What you do matters.
That seemed to be the theme for this year's Leeds City Schools Institute. On August 1st, LCS Faculty and Staff left their pool bags and sunscreen at home and gathered at Leeds High School to kick off another great school year.
Staff at LHS did a fantastic job decorating the halls of LHS to welcome employees system wide back to work. After signing in, employees enjoyed mingling and visiting vendor tables inside of the library.
Superintendent John Moore kicked off Institute with a warm welcome. He also introduced the first speaker of the day- Leeds City School Board Member, Mrs. Kathy Dutton. Mrs. Dutton spoke about her time as a Greenie, introduced the rest of the school board, and made the crowd laugh when she spilled the beans that she was there the day Mr. Moore was born!
Next up, Mr. Moore introduced Mary Beth Lochridge. Mrs. Lochridge was a 1st grade teacher at the Primary School, but she is serving in a new role this year. Mrs. Lochridge got the crowd going by making the entire auditorium stand up to do "The WAVE". She also talked about the new role: F.A.C.E. Coordinator - Family And Community Engagement. FACE is a program that LCS is piloting this year. Mrs. Lochridge will be mentoring new teachers in our school system, advocating and building relationships with LCS families, coordinating community involvement, and promoting all the great things happening in the school system.
The highlight of Institute every year - The Pride of the Greenwave - performed next. The marching band gave everyone a sneakpeak of their halftime show.
This year's keynote speaker was a man who has dedicated over 30 years of his career to serving the Leeds community - Brother Billy Abrams. Brother Billy has been the pastor of Cedar Grove Baptist Church since 1992. He has also led First Priority at Leeds Middle School most of those years. Brother Billy gave an inspiring message about his own experience with education and how a teacher can impact a child's life. Brother Billy made the crowd smile when he pulled out an old Starbucks cup to show everyone. He read a quote that was on the side of the cup from the 2003 National Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Betsy Rogers... who just happened to teach at Leeds Elementary School when she won!
We concluded this year's Institute with a heartwarming video made by Jesse Turner and RGR Media. You can take a look at the video here.
What pairs well with an inspiring message? Chick-fil-A ofcourse! Lunch was provided by Millennial Bank.
Roll Greenwave and Happy Back to School!
