Merry Christmas!  On December 20^th, our students will be dismissed from school for their much-anticipated Christmas vacation.  I know the students (and many of the employees!) can hardly wait.  With the holiday season so close at hand, our attention naturally begins to turn to thoughts of spending time with our families and friends and to the many aspects of the Christmas season.  However, it is also a time of year during which many of our children and families struggle.  It is always important, but especially at this time of the year, to demonstrate that we are compassionate and caring people and that we support our students and their families.

I was fortunate to be able to attend the holiday program at East Bend Elementary School on Monday night.  The children and faculty did a wonderful job during the program and everyone enjoyed the singing and music.  However, the thing that struck me the most was that, prior to the start of the program, the students were bringing in bags of food and necessities for the needy families in the community.  This served as a strong reminder that this season is about giving. The students at East Bend truly demonstrated a giving spirit and they are an inspiration to me.

As we begin to prepare for the Christmas holiday, we also will turn our thoughts to the arrival of 2014 and second semester.  When we return to school in January, we will be just as busy as we were as we closed out first semester in December.  For this reason it is important to take a much-deserved rest this holiday season.  I extend my sincere thanks for a wonderful first semester to the students, parents, faculty members, administration, and everyone associated with the Yadkin County Schools.  I wish each of you a safe, restful, and happy holiday season.