Two events this past week at JPII have caused me to think about what it takes.
After a successful first season in football and in the midst of his second (successful) campaign in baseball, JPII coach Paul 'Spanky" Demanche announced his departure to assume new duties at Harwich High School. Later, officials of the newly formed Cape & Islands League selected the graphics package submitted by Emily Fenuccio as the league's official logo image. These occurrences help us see that JPII's graphic design, football, and baseball programs have achieved success at an early age.
From these, we get a glimpse of what it takes. Programs need the right combination of factors in order to "take off" -- a lesson we learn through successes such as these (as well as the occasional slightly-less-than-success!). It takes:
- Right materials and support (Have you seen the Mac lab?)
- Right leadership (expert knowledge and strong communication, traits Mrs. Lyons and Coach Demanche share)
- Right attitude ("This is something I want.")
No guarantee yet, though, because the 'actually doing it' of a new enterprise converts vaguely dreamy notions to the work it really is ("This isn't what I expected!"). So the critical fourth component:
- Right commitment. Starting from scratch takes a stick-to-it-iveness from all involved in order to get past inevitable early struggles.
So this week I've been looking at football, graphics, and baseball and seeing what it takes. Launching new programs provides a laboratory; and for JPII students, the hard-earned knowledge of what it takes gives wisdom for a lifetime.
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