Weekly Update 7/21/2012

Construction continues on both the technology lab and the daycare. Paint should be done in the daycare early next week with floor and ceiling to follow after.  We decided to take down a wall in between the two areas of the technology lab.  This has always been part of the plan, but we were concerned about the size and scope of the projects we have taken on this summer.   After some discussion it was the best choice to move forward with removing the wall and it really opens up the area.

I took a trip up to state softball in Fort Dodge this week to watch the Knights compete.  While the result wasn’t what our players and fans wanted, I really felt the team showed a lot of heart and fought all the way to the end.  Congrats to both our softball and baseball teams on successful seasons.

Bridget Murphy and I have met on several occasions as she hits the ground running as principal.  She brings new and creative ideas to the position and is very comfortable in this leadership role.  Currently, she is working on the master schedule and hiring a new teacher in math on top of all of the little details that accompany the principal’s position.  I truly feel that all of us who have had a chance to work with Bridget in the first week have been impressed with her dedication to making Assumption the best school it can be.

We have been dealing with some phone issues this week.  Part of it has been the switch over from digital to analog lines.  The other part has been technical issues outside of our control.   We have been working with Mediacom on this issue and hope to have the problem fixed by Monday.

The finance committee met Friday morning to go over end of the year financials.  We had a successful year financially and are once again able to save a little bit of money for future projects.  Much of the discussion centered on what the projects are that we will need to look at in the next several years.

Next week I will be meeting with individuals from the City with regard to markings on West Central Park Ave.  I have heard a lot of rumors about what the plans are and look forward to learning more about the real plans.  Hopefully lines will be painted soon as traffic will increase the closer we get to the start of the school year. 

Weekly Update 7/13/2012

Dear Assumption Family,

Several weeks ago I advised you that Assumption would be seeking a new principal. The Assumption Board of Directors initiated a search and we were blessed with field of ten candidates. Earlier this week three applicants were interviewed by a team of 19 stakeholders that included students, faculty/staff members, board members, a pastor, alumni, parents, and the Diocesan Superintendent of Schools.

We are pleased to announce the selection of Mrs. Bridget Murphy as Principal of Assumption High School effective immediately. Mrs. Murphy is a graduate of Assumption, St. Ambrose University (B.S.), and the University of Idaho (M.A.T.) She received her administrative certification from the University of Iowa. Mrs. Murphy and her husband, Kevin, have six children and are members of St. Paul the Apostle parish.

Mrs. Murphy has been an upper level mathematics teacher at Assumption for the past 11 years, also teaching college courses for Scott Community College at the high school.  Between 2003-2009 she coached the St. Ambrose women’s softball team.  She currently serves on the board of the Women’s Choice Center.

Mrs. Murphy brings many gifts to her new position, including her deep faith and her years of experience as a highly successful teacher. She is prepared to continue the tradition of excellence that Assumption is known for. We feel fortunate that she has agreed to serve as our principal.

Sincerely,

Andy Craig                                     Nancy Hines

President                                        President

Assumption High School            A.H.S. Board of Directors     

A special thanks to all those who participated in the interview process:

Kathleen Argo, Bill Bush, Fr. Robert Harness, Nancy Hines, Bonnie Kaplonek, Lee Morrison, Joe Barrer, Leslie LaCorte, Jan Luton, Amy McGuire, Dave Simpson, Melanie Wulfekuhle, Lexi Flynn, Ben Pashon, Nick Schlebler, Andy Craig, Emily Faulhaber, Julie Fulton, Wade King

             

Weekly Update 7/6/2012

I hope everyone had a great 4^th of July and was able to take a little time off to BBQ, watch the parade, and see some fireworks.  Having Wednesday off made for an interesting week, but I don’t think anybody will complain.

Things continued to progress on our summer projects.  The addition to the daycare has been mudded and the floor people were in today looking at options for completion of the project.  This has put our plans for the pub lab on hold for a little while, but Eric is confident that we will be able to get things done in a timely manner.  

We continued to prep for the principal interviews next week.  Currently we have 15 on the interview committee and are waiting to hear back from others on availability.  We completed a screening interview last week and are finalizing the questions for Wednesday.  

Progress continues to be made on the 1:1 initiative, and we are looking to place an order for computers within the next two weeks.   With all the details concerning agreements, pricing, insurance, accessories, management, options, imaging and documents it has been a time consuming process, but will be well worth the effort.  

Our bandwidth has finally been increased and we have seen a significant increase in speed.  This was a long process, but has yielded noteworthy results.  It is great that we were able to partner with our local Catholic elementary schools to make this happen.  I am so happy with the results and hope they are as well.

We continue to work on finalizing the master schedule and I can’t thank Student Services enough for their efforts.  This process takes a ton of work and they have been unbelievably creative in their approaches to solving some of the challenges we were face with.  Very impressive.