What An Exciting Couple of Weeks!

There is no doubt that events of the last couple of weeks are likely to be some that our students will look back on with fond memories twenty years from now. It has been a ton of fun watching these young people flourish and show leadership in multiple ways!

Just this week we had the opportunity to witness the leadership of our students in the National Honor Society when they hosted the Director of the Iowa Department of Education, Dr. Brad Buck for an Anti-Bullying assembly on Thursday. The NHS has chosen to take this issue and make it the centerpiece of their work this year. I am incredibly thankful for their commitment to this important component of our school culture!

I also want to recognize all of our athletes who participated in fall sports. All three of our sports teams had successful seasons and enjoyed the opportunity to extend their play with post season competition. Congratulations are in order to the boys cross country team for their qualification to the State Cross Country Meet, and also to Amanda Cartney and Lexi Kolterman for qualifying as individuals on the girls side. You all represented our school with great pride and we are thrilled for your success! Both the volleyball and football teams enjoyed a great deal of success this season with a run in the playoffs. Congratulations to the volleyball team on your season, it was a great deal of fun to watch. Likewise, congratulations to our football team-you played so hard in the first round of the playoffs, you too represented Hudson well!

Our fine arts ensembles have also enjoyed a great deal of success this fall with a fantastic concert back on October 17th. We have such amazingly talented musicians participating in both band and choir. We are proud of Luke Huber and Laura Baridon for being selected to the Iowa All State Choir and Band on October 26th. Being selected for these ensembles is a very difficult and prestigious accomplishment. Way to go!

This fall is beginning to wind down and very soon we will begin to get ready for basketball and wrestling; and all that comes with the winter season. But before that happens I want to remind you of one other opportunity to see our students shine. This weekend you have the chance to see our fall musical 'Cinderella'. It will be showing on both Friday and Saturday night at 7:30 PM in the high school auditorium. I had the chance to see it on Thursday evening and it was amazing! This really is a must see show, and if you don't see it you will really have missed out on something special!

According to the notes in the back of the program, the production of this show required the talents of over 66 students, staff, and faculty members. While I would love to mention each and everyone by name, I don't think I could possibly do it justice. However, there are just a few folks that deserve special recognition. First to Olivia Griffith who played the role of Cinderella, awesome job! You were amazing and have such a rich singing voice! The Fairy God Mother was played by Peyton Higgins, and she is outstanding of course! Peyton has such great poise and natural ability-and appears so comfortable on stage! Christopher (AKA Prince Charming is played by the very talented and capable Luke Huber who is one of the most versatile young people I know! Thank you for sharing your talents with us!

I could go on and on, mentioning of course the outstanding performances of Maddie Hartleip, Lauren McCullough, and Alli Weaver. Your show stopping portrayal of the Step Mother and Cinderella's sisters were great! I was very impressed with your complex harmonies in Act II! The humor and wit of our Royal Family and Steward was well done, thank you Matt Bullerman, Quinton Griffith, and Bridget McCulley! Playing roles of the mice and cat can be a bit tricky and difficult to accomplish, but Tori Goodale, Kelsey Noel, Emily Kaus, and Abby Tjepkes made us all believers and you added the perfect touch of magic to the show!

Everyone was just perfect, and I loved it. I am looking forward to seeing it again tonight and would encourage you to attend. Believe me, you will not want to miss this performance! And as a final note, I want to mention and thank Mrs. Anderson for her hard work at putting this show together. As you know, I have first hand experience and know full well the complexities involved in producing a show on this level. Oh, and how about those costumes, were they unreal or what! Wow! I think we owe Mrs. Griffith a debt of gratitude for her hard work and what had to be hundreds of hours of work building these costumes! Were you as impressed as I was with the transformation of Cinderella!

Superintendent's Remarks From Bullying Assembly

Good morning and welcome to our Anti-Bullying assembly designed to promote positive behaviors through the promotion of student advocacy and empowering our young people to be ‘Up Standers’ rather than ‘By Standers’. We are thankful that friends from our conference schools have taken time from their busy schedule to be with us today.

Much appreciation goes to Iowa Department of Education Director, Dr. Brad Buck for agreeing to join us for this event. We are honored to welcome you back to Hudson and look forward to your leadership. Congratulations on your recent appointment to Department Director! Please know that you are always welcomed to come home to Hudson!

I would also like to acknowledge the fine work and leadership exhibited by the National Honor Society in planning today’s event, in particular Alyssa Klahsen, Emma Widner, Peyton Higgins and Jason Hawkins. On Monday I had the privilege of accompanying this outstanding group of student leaders to the Governor’s Second Annual Conference on Bullying titled “Mission Possible”. Our event here this morning epitomizes the theme we heard on Monday, that schools cannot do this work alone and that our student body must serve as the catalyst for a change in culture that allows all students to attend school in a safe environment.

After our screening of the movie “Bully” these student leaders took initiative and approached their teachers and counselors, wanting to make this a priority issue for the National Honor Society. While this gathering today is no doubt a culminating event, I encourage you to view it not as a capstone whereas we all go back to our daily routines at its conclusion—but rather as a call to action. This is your school. Own it!

Now, we do believe that we have some of the most comprehensive bullying and harassment policies in the entire state. Our policy includes education, remediation, investigation, and consequences. I am thankful for the fortitude our Board of Directors exhibits in the application of these policies, and am grateful for the work of our administrators and teachers resolving cases of bullying. The fact is I am quite certain that any one of you in the audience today can probably recite our bullying policies chapter and verse. Furthermore, I am confident that you all are aware of our expectations, and fully understand those ramifications. You are probably aware of instances where the full force of these policies has been brought to bear. From this, one could possibly surmise that Hudson is indeed a Bully Free Zone. But yet, in spite of those policies we know that not to be the case. If it were, the finality of Board Policy Code No. 104 would never be invoked.

The fact is that no policy, threat, consequence, or anything that the adults in our district do can stop bullying. There will always be that one time when we are looking in the wrong direction, or when the target doesn’t report it.  

Indeed our policies are important tools in our arsenal of defense and we will continue to vigorously apply them. But yet the most powerful weapon we have isn’t these policies—it’s you. Because when I am not looking, you probably are.