Sunday, October 18, 2015

Gratitude - Part 11, Year 12



Year 12 - “The only people to get even with are those that have helped you.”
Dear Dr. Rudnesky,
Hello! My name is Rebecca and I attended your workshop on Friday at Rider University. I wanted to take this time to thank you so much for your powerful presentation! I am a recent graduate from Kean University. I felt so inspired during your presentation! Everything you said are reasons why I want to be an educator. To make a difference; to develop a safe and secure environment where all of my students want to be, are things I want the most! At times the job search can be a little discouraging but I will not give up! this is what I was born to do, and I wanted to thank you because every time I fall short in believing in myself, I’ll think of what you taught us; “Motivate yourself, inspire others!”
Thank you, again!
Sincerely,
Rebecca
Card:
Dr. Rudnesky,
You are an excellent mentor to Caroline and Richard. You have a gift that enables you to engage every student and make them want to be better young people. You have natural ability to inspire those around you. Thank you for being such a wonderful leader to our children.
Fondly,
The K Family
Dear Dr. R.,
Thank you so much for coming yesterday. Our students were truly impacted in such a positive way by your presentations, activities, and students. You have given us many great ideas that we hope to incorporate into our renaissance program. We look forward to visiting your school.
GDM
Thank you for the great book. The book is awesome, and has so much good instruction on how to become a great leader. Thank you, again, for writing it.
Ray
Received your book yesterday and cannot put it down!! Thanks again for being such an inspiration!
R.
Dr. R.,
I had the privilege of hearing you speak at the Middle School Association’s Conference. I was greatly inspired by your book and would love for my coworkers to network with you….. I am so excited I cannot wipe the smile off my face.
MG
Handwritten Card:
Dear Dr. R.,
I cannot thank you enough for giving me the opportunity to begin my teaching career at Belhaven. It has been such a wonderful 4 months. From day 1, I felt like a part of the Belhaven family. There was not a day that I did not wake up excited to come to work. I am truly inspired by the spirit, positive energy, creativity, sense of humor, collaborative nature, and passion for teaching that I have seen in the staffulty. I am inspired by teachers who continuously strive to be better by setting new goals, taking risks, and never being satisfied. And, of course, I am inspired by the renaissance program, which continues to blow me away! Even in this short time. I have grown so much as a teacher and as a person. Belhaven will always hold a very special place in my heart. Thank you for everything.
Jen (former student and teacher)
Dear Dr. R.,
I would like to take a moment to thank you for all your hard work and enthusiasm. All three of my children benefited from the academics, teachers, and staff. But also the positive attitude you bring to work every day. Your leadership has made a difference.
TOC
Hi Dr. R.,
After our meeting today, I went home and flipped through the pages of you book, 50 Great Things Leaders Do: Let’s Get Fired Up! Inspirational words jumped off the pages soaring around my room. I began to read, unable to put the book down until I had mentally consumed every trait built upon the characteristics of the previous one. It soon became covered in purple pen marks with notes, underlining, circling and starring of great advice on how to be part of the high expectations at Belhaven. I am fired up about joining the enthusiastic school climate! Additionally, I am anxious and eager to see how far I can push myself to be creatively out of the box in an environment that rewards such outward thinking. Thank you for recording your ideas to inspire others to never stop learning to become extraordinary leaders.
Sam
Handwritten Card:
Frank,
Taking your time to fly down to Florida, see the band perform, and then fly back just blows my mind. Talking about going beyond the call of duty- WOW! Your passion for education and commitment to every student is something all should follow. The parents of Linwood are extremely fortunate to have an administrator to lead their kids as you do faithfully every day. The support you give to me and the band is so very much appreciated, and I will miss you my time at Belhaven. However, it is time to write a new chapter and move on. The passion you bring to work every day has been an inspiration to me and has made me a better person. Thank you and continue to Rock On!
Larry
Hello Dr. R.,
I finished your book. It is so insightful and it is great how you empower and inspire the staffulty and students. You are an excellent mentor to those who you come in contact with. I love how you have the ability to see reality and maintain a positive attitude in an environment that can at time get the best of people. You are a wonderful example of how you make others want to be better and you lead by example.
I wanted to share my thoughts about your book because you took the time to write it and I took the time to be inspired by it.
A Parent
ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!!!!
Not to sound geeky, but you inspire me as an educational leader.
Thanks Frank!
TA , principal
RE: One Nice Principal
Who has the shoes that make a loud tip tapping noise in the hallways and has a smile from ear to ear? That is Dr. R. of course. This tall, lean person stands out of the crowd of students swarming the long hallways. Dr. R’s black hair shines under the bright lights in the hallways. His dark work suit is blacker than the night sky. His eyes are brown as wood. He is the kindest person you’ll ever meet. If all your books splat down the bright hallway floor and the yellow pencils roll away, Dr. R. will walk to you and say in a gentle but loud voice, “Don’t worry, I will help you.” Then he’ll pick up your heavy books. No principal is more kind than Dr. R.

Dear Dr. R.,
Now that was some entertaining Blue and Gold basketball game last night!! I have to give the staff enormous credit for a fabulous display of enthusiasm, sportsmanship, and camaraderie, as well as a huge helping of competitive spirit. The kids appeared to be having a ball whether they were playing on the court or cheering for their team and it looked as if the staffulty was having at least as much fun as the students. There is obviously a lot of hidden talent on the Belhaven staff and some of the attempts at scoring were even more impressive than the baskets.
Congratulations for generating tremendous excitement and lots of laughs to a packed house on a Thursday evening in the school gym. Thank you for putting yourself out there and showing the students what it looks like to hustle, play hard, and rally for the school. I enjoyed every aspect of the event.
Sincerely,
MY

Dr. Rudnesky,
I want to take this opportunity to send you a message that is a little more formal than an email.
As you know, I attended the Belhaven renaissance 4th Annual Lip Sync event this past Thursday. The room was packed and the show was great. The skits that the students did were well thought out and many of them were choreographed beautifully . The parents that were sitting around me were in awe of how good the performers were! I smiled the entire time.
Frank, I think that you do a fantastic job with the Renaissance program. I support the Renaissance program 100% because I truly believe that it correlates directly to student achievement. It seems that because of renaissance, so to speak, you are able to pull off events like the lip sync. Your students take tremendous pride in your school. That is evident in the programs you perform for the public and the ones that happen inside the school. Their pride is evident in the hallways of your school. \Their pride is evident in the blue and gold game and at the science fair and at the 6th grade invention contest. It is evident through band participation, chorus, drama and certainly in your highly successful sports programs. School pride permeates through Belhaven like your school was taken out of a textbook on how to do it right! While I am not in the classrooms at Belhaven, I know that learning is occurring on a high level.
Lastly, I am not referring to only students. Your staff involvement is awesome. During the lip sync, the staff members on stage and the staff members were judging and all of the staff in attendance seemed like they were a family. This is a credit to your motivational and leadership strategies. I have used the words “you” and “your” quite often in this letter. I am fully aware that the entire staffulty is to be credited with the many successes that Belhaven students have enjoyed. The purpose of this letter was to make you aware of my professional feelings towards your achievements. Belhaven is a credit to the community and a model for the state.
As a parent, teacher and Linwood Board member, I know that our children will be prepared for the challenges of the future. Whether it be close to home at Mainland High School or whether it is later in college or in adulthood. The foundation that you and your staff have provided will enable the students to reach new heights and to be part of the future we can look forward to.
Yours in education,
RS

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