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Nelson adjusts to dual role at Pelican [UPDATED]
Published 10:06am Tuesday, September 4, 2012 Updated 12:08pm Tuesday, September 4, 2012By Seth Johnson
Daily Journal
Pelican Rapids High School will see a new face in the open assistant principal and activities director positions.
Derrick Nelson will be one of the new additions in Pelican Rapids. He spent 13 years teaching fifth grade in Underwood, and for the last five years he was also activities director.
“It will be a little different on the first day not going into a room full of students, but I’m looking forward to a new opportunity,” he said.
Fall sports in Pelican Rapids will be comparable to Underwood, with the major difference being that Pelican has soccer and Underwood doesn’t, Nelson said.
Perhaps the biggest adjustment for Nelson will be his duties as an assistant principal. Among other things, he will be in charge of discipline from grades seven through 12.
“That will be a little different,” he said. “It should be like discipline in a classroom but on a bigger stage. I want to be fair and consistent, and I want to have a good working relationship with the students.”
Nelson said the transition has gone well so far.
“People have been very welcoming and kind,” he said. “It has been nice.”
While he said he is looking forward to the change, there are a few things he will miss about Underwood.
“I’m really going to miss the students and parents in Underwood,” Nelson said. “I built a lot of personal relationships with people in my years there, and everyone was great to work with.”
Nelson said he enjoys working in a small town environment, and Pelican Rapids seems like a good fit.
