Tuesday, September 27, 2011

"Sorry Dude"

I feel compelled to share an email that was sent to our Gahanna Lincoln Principal.  It's a powerful testimony of our students, parents, staff and community.  I hope you enjoy as much as I did...

Dear Mr. Carter,
          For the past 17 years I have enjoyed watching the Gahanna Lincoln Lions Football team and Marching Band on Friday nights. I first started attending the games when I was a youth pastor in town. Now my ministry is to students in the Westerville School District, but I still  bring my three year old son to the Gahanna games to cheer on the Lions. I know that most often  principals only receive letters and emails from community members when there is something to complain about, so I wanted to make sure I share my thoughts about how great of an environment the Lions Football Games are for families. 
In my career, I have been to countless high school football games in many different locations around Ohio. There has been no better environment than what we’ve found at Gahanna.  I have found the students to be polite and aware of people around them. I have been to other stadiums where the students seems to oblivious and even rude. The words “excuse me” seemed to fall on deaf ears of the students  and they just stand there. That is not the case in Gahanna, in fact a few weeks back I was taking my son to the restroom during the Gahanna game and as we navigated through the students between the stands and the restrooms, a middle school boy stepped back in the group he was talking with and lightly bumped into my son. He immediately turned around, apologized to me and then bent down and said “sorry dude” to my son. I was very impressed!
It doesn’t stop there though…We are trying to teach my son to be respectful during the Alma Mater and the Star Spangled Banner and he notices what other people are doing around him. When we are at Gahanna games we tend to sit near the student section, and it’s a breath of fresh air to see the students respect those moments and the band while they play.
Finally I want to commend you and the staff of Gahanna Lincoln for the obvious presence at the games. It makes it a much better environment to have your family at when you know that there are teachers, staff, and police on the premise to help keep the students in check. As a long –time Gahanna resident I am impressed!

I am proud to be a member of the Gahanna Community and I am pleased to know that this will be the environment that my son will grow up in! Thank you again!        

1 comment:

  1. Great testimonial to the hard work being done at Gahanna Lincoln High School. Though what is being complimented should be expected by strong leaders, I am not surprised that these expectations are 'business as usual' from a school who's leaders demand the best and get it every day. Thanks for sharing. Keep up the good work.

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