My name is Marny Ruben, and I would like to welcome you to the 2011-2012 school year at Seawell Elementary School, home of the Seawell Seahawks! I am excited about the school year and my third year as Principal. As the principal of Seawell, I come to you with seven years of experience as the assistant principal of Seawell, and seven years of teaching experience, so I am feeling very comfortable about the task ahead of me.

You may have noticed our new mission statement and our behavior expectations matrix that are posted around the school. These concepts come from Positive Behavior Intervention and Support, a district focus on a systematic approach to school discipline. There is a link to more information about PBIS on the side of this page, so please take a few minutes to become familiar with the concept. Our new mission reads, "Preparing children for life as they live it, together SeaWEll can!" The children are learning a chant that goes like this,

"Yes we can… be responsible! Yes we can… be respectful! Yes we can…be ready to learn! Together Seawell can!

Take a minute to ask your child about the fuzzies that they are earning at school. The students are excited about following the rules and thrilled to be recognized for it.

Hello Seawell Seahawks! My name is Amy Doty and I'm so excited to be here as the new Assistant Principal. I have spent the last twelve years in Durham Public Schools as an ESL teacher, teacher leader, and Assistant Principal. I look forward to meeting you all and working with you this year.

Hi Seahawks! My name is Tiffany Cheshire and I am very happy to be at Seawell this year as the Administrative Intern. I worked in Orange County Schools for the past four years as an elementary Spanish teacher. I am in my second year at UNC as I work towards my Masters in School Administration. I am looking forward to learning from Marny and Amy and meeting each of you throughout this school year!