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Page 8 <strong>Medway</strong> & <strong>Millis</strong> Local Town Pages www.localtownpages.com <strong>October</strong> <strong>2018</strong><br />
MCDONALD<br />
continued from page 7<br />
our school, and that this is a<br />
place they see themselves, and<br />
another really important job<br />
is to recognize the great work<br />
educators are doing and to<br />
celebrate that great work and<br />
help them grow in their professional<br />
growth trajectory.” Most<br />
importantly, says McGovern,<br />
her job “is to be a champion of<br />
little people.<br />
I’ve always been drawn to<br />
this age. It’s where my heart<br />
is. We have the youngest kids<br />
in this district, and they better<br />
leave here loving school. You<br />
are working with the youngest<br />
of students, who come in not<br />
knowing how to hold a pencil,<br />
or read numbers or letters, who<br />
learn how to be a kind friend<br />
and leave a different person.<br />
It truly takes a very talented<br />
teacher to work at this grade<br />
level.”<br />
John Murray, Principal,<br />
<strong>Medway</strong> High School<br />
New <strong>Medway</strong> High School<br />
Principal Murray grew up in<br />
Hyde Park, attending Boston<br />
Latin High School.<br />
“I knew I wanted to be a<br />
teacher pretty early on,” says<br />
the married father of two and<br />
Walpole resident, who, as a firstgeneration<br />
college student, completed<br />
his degree in History and<br />
Education at Bridgewater State<br />
College.<br />
After college, he got a student<br />
teaching position in Brockton.<br />
“I loved it,” says Murray. “It<br />
was a huge school – 4,500 students.<br />
I really loved teaching kids<br />
who needed doors opened to<br />
them, who looked for role models<br />
and some sort of mentorship.”<br />
His student teaching position led<br />
to a job where he’d take on after<br />
school projects, provide MCAS<br />
support at night, act as an advisor<br />
to clubs and oversee work<br />
programs for kids.<br />
“Finding multiple opportunities<br />
to help kids was where my<br />
passion lay,” says Murray, who<br />
quickly pursued and got his masters<br />
and then leadership certificate,<br />
also from Bridgewater.<br />
Although he had anticipated<br />
staying at Bridgewater, Murray<br />
encountered an opportunity to<br />
become Assistant Principal in<br />
Dedham, where he served for<br />
seven years, later becoming Associate<br />
Principal at Lexington<br />
High School.<br />
“I have been able to see a wide<br />
spectrum of experiences,” says<br />
Murray. “Every kid has needs, it<br />
doesn’t matter where you grow<br />
up. Kids will show you on the surface<br />
what they want you to know,<br />
but if you dig, they will show you<br />
what you need to know.”<br />
Murray says that as a school,<br />
“It’s our responsibility to make<br />
sure we recalibrate what the definition<br />
of success is for students.<br />
It isn’t necessarily taking as many<br />
AP’s as possible, or going to the<br />
top-brand schools. It’s (working)<br />
with adults and parents to find<br />
ways to create a path toward your<br />
own passion and goals.”<br />
In <strong>Medway</strong>, says Murray, he<br />
sees opportunity for everyone.<br />
“I’m trying to create a community<br />
of learners for our students,<br />
but also for our adults.<br />
We’re all in this together,” says<br />
Murray, who’s hoping to build<br />
relationships. “I think it starts<br />
with building trust and showing<br />
that you care about one another<br />
– that our teachers are building<br />
relationships with students to<br />
know that this is a safe place to be<br />
a learner. And so the first couple<br />
of weeks have been really about<br />
building those relationships, before<br />
diving into the curriculum.<br />
If you start that base of relationship<br />
and really care, kids will<br />
open up to the education you’re<br />
providing.”<br />
Students, for example, may<br />
not like science, but if they like<br />
the teacher and know the teacher<br />
cares about them, they will work<br />
harder. Rather than shut down,<br />
Murray hopes to foster teacherstudent<br />
relationships that make<br />
students feel valued.<br />
In Lexington, Murray noticed<br />
a large amount of stress among<br />
students, and he took an initiative<br />
of “positivity and happiness,<br />
finding ways to take the temperature<br />
down for kids and building<br />
spirit.” He played music in hallways<br />
on certain days and incorporated<br />
a “flex block” during the<br />
day for all students, so that they<br />
could design and get the support<br />
they needed.<br />
“The tactic was to build it in<br />
for everyone,” says Murray. “No<br />
one’s missing out on anything, it’s<br />
not recess, it’s not break time. It’s<br />
an opportunity to get what you<br />
need.”<br />
As an administrator, says<br />
Murray, he sees student voice as<br />
important as core values.<br />
“Ask for student feedback on<br />
what they want and need,” says<br />
Murray. “Tailor education to<br />
where they are.”<br />
508-376-0800<br />
<strong>Millis</strong>ton Common, <strong>Millis</strong> MA<br />
Open: Tue 9-6, Wed 9-7, Thur 9-6, Fri 9-5, Sat 9-4
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