to reach out if you have concerns or questions - we want to hear from you. I hope you have a chance to enjoy your weekend.

Take Flight is a class at Lebanon High School created in collaboration with the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire and Tango Flight. Our students are building a plane.

If you are interested in learning more or volunteering for the program, please contact Bonnie at brobinson@sau88.net.