It's Hard to Say Goodbye

Good Morning and Happy Friday!

A BIG THANKS to Nancy Dunlap, Natalie Husen, Tracy Pippins, Shannon Bozeman, Chrysti Mercer, Donna Gatlin, Molly Morris, Lori Kramer, Joe Gordy and members of the GHS team for the leadership, kindness, compassion and support provided to fellow colleagues and students dealing with the loss of Ms. Karen McBride.

A memorial service for Ms. McBride will be held this Saturday morning at 9:30 in the GHS Auditorium. Additionally, the family has established Karen McBride Memorial Scholarship account at Ciera bank.

Graham Steer golfer Coby Bryant finishes 2nd at the UIL Regional Golf Tournament and qualifies for State! The Graham Steer golf team finished 4th at the UIL Regional Tournament. Congratulations to the team and Coach Todd on a great season! Good luck at State Coby!!!

Congratulations to GHS Senior, Savannah Wilson!  Savannah is the daughter of GHS Spanish Teacher, Liesel Wilson and GHS Science Teachers, Wade and Bethany Wilson.  Savannah has been named as a recipient of the Terry Foundation Scholarship. The scholarship is a “last dollar” scholarship so that each scholar is awarded the cost of attendance.  In addition, the foundation has graciously added an additional semester of funding to be used towards study abroad programs.  For Terry Scholars attending Texas Tech, this means that their scholarship award will be worth well over $100,000 over the course of 4 years. Congrats Savannah! WRECK'EM TECH!!!

Congrats to GJHS students, Reese Echols & Alex Husen, who have received the National Junior Honor Society Outstanding Achievement Award and $500.  The $500 is in the form of The Education Plan, a 529 College Saving Account. Reese is the daughter of Cara Echols (Crestview Elementary) and Alex is the daughter of Natalie Husen (GHS).

The Graham Steers and Lady Blues Track Teams had a total of 22 athletes qualify for the Area Track Meet being held in Mineral Wells this coming week. Please see our Facebook post for a complete listing of our Area Qualifiers. Great job Steers and Lady Blues!

Congrats to the RSB3 JV Band! They received a Division I rating in Sight-Reading and a Division II rating in Concert.

BOTH 7th Grade and 8th Grade received Division 1 ratings across the board at their UIL Concert and Sight-Reading contest! Add that to the 6th graders receiving straight 1s last week at Sandy Lake! All three GJHS Bands are sweepstakes winners this Spring! Way to go!

Graham FFA is successful at Area Contest! Area Results - Range: Shanna Gleason, Amber Poole, Jake Holland, Terry Wainscott placed 5th & qualified for state! Livestock: Ben Burgess, Logan Taylor, Mathew Clayton, Cara Williams, Tanner Walls placed 8th. Poultry: Nick Moore, Riley Wyatt, Gustavo Ramirez, & Seth Hamm placed 7th. Milk Quality: Kolton Gough, Jordan Crago, Garrett Box, & Garrison Stovall placed 8th. Equine: Brittany Gates, Averi Milligan, Alee Alvidrez & Tanner Walls placed 13^th.

 It’s Hard to Say Goodbye

All to often educators question whether or not they are making meaningful connections with their students. The unexpected passing of Graham ISD educator, Ms. Karen McBride, earlier this week provided the opportunity for students, colleagues, family and friends to reflect on how others impact their lives.  Dealing with a loss of this nature is difficult.  There is no magic formula to working through grief process.  Each person must grieve in their way to reach peace and understanding.

Unfortunately, over the course of my career, I have had similar experiences. Times like these remind me of the blessing we have getting to work within a school family setting.  Without fail, good and faithful servants step forward to provide just the right touch to support each other and our students.

After you take a moment to review the cards below and words crafted by our GHS students, I hope you take action and make contact with someone important to you and let them know how important they are to you.  Never underestimate the power of words like “you are making a difference,” “I care about you,” “thank you,” and “I love you.”

MS. KAREN MCBRIDE MAY YOU REST IN PEACE!