Greatness Has Many Faces At Seaford High School

Pictured: Students at Seaford High School are reminded to surround each other with greatness this year, as part of a new initiative to promote individual success.

Photos courtesy of the Seaford School District

There are many ways to reach greatness, and that is the message this year at Seaford High School. Principal Nicole Schnabel said the new motto is about helping each student find his or her individual path to success.

“Greatness means something different to everyone,” Ms. Schnabel said. “Our goal this year is to make students realize the power of greatness in any capacity.”

Green and white “Surround each other with greatness” signs are appearing throughout the school, including in classrooms, the hallways and outside the main entrance. Ms. Schnabel said that the inspiration for the initiative came from a teacher who was new to the school in the 2022-23 school year and said she felt surrounded by greatness when coming to work every day.

Inspirational speaker Jim Hughes spoke to student leaders about becoming a successful public school teacher despite being blind.

As part of the greatness initiative, the school recently held a leadership program that was attended by about 80 students, including student government representatives, club officers and athletic team captains. It was sponsored by the Seaford Wellness Council and featured inspirational speaker Jim Hughes, a history teacher at Farmingdale High School. Despite being blind, he has had a tremendously successful career as a public school teacher. Mr. Hughes spoke about the people who doubted he would be able to do it because of his disability, and used that to remind students they should never let others stand in the way of their paths to greatness.

Mr. Hughes used the term “GAMER” to explain the traits of successful leaders – gratefulness, acceptance, motivation, enjoyment and reflection.

“Our students were completely captivated by him and his message,” Ms. Schnabel said. “I think it helped them build a little resiliency and showed them how to have a great leadership presence at Seaford High School.”

Ms. Schnabel said that another objective of the greatness initiative is for every student to take responsibility in contributing positively to the school. She wants them to ask themselves each day, “what is my influence in this building?”