Never an Uneventful Day

Fat Tuesday Alumni Party

One never experiences an uneventful day when working in schools. There is never a regular day where we can set our daily agenda and follow it. My daily agenda changes starting at 8:05 am. That's the time we usually finish the daily prayers and morning announcements. 9 out of 10 days somebody is waiting for me to discuss something, and you know that something is usually not about what a great job I'm doing.

Eisenhower Matrix

This makes me think of the Eisenhower Matrix of time management where I'm suppose to focus my time on the urgent and important versus the non-urgent and non-important. What the Eisenhower Matrix doesn't address is who determines what is important and urgent. What is important and urgent to my students, teachers, and parents is not always important and urgent to me. But, my job is to do the best I can for my students, teachers, and parents. So, starting at 8:05 am, I change my role from school principal to school fireman, and I do my best to put out fires. This week, the week before Spring Break, was definitely a firefighting week. Just glad this past week is behind us, and I can focus during Spring Break week on my list of urgent and important. In lieu of a raise for next year, maybe I'll ask Fr. Ernie for a fireman's helmet. :)

With Patrick Norman, St. Ann Grad

Just an FYI, I do enjoy putting out fires most of the time, and I don't mind dealing with unpleasant situations. I don't look forward to dealing with the unpleasant. It is just that I've been doing this for so long I know that it is a part of the job. And unfortunately, not everyone agrees with my methods or decisions of how I deal with the unpleasant or putting out fires. Not every day nor decision is rosy, but I do wear rose-colored glasses. So, I have that going for me.

With Virginia Norman, St. Ann Grad

Since last fall, we have been planning the Alumni Fat Tuesday Party. We had about 60 alumni RSVP and we were excited for such a great turnout. Our decorating committee, mainly made up of St. Ann alum, did a great job of decorating the gym. The Knights of Columbus stepped up as usual and took care of the food. Special thanks to Jack and Stacey Griffith for leading the charge getting the food ready. In the end, about 40 people attended the party. I am not a St. Ann graduate, but I had a great time, and do look forward to the next St. Ann alumni get-together.

Fat Tuesday Alumni Party

Parents and Students! Time for Colt Star Award nominations. The Colt Star Award recognizes faculty and staff members at St. Ann who exhibit leadership, participate in school and community projects, and foster good citizenship and high academic achievement at St. Ann.  CLICK HERE to download the Colt Star Award nomination form.

On Saturday, March 23rd, St. Ann will have a tent at the Jubilee Schools' Mardi Gras In Memphis Crawfish Boil and ETW 5K. We have a Memphis Catholic intern working at St. Ann every day. In return for their support, we are going to support the Crawfish Boil and 5K. Several of our St. Ann friends and alumni are also Memphis Catholic Chargers.

I am inviting all St. Ann folks to come out for a day of fun at Memphis Catholic. Bring your chairs and join us at the St. Ann tent. Admission is $5 with children 5 and under free. There will be live music, bouncy castles, face painting, and corn hole games included with admission. There will be food and drink available for purchase. A box of crawfish will be available for $10. My wing cooking friend from Jefferson City, Philip Schulte, will be grilling his "Soon to be World Famous Wings" and Mid-Missouri homemade sausage. We had a good St. Ann crowd at the Wings of Jubilee last fall. Let's have a great turnout for the Crawfish Boil and 5K.

Wiring for Security Cameras

The school security camera system is almost complete. When everyone returns from Spring Break, they will see our cameras covering every hallway, cafeteria, and gym. We are already working on installing speakers in the hallway. The final step will be the door locks. I might have to take a locksmithing class to get this done, but we need to replace the door locks throughout the campus.

Lastly for this week, the computer labs are being used more this year than ever before. Many of the computer programs such as IXL, ReadWorks, easyCBM, and Spelling Words used by the students require headphones. Many of the head phones we currently use need replacing. Amazon is running a special on the Califone headphones we use. We can purchase a set of 10 Califone headphones for $94.26. We are in need of two of these sets. Purchasing the headphones individually is roughly $13 a piece. If you can help purchase two sets of 10 Califone headphones for our students, we greatly appreciate your help.

Have a great Spring Break. I will be at St. Ann most of the week

Support St. Ann

working on summer camps. Hopefully, the fires will be few but know there will always be fires.

God bless you,
Didier Aur, Principal