We are excited about our upcoming annual Football Jamboree and Cookout. The Jamboree will be held on the new playing field on Saturday, September 11th. This promises to be a great day filled with plenty of touchdowns, hamburgers, hot dogs, soft drinks, and fun for everyone.

     Each team will play two 10 minute quarters. The 4th grade league will start their jamboree at 9:15am, and the 5th and 6th grade league will start at 10:15am. Specific start times for each quarter are on the attached schedule. EACH BOY SHOULD BE DRESSED AND ON THE FIELD 15 MINUTES BEFORE HIS TEAM STARTS PLAYING.

     In the event of rain, please check our website between 7:00am and 9:00am on Saturday morning. As always, thank you for your support of the PDS Athletic Department. See you there!

Sincerely,

Dennis Smith
Director of Operations and Athletics

FOOTBALL JAMBOREE SCHEDULE
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11th

4TH GRADE LEAGUE
TIME TEAMS
9:15 EAGLES VS. CHARGERS
9:30 CHARGERS VS. FALCONS
9:45 49ERS VS. EAGLES
10:00 FALCONS VS. 49ERS

5TH & 6TH GRADE LEAGUE
TIME TEAMS
10:15 DOLPHINS VS. STEELERS
10:30 STEELERS VS. TITANS
10:45 TITANS VS. DOLPHINS
11:00 SAINTS VS. CARDINALS
11:15 JETS VS. SAINTS
11:30 JETS VS. CARDINALS

IMPORTANT:
EACH BOY SHOULD BE DRESSED AND ON THE FIELD 15 MINUTES BEFORE HIS TEAM STARTS PLAYING.
RAIN OUT INFORMATION:
IN THE EVENT OF RAIN PLEASE CHECK OUR SCHOOL WEBSITE BETWEEN 7:00 A.M. AND 9:00 A.M. ON SATURDAY MORNING.

I’ve posted two blogs about creativity recently (part 1 and part 2), and I wanted to write about the SEC and creativity. (A disclaimer: I have been a Vols fan since my dad took me to my first game in 1974, though I have grown to like the Rebels when they are not playing the Vols; I also will pull for the hometown Tigers, even though they don’t play in the SEC.)

SEC football is not just about the game itself, of course. It is about the tailgating and talk as much as it is about touchdowns. It is about bravado and bragging and boasts…none of which are in short supply among the fans, especially at this time of the year, before the dreams of BCS bids have been shattered by big losses to bitter rivals.

So, in the spirit of the annual SEC preseason frenzy, here is my first annual (perhaps) SEC Creativity Contest. I invite SEC fans of all stripes to see who can come up with the most creative answers to the following questions.  In a subsequent blog, I’ll post the results and/or winning answers, as well as announce which school has the most creative fans. Among everyone who participates, I’ll draw a name from a cyber hat and get this person a tailgating pack customized to his/her tastes and team.

Veteran PDS teacher Beth Diaz was surprised and honored today as the PDS yearbook was dedicated to her. Now serving as a second grade teacher in her 25th year at PDS, Diaz has taught countless boys during her distinguished career at PDS. "Mrs. Diaz is a fabulous teacher," says Headmaster Lee Burns. "She is talented, creative, hard-working and extremely dedicated to her boys, PDS, and the profession of teaching. She takes the education of her students very seriously, and she takes her own professional growth with the same high level of importance as well."

According to a recent IBM study of international business leaders, CEOs believe that, more than rigor, management discipline, integrity or even vision, navigating and thriving in today’s increasing complex world will require creativity.

Released in May 2010, this study is the fourth edition of IBM’s biennial Global CEO Research series. The IBM Global Business Services division conducted face-to-face interviews with 1,541 CEOs, general managers, and senior public sector leaders who represent different size organizations across 33 industries in 60 countries. Their findings reveal that less than half of global CEOs believe that their enterprises are adequately prepared to handle a highly volatile, increasingly complex business environment. CEOs are confronted with massive shifts—new government regulations, changes in global economic power centers, accelerated industry transformation, growing volumes of data, rapidly evolving customer preferences—that, according to the study, can be overcome by instilling “creativity” throughout an organization. Creativity was ranked by 60% of global CEOs as the most important leadership quality needed over the next five years in order for their enterprises to break with the status quo of their industries and develop leading value propositions.