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Gratitude

12/2/2022

That is a tough act to follow. I always heard that you never want to share the stage with cute dogs or cuter kids.
But seeing my daughter dance with the rest of the ECP kids and our footballfriends warms my heart and reminds me why I love being here.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to say something today. Some of you may know that I’m writing an update of the school’s history. I think of the project as a thank-you to the school for all it has done for me – especially since my accident two years ago. But the truth is that very few people will read that story (and I’m generally optimistic), so I’m glad to have the chance to make my gratitude public. It occurred to me that in order to be truly grateful, I need to be aware of all the gifts people have given me. It seems almost impossible to keep
To be brief, there are a few groups of people I want to thank:

First, the Leadership Team led by our new Head of School Thank Armistead Lemon for making this wonderful idea a reality. I love it.
Thank you to the parents – like the Bloomfields who helped lead a Go Fund Me that supported me and my family through tough times. Nearly 200 people contributed to that fund.
Thank you to the faculty – so many of whom helped feed and support my family – led by Mr. Belderes and Mrs. Jackson.
And staff – who have made every aspect of my experience on campus better.
Thank you to the students – especially the fearless 15 members of the Herald staff who help keep journalism alive. We’re going to pass out our first issue tomorrow!

When I’m on campus, people go out their way to help me – holding a door open, helping me get something I cannot reach, or just chatting. I feel so fortunate – and I’m grateful to all of you!

Of course, thank you to Abby for being such a great daughter to me and Melissa. And to my wife for being my superhero.

In fact, I read that gratitude is a superpower. It was in a children’s book, so it must be true! Perhaps everyone can take a moment and think of saying thank you to someone who might really need to hear it.

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Giving Thanks

12/2/2022

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Profile

9/19/2021

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By Ani Eagan

Growing up in California, Robert Robillard originally thought he would go on to be a businessman, but after being taught by a few teachers that he really looked up to, he realized that he also wanted to be a teacher and have that effect on students as well.

Robillard has been teaching at NCS for 11 years, originally coming here when his wife got a job at VT. He’d taught at other places before, originally becoming a teacher because of the positive impact some of his teachers had on him when he was a student. In high school, he became part of the school newspaper and it became his favorite part of school from then on. His journalism teacher became someone he looked up to and being able to contribute to the newspaper contributed to some of his best memories from high school.

”They all inspired me to learn," he said, "so I wanted to be like them.” Still now he loves Journalism and writing, taking writing courses online and of course teaching journalism at school.

Though he is teaching something he enjoys, his favorite part of being a teacher is not the subject he teaches but getting to interact and bond with the students. Getting to go on several trips with the school, he's been able to bond with the students outside of a normal classroom setting.

“Those are the times when I really connect with students outside the classroom in meaningful and fun ways.”

He’s gone on many trips with students to places like Italy, China, Austria, England, and much more. It’s given him a chance to create bonds with students and get to travel to many different places which he also enjoys. He’s traveled outside of school as well, even waiting tables for a year at a seaside resort in Germany.

One of his favorite things about Roanoke is the natural beauty that it has to offer.

“It is so beautiful, with the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Roanoke River,” he said. “The air is so clean most of the year.”

He likes spending time outside and one of his passions was cycling. Having biked from California to Minnesota, it was one of his favorite things to do. He averaged 2,000 miles cycling a year and even biked 200 miles in one day in the Davis Double Century. He went to college in Davis as well, which even is home to the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame.

After coming to North Cross he’s had a lot of roles here, having been the director of global studies and even coaching tennis for some time. Again, what he really loves about getting to teach is being around the students. Connecting with the kids is very important to him.

"I'm so lucky to be teaching again, especially Journalism," Robillard said. "It is vital that we learn to find the facts and show the truth to our community."

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Author

The school photo from 2019 should be a classic example of a school portrait. “Smile!” She said. “Chin to the side. Head back, shoulders down, chest out. Now take a deep breath, smile, and hold it! Hey! Looks great.” In this case, I felt thoroughly uncomfortable. I dressed in somewhat garish, bright clothing. Wearing a vest made for me in Shanghai of green faux velvet with a custom fitted salmon colored shirt and a white tie with faint polka dots. It looks like someone is holding a lollypop up above the camera for me to gaze at merrily. Using Photoshop liberally, the photo company editing my photo to put much more space between my eyebrows, erased most of my numerous wrinkles, and whitened my teeth so that I looked like a contestant for a George Hamilton look-a-like contest. I guess the yearbook advisor didn’t want to use it, so they reused the previous year’s photo.

Letters to the Editor: willishallherald@northcross.org

Founded in 2010, and based in the Journalism elective, The Willis Hall Herald is the official student-led publication of the Upper School at North Cross School in Roanoke, VA. The Herald may be published in magazine form three times per year. GeoPrism: The Global Studies Journal may be published in magazine form once or twice per year. The Herald welcomes letters, commentary and submissions of original content that adhere to the Herald's dedication to factual journalism. Letters and other content must be signed and may be edited for length and Herald style. The Herald does not guarantee publication of outside submissions. Please contact Robert Robillard for ads. The Herald won Gold Medals from Columbia Scholastic Press Association in 2012 and 2015.

The Staff

Editor-in-Chief ........................................................................................................................ Massoki Maka
Managing Editor....................................................................................................................... Eason Zhou
Social Media Editor.................................................................................................................... Eason Zhou
Website Editors...........................................................................................................................Eason Zhou
Opinion Editor.........................................................................................................................Massoki Maka
Graphics Editor................................................................................................................................... Dat Bui
Business Manager.......................................................................................................................Brock Miles
Features Editor......................................................................................................................................Nhi Le
Photography Editor.................................................................................................................. Eason Zhou
Arts Editor...................................................................................................................................Rabia Ferron
Arts and Entertainment Editor.......................................................................................Aadeetri Pandey
Sports Editor............................................................................................................................ Tristan Lange
Staff writers...................................... Rowan Anderson, Anne Bradley Cullen, Didi Dibetle, Lam Do, Antonio Mack, Aadeetri Pandey, Jiale Qin, Veronica Weston.
Graphic Artist .....................................................................................................................Gracean Ratliff
Op-Ed Columnists................................................................................................................... Helen Hertz

Advisor................................................................................................................................ Robert Robillard

Robert Robillard, Advisor

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the Willis Hall Herald

Contact: willishallherald@northcross.org
4254 Colonial Ave.
Roanoke, VA 240189
(540) 789-7289

Letters to the Editor: willishallherald@northcross.org

The Staff

Robert Robillard, Advisor

Gratitude

Giving Thanks

Profile

Author

Archives

Categories

the Willis Hall Herald

Contact: willishallherald@northcross.org 4254 Colonial Ave.Roanoke, VA 240189(540) 789-7289

Letters to the Editor: willishallherald@northcross.org

The Staff

Contact: willishallherald@northcross.org
4254 Colonial Ave.
Roanoke, VA 240189
(540) 789-7289