What didn't make the Spring 2008 Newsletter

This years newsletter is 24 pages but it seems that it is never big enough to include all of the stories that we would like to print. This is one of those stories that didn't make the cut:

John Marshall High School Online

The internet is a vast resource of information and you never know what you are going to find when you sit down at your computer. One day, while surfing around YouTube, I clicked on a music video by Country Music Superstar, Brad Paisley. As the video started to play, an image of something familiar flashed across the screen. Was it John Marshall High School?

"Letter to Me" is a song that is written to a 17 year-old by the same person who is now a much older and wiser adult. It reflects experiences that we all might have had when we were in high school. And that high school is none other than John Marshall; not our JMH in Cleveland, but the John Marshall High School in Glen Dale, West Virginia. Glen Dale is a small town on the Ohio River south of Wheeling. Brad apparently graduated from JMH in 1991 judging by the marquis in the video.

Brad "writes" about these experiences with a sense of realism. Remember to stop at the stop sign at Tomlinson and Eighth and sure enough, if you bring up a Google Map of Glen Dale, you'll find that intersection. He mentions Mrs. Brinkman, a teacher, who apparently took extra time with her students to "polish them until they shined." And some good advice we all wish we would have taken, "Each and every time you have a fight, Just assume you're wrong and dad is right."

This song could have been about our John Marshall. The teachers who took the extra time like Miss Bauer, Miss Lucas, Mr. Van Allen, Mr. Seidel, Mr. Blackman, Mrs. Bradshaw, Mr. Schlueter and many others (circa 1963) were just like Mrs. Brinkman. Think about the teachers that made a difference in your life. "Letter to Me" could have been about any one of us growing up in the John Marshall High School family. it's worth your time to view it online and listen to the words, especially if you're 17 years old and a student at our John Marshall. Your best years are still ahead.

"Letter to Me" Video on YouTube

After you've digested "Letter to Me," you might also want to look at Brad's Music Video "Online." It's about someone who finds a new life on the internet which is much different than his real life. There are many amateur videos of this song as a result of a contest that sought to encourage young people to try their hand at making a funny video of this song. Try the original version first and then go on to the others. Once again, Brad features a high school marching band in the video, this time from Brentwood High School in Brentwood, Tennessee not far from where Brad lives with his wife, actress Kimberly Williams.

"Online" Music Video by Brad Paisley

If you are still having fun, try this one:

"Celebrity" Music Video by Brad Paisley

And now you see why this didn't make the newsletter! Enjoy.

Learn about other John Marshall High Schools by visiting our "LINKS" page.