Today, the 2013-14 academic year begins at Quest with our new faculty orientation. Tomorrow, we are having PLC  leadership meetings in the morning and the full faculty meets for lunch and its opening meeting.

For those of us who work 12 months, this is an interesting time. Unlike our colleagues, many who have taken trips or had other great experiences, they have had a chance to relax, rest, and rejuvenate. Especially for us in IT departments in a normal year, this would be a time to make sure all the accounts are set up, upgrades are completed, and new initiatives are supported. This year at Quest, in addition to the these tasks, we are also rolling out a 1:1 Chromebook initiative in our middle school and we are rolling out an Innovation Lab with a new STEAM curriculum to boot. So while everyone is coming back refreshed, some of us are still feeling the stress and looking forward to some downtime.

For many,  summer means trips to the beach, ballgames, and leisurely bike rides, outdoor concerts, and reading. It mean not rushing and trying to remain stress-free.

I maintain that summer is state of mind. It is possible to keep the “summer” frame of mind until September or October, while the weather in the northern climates remains sunny, the days still remain longer.

So while work to do list continues to grow at an exponential rate, I will still sneak away to the beach, even for an hour, just to keep holding onto that feeling for as long as I can.