HCMS students denied photo opportunity

To the editor:

I have a couple of topics I would like to address. First of all, I would like to congratulate the entire middle school choir and band members on a wonderful and entertaining performance Sunday. They should be proud. The middle school Christmas concert was once again a success. All parents and family members should be proud with the way our children performed. It seemed as though everyone in attendance left glowing with more Christmas spirit than when they first arrived. I would like to thank both Mrs. Gregg and Mrs. Lucky for another fine job. Every school system should be blessed with teachers like them. They really care about the students and the arts. I would also like to thank the parents, volunteers and everyone else who took part in making this such a success. Their time, hard work and support is greatly appreciated and needed.

Some people don’t believe that the arts are important and do not have a place in our school system. I disagree and believe that all students who wish to partake in such activities should be encouraged to do so. The arts are rich in history and are an important part of our culture, no matter what race, religion or background you come from.

Finally, I would like to add that as parents and school volunteers, my wife and I went to the middle school on Monday to once again help out with getting the students dressed with their ties and cummerbunds for their yearbook photos. The students were still excited from the previous day and wanted to look their best for their photos. As the homeroom bell sounded, the announcement was made all sixth grade band and choir members made their way to the gym for their photo shoot; however, students from one classroom were released late and nearly missed their opportunity of having their pictures taken. After another announcement, the seventh and eighth grade students came to the gym with the exception of several students from the same teacher’s classroom who once again released them late, this time resulting in the students missing their photo shoot. A short time passed and yet one more announcement was made and once again students from the same classroom were denied their opportunity of having their pictures taken. Watching these events unfold firsthand, I was left speechless. We witnessed these students rushing to the gym, full of excitement, only to find out that they were too late and had to return to their classroom without having their yearbook picture taken. When the students learned of this, the excitement quickly vanished and their heads dropped in disappointment as they turned to slowly make their way back to their classroom. As far as I know, all of this heartbreak was caused by only one teacher. Fortunately, my daughter was not in this class or I would have spoken with the teacher directly.

As soon as we finished with our volunteer activities, we went to the office to sign out and while I was there, I filed a complaint concerning this matter. The lady in the office assured me that the incident would be reported to an administrator. I plan on keeping up to date with this issue and doing everything within my power to make sure this does not happen again. This was a disappointment and a disgrace to the students as well as Mrs. Gregg and an outrage to parents. If anyone would like more information, please contact me and I will be happy to discuss this matter further.

Mike Massey

Cynthiana