Cape Public Schools welcomes back staff as new year looms

Willy Wonka welcomed back the staff of Cape Girardeau's school system back for the new year.

Wonka -- enthusiastically played by superintendent Neil Glass -- invited the staff to come with him on a journey of imagination to rediscover the magic of education.

In a video presentation in Kinder Performance Hall on the campus of Cape Central high school, Glass, superimposed into the film "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", imitated the actor Gene Wilder as Wonka.

The video also added in visuals of newspaper and magazine headlines about coronavirus, death toll numbers and school closures, while Glass intoned, "Recently, dark forces beyond our control have robbed us of our joys, stolen our happiness and brought bitterness into our schools. Stressful circumstances have tampered with our sacred recipe."

The staff in the auditorium laughed and cheered at Glass's antics and continued to applaud as the video ended and Glass stepped onto the stage, still dressed in Wonka's purple suit and yellow wig.

Howard Benyon, deputy superintendent of elementary for Cape Girardeau Public Schools, is covered in chocolate syrup Friday during a welcome-back event for school staff.Danny Walter

"Welcome my friends. Welcome to my chocolate factory!" Glass proclaimed.

Glass told the staff the school district could never run smoothly without them, that they are the secret ingredient to the students futures. He told them they are the music makers and the dreamers of dreams and that they are the student's lifeline.

He went on to say that in order for the students to succeed he needed the staff to be healthy and happy: "Your happiness matters. Your health matters."

"If you don't feel supported or valued, I know that your students cannot possibly succeed," Glass said.

He told them his mission for the coming school year was to help them rediscover the magic that attracted them to teaching or serving the district. He assured them he realizes the pressure they feel regarding things such as standardized tests and state mandates. But, he said, those things don't matter as much as the relationships they build with students and more importantly, "the relationship you have with yourself."

Glass quoted Helen Keller, saying: "Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; Nothing can be done without hope and confidence."

He said Keller's quote helps him understand the staff need to have confidence in him so they know he will advocate for them.

"I want to eliminate as many of the negative forces within our walls because all of us in this room know that there are people outside of our family who wish us to fail," Glass said. "You are the dream makers. without you, many of our children don't have a future. Let's have a magical year. Time is a precious thing. Never waste it."

After finishing his speech, Glass introduced and thanked the members of the school board sitting in the front row. Then he turned the microphone over to Mark Cook, vice president of region 12 for the Missouri Retired Teachers Association, who announced four staff members who had been chosen to receive $500 grants. Next, Glass brought the principals for each school up on stage who announced all the new staff joining their schools this year.

Glass returned to the stage and brought certain staff members up who had found "Golden Tickets" in the wrappers of Tootsie Rolls they were given. These recipients played games, some of them delightfully messy, for cash and gift card prizes.

"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest of men," said Glass, quoting Wonka.

After all the fun and games, they took a break to clean the stage before introducing the event's guest speaker, Edward Leoni, author of the book, "Happified." Leoni's message was about eliminating negativity in the workforce.