Just a couple of weeks ago we were treated to an outstanding Superbowl contest between two great teams that represent so much that we stand for here at Woodland Heights School: hard work, dedication, resilience, courage, intelligence, teamwork, expectation, excellence. During the climax of my 'You Be A Champion in 2012' speech given at the close of our February School Spirit Assembly, I showed this video to our school community for dramatic effect. The clip fit so perfectly just two days before our beloved New England Patriots took the field against another local favorite, the New York football Giants in Superbowl XLVI. On the field that evening, the NFL 'Champion' team would be crowned, though we all know that every player and coach who took the field that day were true champions, regardless of the final score at the end of the game.
The same is true of the members of our Woodland Heights School Community. We all seek to be champions in our own way, bringing our best to the 'field' at Woodland Heights. In doing so, we become better, and we make our team stronger. No school I have ever had the good fortune to be associated with (and that is quite a few now), enjoys and lives in a stronger community than Woodland Heights School in the fine City of Laconia, NH.
During our WHS Staff Meeting this past Thursday morning, I showed teachers this commercial which appeared during half-time of the Superbowl in order to punctuate my message that we are currently at the half-time of our school year. After an amazingly productive and successful first half of this school year, we anticipate even greater things during our own 'second half'.
I assure you that I own no stock in the automotive companies featured in the advertisements. However, I believe very strongly in and relate very passionately to their messages about our country; its past, its present, and its future. The same message can be made for our city, its school system, and our very own Woodland Heights School. In fact, I have used this similar superbowl advertisement in staff meetings last year to dramatically make a case for the need of our staff to pool our collective strength and resilience in the face of the challenges we face, and take awesome pride in the truly amazing and literally life-saving work that we do every day. As we often say at WHS: "We are Woodland, and this is what we do."
The Laconia School District, and Woodland Heights School: so impressive, and so glad to be here. Be on our team, Laconia; our second half is about to begin, and you won't want to miss a minute of our program [go to our school website, scroll down to 'What's Up Woodland', and check it out!!].
Your principal, colleague, and friend,
Dennis W. Dobe
