For many students and faculty, the first day of school always comes with excitement and nerves. Assistant Principal Brian Olmes started his first day at AHS on Dec. 1 with his mind set on familiarizing himself with the school.

“I want to get to know people and I’ve started being able to do that,” Olmes said.

Olmes is originally from Robinson Secondary School where he worked as an ESOL teacher for 13 years and was also the wrestling coach. Olmes has also succeeded in accomplishing level training for the FCPS Restorative Justice Initiative.Olmes would like to challenge himself to learn more about the Annandale community because he believes it has a good reputation.

Q&A with Assistant Principal Brian Olmes

Olmes earned his Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Leadership at George Mason University. After he earned his Bachelors of Arts Degree in European History at San Francisco University, he lived in Northern Mexico for about a year. “It was a great chance for me to really live in the culture,” Olmes said.

“”I’m honestly here to help kids achieve their goals to be as successful as they can possibly be here at Annandale,” Olmes said.

What do you like best about your job?

    “”Going from a teacher to an administrator is a little bit less of interaction with the kids. I still really enjoy meeting kids in the hallway, in the cafeteria and I really like working with teachers in a new way. As an administrator, the interaction is still really positive and really important, but it’s a little different.”

What challenges have you faced while doing your job?

   “”The biggest thing for me is starting now. In the beginning of the year when everyone starts, everyone kind of starts at the same pace. At this point when I came in last week, everyone was going at 100%. I walk in the door and everyone knows each other, know what to do and all the kids know their schedule and where they’re going. I had to keep looking at my little cheat sheet on the back. It’s just the adjustment period here with schedules and just the building itself.”

What does a day in your job look like?

   “”Some of it is meeting with teachers and some of it is talking to other administrators about administrative duties and activities. I have to go down to the cafeteria at lunch time, hang out in there, meet some of the kids and observe what’s going on. One of the kids I met is on the basketball team and another one of the students I met just had a show this weekend playing the saxophone down in Shirlington.””

What is something that you want others to know about your job?

       “I’m here to help. I know that sometimes kids aren’t always looking at teachers or administrators as really wanting to help, but we do. Myself and all the people here at Annandale. We really want to help the kids and I really want them to know that if I can help in a way that’s productive and helpful to them, I want to be that person.”

How has your high school experience prepared you for this job?

        “When I was in high school, I had some really good administrators that were really helpful to me as a student. It really got me into the idea of wanting to be able to do this in the future. My years as a teacher, I loved working with kids and just getting to know them outside of the classroom as well. Those types of things really helped me to become a school leader and be really excited about working with students and teachers.”

What future obstacles do you think you will face at AHS?

        “The biggest challenge for me now is getting to know the students, teachers and the culture of Annandale. It’s a great challenge and I’m really excited about it. Continuing to build my skills and abilities as a principal and a leader are the things that I need to improve on as I’m here at Annandale.”

What kind of skills do you need to work in your job?

        “Really strong communication skills, really enjoying working with kids and really enjoying working with people. I need to be an effective communicator and that means more than just talking. That means listening and being creative; thinking outside the box and trying to find good, exciting ways to solve problems.”