A Principal’s Blog

By Eliza Hallabeck

From announcing the sale of year books to spreading the word that the Newtown High School Business Department is collecting toys to be donated to the Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, NHS Principal Charles Dumais has been busy.

At the end of the last school year, Mr Dumais said he got an idea to create a blog based on the school, and in November he launched his idea onto the web.

“We need to do a better job of communicating our successes,” said Mr Dumais.

The blog, www.dumais.us/newtown/blog/, has been averaging 170 to 200 hits a day, according to Mr Dumais.

“The hope for the blog,” he said, “is it will be current, timely, and updated.”

Part of the reason for the blog, he said, is the NHS webpage is underutilized. While some teachers at the school make very good use of the webpage, Mr Dumais said, others do not use it at all. While it is not a school requirement for teachers to keep the website up to date, Mr Dumais said something was lacking.

“The webpage is a good tool for the handbook,” said Mr Dumais, “or links to clubs and activities for the school. But it doesn’t list activities associated.”

Activities associated with clubs can include fundraisers and announcements about accomplishments, like the announcement on the blog about the Math Team competing with six other school in the Litchfield County League at New Milford High School on December 1. “Our six students had a perfect score on the team round, had on perfect score on the individual round and came in second place overall. Nice job!” Mr Dumais posted on the blog on December 2.

“I think that the blog is a good place to celebrate successes that involve students and staff,” Mr Dumais said.

He said another aspect of communication about school events is the PTSA newsletter. He said an announcement about sports tryouts starting is good for the newsletter, while how much a fundraiser makes is good content for the blog.

Mr Dumais said he encourages staff, students, and community members to inform him of anything they hear about that is associated with the school. Teachers have been the best source of information so far, he said.

“I’m trying to get people to share what they think of as normal,” said Mr Dumais.

Things students and teachers accomplish, he said, may be everyday things at the school, but to people outside they are new.

Some students have activities outside of the school, and he said, “I would still like to showcase the wonderful things the students and staff here at the high school do.”

In response to how often he spends working on the blog, Mr Dumais said, “We always find time to do the things that we have interest in.”

The webpage is supported by Mr Dumais, and it is not technically associated with the school. The page the blog is on is paid for by him, and it does not come from the school district’s budget, but he said he follows the same regulations as the school’s webpage.

Future plans for the blog include a possible “Principal’s Letter” once a month to communicate the ideas and philosophies of the school. The letter could be on any topic, including homework.