LANL Director Charlie McMillan thanks Los Alamos Public School employees for making Los Alamos a better place to live and work. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.com
Superintendent Gene Schmidt welcomes his staff back to school for the 2014-15 Academic Year. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.comLos Alamos School employees were welcomed back by Superintendent Gene Schmidt and his administrative staff and also by surprise guest Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Charlie McMillan at this morning’s all-hands breakfast meeting at Los Alamos High School.
McMillan told school employees that their service made Los Alamos a better place to live, thereby benefiting LANL recruiting efforts. Los Alamos teachers have future Lab employees in their classrooms now, he said.
“Now kids can’t wait to get away from Los Alamos, but in the future, when they have kids and careers, they can’t wait to come back,” McMillan said, and urged them to remember the impact good teachers have on students for years to come.
“Those of us at the Lab know the impact our teachers made on us as mentors,” McMillan said.
Schmidt’s theme was “How Do We Go From Good to Great: Putting Joy in the Workplace.” Highlights of his talk included recognition of the important role of UNM-Los Alamos in providing dual credit courses to his students. LAHS students have earned more than 1,400 college/high school credits at UNM-LA, he said.
This year, LAPS is unveiling the Early College in High School program, which will allow students to graduate from high school with an associate’s degree in hand, Schmidt said. He also thanked the Elementary Summer School staff for giving 117 elementary students a chance to attend summer school and catch up with their peers. He noted that Duane Smith Auditorium has been refurbished with new seats and other repairs and upgrades.
School employees were recognized for their years of service (between 10 and 35 years) with a gift of Nambe ware.
When giving examples of putting joy back in the classroom, Schmidt quoted LAHS math teacher Joy Handsberry who said, “I’m buying custom pencils for my classroom that say ‘this is not a pencil, it’s a math wand.”
“I hope all of you have a wonderful year!” Schmidt said.
