Staff and students are winding down their focus on teaching and learning to prioritize spending time with their loved ones. 

We hope that you will be able to join us tonight at 6 for Christmas at the Castle to celebrate the Christmas season with festive music from our RRHS Band and Chorus, delicious hot chocolate, and beautiful decorations adorning our historic RRHS Senior building. 

There are also a few surprises in store, so make sure not to miss it. 

We are thankful for the hard work of our Roanoke Rapids Alumni & Friends and staff who have worked so hard to plan this special evening and we are also thankful for our sponsors: Halifax County Visitors and Convention Bureau and Lowe’s Home Improvement.As you’ve all heard me say before, our district motto is Together, We Succeed. 

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I am thankful for our staff who live this out every day in the way they show up for our students and each other and it makes me happy to be able to show up for them. 

One of my favorite days of the school year is the day that my leadership team and I deliver Christmas presents to every staff member on our campuses. 

To make this happen, we have an early start at 6:30 a.m. and we are just finishing up as the last students are dismissed at 3:30 p.m.

Traditions are important in Roanoke Rapids and I am thankful that I was able to start this one with my leadership team during my first year as superintendent. 

This year, all staff received a long sleeve shirt with a special message: Never Forget the Difference YOU Make. #TogetherWeSucceed. 

Some days, being an educator is a hard job and I hope that staff will take a moment on their hard days to take this message to heart.

A bonus of this day is that we get to see the smiling faces of all the students on the same day. We spread a little Christmas cheer by handing out candy canes to the students and this year, we had a life-sized gingerbread person with us!

Our students have been doing such amazing things. 

Our athletes are doing well in winter sports and I enjoyed watching our middle school boys basketball team. 

I also got to hear our 7th grade pep band at the game, which is something new that our middle school band has started. 

The RRHS band and chorus concerts were a big hit and always add plenty of holiday cheer to this season. 

I feel fortunate to work in a district that has so many offerings for our students, who truly are the reason why we do this work that we do. 

I hope that each of you reading this has a wonderful holiday with your loved ones.