I enjoyed a wonderful several weeks of summer vacation leaving on July 1st and flying to Sydney, Australia and from there by prop plane to the small town of Newcastle in New South Wales. After renting a car I drove the 40 some miles on the “wrong side of the road” to the beautiful Hunter Valley where I joined my daughter for two weeks while she was working for a horse trainer and harness driver with trotters, a special type of race horse. It is hard but fascinating work and for me a bit of a look at a very different culture.

I spent the second half of July in Eastern Oregon at Wallowa Lake, enjoying the family cabin with several generations spanning my 92 year old mother-in-law to the first visit from a seven year old grandson. It is a special family place with a rare and stirring beauty that I have been visiting for over forty years now.

I have been back in the saddle since August 3rd and excited about the upcoming year. It will be grand to greet our students again on September 8th.

One of the things I love about working in schools is the constant ebb and flow as new families join the school and others graduate. Whittier is fortunate in being part of a stable and cohesive neighborhood where generations of families have been schooled. There is great tradition in Ballard. I look forward to the new “K-12” configuration in Seattle Public Schools where for the first time principals will be working directly with their regional colleagues from elementary through high school. We are already reaching out to strengthen connections between Whittier and Whitman and look forward to including Ballard and Ingraham High Schools as well.

I hope that each of you will find ways in the coming months to strengthen your own connections to the Whittier community. Opportunities abound. We are fortunate to have a strong PTA, a dedicated teaching staff, and fabulous families. There is a niche here for all. I look forward to continuing the monthly “Lattes with Linda”, an agenda-less meeting open to everyone where all manner of fascinating subjects are discussed. At least they are fascinating to me! The first “Lattes” is scheduled for 9:45 on Friday morning September 17th.

Can’t wait to greet you in person soon. Until then, take good care and do keep in touch.

Linda Jambor Robinson
Lrobinson@seattleschools.org
206-252-1655