Pine Island Elementary holds open house
More than 200 people filled the cafeteria Monday, Aug. 8, for Pine Island Elementary School’s Open House night. The purpose of the open house is to introduce the students and parents to their teachers.
Fourth grade teacher Monica Renz opened the ceremonies. After the initial welcome, Renz pointed to a sign placed on the rear wall of the cafeteria with a large “Mr. T’s,” a fishing pole and a fish painted on it.
“Tommy Thompson was a principal at Pine island Elementary for seven years,” Renz said. “When Tommy was principal he could always be found in the cafeteria making friends with the kids and having lunch with them. Three years ago Mr. Thompson passed away and a couple of years ago we dedicated this cafeteria to Tommy Thompson. Recently the district approved the renaming so now the cafeteria is known as ‘Mr. T’s Eagle Nest Cafe.'”
Renz explained that Pine Island Elementary has been named a Title 1 School. Title 1 is the nation’s oldest and largest federally funded program, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The funds provide for additional supplies, teachers, staff members, professional development, extra time in the afternoon and evenings to provide more academic related activities.
Renz presented new Principal Steven Hook with a special welcoming gift.
“The staff of Pine island Elementary would like to present Principal Hook with a special gift – a pair of ‘mullet moots,'” Renz said.
“Thank you, thank you, and welcome,” Hook said. “When I found out from the district I was getting this job, I felt like Olympic basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski. I was getting the best of the best staff. I was getting the best of the best community school and family support. So, thank you for the reputation and I am just greatly humbled to be here. It’s going to be a great year. It’s not OK to be good, when you’re capable of being great. And I’m going to be reminding the staff all year that it’s not OK to be great, when you can be awesome… and we do have an awesome staff.”
Hook went on to mention every staff member with an anniversary: Mrs. Renz, Mr. Van Duser, Mrs. Dooley, and even the island’s “royalty” the Mango Queen, Summer Dooley had an anniversary.
“I want to thank all of you for being so welcoming,” Hook said. “A little about myself. I have a wife Sue and we’ve been married for 31 years. One son Matthew who’s 28 years old. I love to fish, I love to play golf, I love to spend time with my family, and I love the Smokey Mountains. I am also a Notre Dame fan. Pine Island Elementary is an ‘A’ school and I want us to stay there. I believe that kind, caring, loving, respectful, and responsible are as important as reading, writing and arithmetic. So we’re going to concentrate our students on being kind, caring, loving, respectful, and responsible.”
Hook then introduced each teacher and staff members present, and gave out winning gift certificates to parents.
“I want you parents to know you’re always welcome at the school,” Hook said. “You are your child’s greatest teacher and we are here to help you. It’s going to be a great year… We’ll see everybody on the first day of school Wednesday.”