GALWAY–I sat down with Mr. Shine on a Thursday afternoon, and he lived up to the rumors I had heard about him.  I had been told that Superintendent Shine shows up in the cafeteria and sits down with students to have a conversation. He is always looking to improve our school, asking, ” How is it? How can it be improved, safer, more successful, provide more opportunities, and be a great place for the students?”

One of the more important questions I asked him was what many of you could be wondering as well. What does a superintendent do? Basically… everything. Mr. Shine showed me just some of the things he has to deal with on a daily basis.   For instance, he has to set up interviews for positions that need to be filled, suggest options for healthier lunch menus, read and examine articles to help create the school a better environment, as well as attend conferences to get ideas and better the school. Not only that but he also helps determine the annual budget, analyzes scores from past Regents exams to ensure growth is happening and oversees the operations and maitenance of both the buildings and the bussing. To say he does a lot is an understatement. In fact, a superintendent only gets twenty days off in a school year. Mr. Shine usually saves that for the summer time to spend with his family. A short work day would be him being at school from 7:15 am- 4:30 pm, and a long work day is staying at school until almost 10pm!

Though he is often here, he does have some hobbies such as playing ball with his son, throwing tennis balls to his two dogs, hiking, biking, and renting movies.  Interesting fact–he doesn’t watch t.v.shows.  He does  like to read, good sci-fi books and fiction novels usually. Mr. Shine likes to shoot not hunt, usually with target practice too. He listens to classic country, classic rock, and some classic hymns. His favorite song is “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.”

Neat fact–Mr. Shine bungee-jumped in to water the day of his wedding, and he skydived… all by himself (many places require tandem jumps). Mr. Shine was on the Fencing team in school, ran track, and briefly ran cross country. In college, Mr. Shine played on the Ultimate Frisbee team. He went to a Military Academy where he had to attend dances, wearing his entire  military uniform… this included a saber. On the way out from the dance, his date got tangled up in his saber and fell in the mud. He described this event as “funny”. He also is really good at corny jokes, or really bad at corny jokes.  I happen to love them, so 1 point to Mr. Shine!

Oh, and shoutout to Mrs. Decker; his “twang” comes from growing up in South Carolina. You’re welcome!

Next time you see Mr. Shine, ask him to tell you a joke!  Then, post it below so all can enjoy his humor.