Cotton Dull Serves as Head of Lower School For a Day

Contributed by Shelley Searcy, Head of Lower School

Mustang Rally Auction winner, Cotton Dull, arrived at school on Tuesday morning walking a little taller. This young man was our official Mount Vernon Head of Lower School for the day! Cotton was charged with making rules for his special day. On Monday afternoon, wide-eyed classmates smiled when they heard the announcement over the intercom that he would be in charge, and classmates cheered as his rules were announced.

First of all, Mr. Dull declared an out-of-uniform day for all of Lower School. Secondly, additional recess time was mandatory, and finally, no student was allowed to “count down to the last days of school!”

Mr. Dull arrived early on Tuesday dressed for success in his khaki pants and Baylor University polo. He helped open car doors and greeted students in the carpool line. Mr. Dull received smiles, compliments, and thank you’s for the opportunity for free dress, and it was fun to see the variety of styles and selections of our Lower School Mustangs.

After carpool, we were off morning announcements so we could start the day with prayer, pledge, and mission. Additionally, there were May and summer birthdays to celebrate, and Mr. Dull was able to distribute birthday surprise. Then, we had a brisk walk to the Glenn Campus to observe the Middle School Talent Show, followed by an Executive Team meeting. At the meeting, Cotton made a suggestion to our athletic director, Mr. Brad Dehem that we start an archery club by the time he gets to high school! Mr. Dehem will use the next few years to do his research.

Following the exec team meeting, Cotton explored the Glenn Campus Mustang Athletic Building inside and out, saw the progress being made on the new Upper School Building, and visited the future middle school building as well. He had great questions about the spaces and recommendations for how we can improve our Lower School campus next year. He was also able to leave a note for Dr. Jacobsen.

Back on the Lower School campus, we made our rounds with classroom observations in homerooms and through Connections classes. Teachers and students alike were glad to see Mr. Dull’s presences in the hallways. Mr. Dull did assist one teacher with some students that needed a reminder about inside voices, and he promised several teachers raises for the following year!

Needing a break, Mr. Dull elected to join his classmates for lunch and recess. After that, however, it was back to signing papers of PTO requests, running some letters through campus postage, and solving needs for some of the teachers who came by with requests. Mr. Dull took class votes on ideas, granted the third graders a special privilege at their extra recess, and patrolled the halls with his walkie talkie. Finally, Mr. Dull welcomed, toured, and begin training one of our newest hires.

We appreciate everyone’s support of the Mustang Rally and Auction this year, and we love opportunities like this to spend more time outside of class with students.