SMS Principal Blog

  "It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen" -John Wooden There is no doubt about it: I'm a big picture guy. I love talking about big ideas and dreaming about what the future could look like. It fires me up. Where I struggle is in the minutia of getting there. I am not, by nature, a super detail-oriented person in most situations. When I am in a situation that requires a hyper-focus on details, it is something that I have to really focus on doing because it does not come naturally to me. I wish this were not the case because I whole-heartedly believe in what John Wooden is saying in the quote above. I truly believe that the only way to accomplish the big picture stuff is to get the details right. I have a big picture idea of the kind of culture I would like to see take hold here at Sullivan Middle School. I want a school where teachers and students enjoy working together, where respect is the norm, and everyone truly loves walking t...

  "I decided to fly through the air and live in the sunlight and enjoy life as much as I could." -Evel Knievel I'm not sure if I should be extremely embarrassed or extraordinarily proud that I am using a quote from Evel Kneivel to introduce my message this week. I'm going to go with proud and see how it turns out. The esteemed Mr. Kneivel certainly seemed to be a living testament to the idea that if you love you do, you'll never work a day in your life. I'm not sure that I completely agree with that sentiment. I believe that no matter how much you love what you do, there are going to be elements of the job that are not enjoyable, and there will be days, months, even years when it certainly feels like work. I can't imagine Evel Knievel never had a day where working out the logistics of some stunt didn't seem a little tedious. It doesn't take long to jump a motorcycle over 25 busses filled with flaming sharks or whatever. The majority of his time was...