At the September 25, 2023, Cedar Grove Middle School Journalism Club meeting, we attempted to do our first videocast. Club members and club sponsor Meredith Zell invited the school Principal, Mr. Justin Hayes, to be our first guest. After watching the video, it was decided that we would use just the transcript of this interview until we were able to work a little more on our video skills. The students did an excellent job, and the questions were of interest to all students, so we thought it important to print in the November edition of The Teen Scene.
Hello, I am Charles R., a new member of the Journalism Club at Cedar Grove Middle School. I am in the 8th grade. Today, we are learning how to do video casts and this is our first one. I am here with Liz B., who will interview our guest, our Principal, Mr. Hayes. And Maddy S. is our audio/video director.
Liz: Welcome, Mr. Hayes. Now that we have you here, are you ready to start the interview?
Mr. Hayes: Yes, thanks for having me.
Liz: Let’s begin. What is your favorite part about being Principal of Cedar Grove?
Mr. Hayes: Tough question, but it’s an easy answer. The kids, the staff, the community involved with Cedar Grove, it’s everything about Cedar Grove is familial. It’s a big family, in my opinion. Seeing the kids smiling each day, learning, and having fun. Seeing our teachers engaged with the students, really getting to know them. The culture that we’ve built over the last 5 or 6 years makes it easy to come to work each day.
Liz: What do you think about the PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Strategies) celebration being a Halloween party with costumes for October?
Mr. Hayes: That’s a fair question, understandably so. Each year, a lot of people ask me that exact question. A lot of times, we have to look at the dress code. When you have Halloween costumes, it covers up people’s faces. If you have hoods on or wear different things that cover your head, it might take away from your identity, and that becomes a safety issue. So, if we can’t tell who a student is, if we don’t know who isn’t supposed to be on campus, that becomes a safety concern for us.
It’s typically why we stray away from costumes. Sometimes, people do push the limit on costumes, and it might not be school-appropriate. That’s one of the things you really have to look at as it relates to Halloween costumes- is it school-appropriate? Is it going to be a safety concern and a lot of times, it may not be. But sometimes people do push that button just a little bit, which does make it harder on us. In the end, it takes away from those who want to do the right thing and want to have fun with it;
Liz: That makes perfect sense. On a scale of 1-10, with ten being the most, how much do the kids drive you crazy?
Mr. Hayes: There is always one or two kids who may drive me crazy each day. That doesn’t mean that I don’t like them any less. So, probably a 2 because, like I said, some kids come in and make the day a lot more interesting. But kids are my favorite part of my job. Through all the craziness, it allows me to meet more kids, and those kids are the ones I see later on in life. While they may be crazy in middle school, they turn out to be productive members of society once they get out of high school or once they get out of college or the workforce. It’s really good to see the positives the kids are displaying. It makes me proud. A lot of people would say a principal would say ten, but it’s a 1 or 2, at best, because I love the kids.
Liz: That’s good. We’ve heard that you like fishing. When was the last time you won a fishing tournament?
Mr. Hayes: I can’t remember the last time I won a fishing tournament. I do like to fish a lot. A lot of time, when I fish with some of my friends who are in these tournaments, I’m just there as kind of a participant, not necessarily to win but to help them win. If we look at an actual tournament I probably won, it was 2018, I believe, with my son and one or two of his friends. They won the Junior Angler portion of it. It didn’t win overall, but it was the biggest fish for kids under a certain age.
Liz: That’s nice. Have you ever considered implementing uniforms?
Mr. Hayes: Not really. I will leave it to the people who make a lot more money than me to decide that. The dress code is what it is. We do the best with it we can each day. We are not the police when it comes to dress code, but we will address it if it stands out and needs attention. Uniforms, mmm …take it or leave it. I leave that up to other people to decide.
Liz: OK then. This is our final question for now. What is your biggest fear?
Mr. Hayes: I’m very claustrophobic. I do not like to be in tight spaces. If you get me in a tight space, I’m done. I start to hyperventilate; my heart rate starts to ramp up a little bit. So, the biggest fear is claustrophobia.
Liz: That’s really interesting but you are not alone. A lot of people suffer from claustrophobia.
Charles: I, myself, suffer from claustrophobia, and I can say that the same things happen to me.
Mr. Hayes: These are great questions.
Charles: Thank you for coming here and letting us interview you.
Mr. Hayes: Thank you for having me. I appreciate the invite and look forward to doing it again sometime.
