As I sit at my desk finishing up some odds and ends before leaving for the Thanksgiving break I wanted to share some thoughts about things I am thankful for.
First, I am very thankful to and for the group of dedicated individuals I work with. The teachers and teaching assistants at CATEC are charged with creating meaningful, authentic, and engaging lessons and asked to be extraordinarily flexible each and every day. This is no small challenge and our staff meets it head on. Most simply stated, I am thankful for our teaching staff that work so hard and care so much.
I am thankful for the students. Our students have made a choice to be at CATEC and a commitment to their futures. This type of decision is a mature one and, as we look at the success of many of our CATEC graduates, one that leads to opportunities after high school. I can assure you that the young people at CATEC challenge us, occasionally frustrate us, but never cease to amaze us ...particularly with their energy and their abilities.
I am also thankful to the individuals who work in our front office at CATEC. Kindness, professionalism, and highly skilled are among the many praises that come to mind when I think of these individuals who serve and support our staff and students. Often these positions do not receive the recognition they deserve, today I want to make sure I personally say thank you.
I decided to write this blog after, over the last several days, seeing our Culinary Arts students and staff prepare and deliver hundreds of pounds of turkey, an equal amount of stuffing, potatoes, yams, and green beans as well as countless pies. I am impressed by, and thankful for, the performance of the Culinary Arts team in serving so many meals to our community. What I am most thankful for is the spirit in which this task was accomplished. We saw students staying late, coming early, and taking on tasks that challenged them to be excellent. We saw Chef Bressan working to exhaustion, yet continuing to serve as both chef and instructor. We saw students and staff from other programs join with Culinary Arts to form an even stronger, more efficient team. We saw that team truly experience and conquer "real world" challenges and expectations. I am thankful to work in a place where I can see such things happen on a regular basis.
Please know that though that Thanksgiving and our Culinary Arts students are deservedly in the spotlight today, there are many other such opportunities to shine for all of our programs throughout the year. Teamwork, customer service, meeting deadlines, working under pressure, and delivering what is promised are each specific skills that employers are looking for in new employees. Having observed Chef Bressan and his student support staff, and knowing they represent what we do at CATEC, I feel good about the skills our students are demonstrating and the work ethic they have demonstrated. In short, CATEC is truly a place to be thankful for.
Finally, after all this writing, I am quite thankful that it will soon be time to go and eat some pie!
Sincerely,
Mr. Mountjoy
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| So many too choose from! |
