Just chalk it up to fate.
Joyce Hardcastle always chose a theme for each school year when she was principal at Aldie Elementary.
"It gives a little light, a little freshness, a different look at some things," she said. "It permeates through the whole year."
As she began her first days as Little River Elementary's principal, she decided she would use the theme "Soaring into Learning," a play on the school's mascot, the eagle.
"I wanted to get into it slowly here," she said. "It's up to the teachers to incorporate as much of it into their classrooms as they want."
Little did Hardcastle know, but each graduating fifth-grade class presents a gift to the school and the class of 2006 created a tile mosaic. The mosaic depicts an eagle soaring through the air.
"It fits right with the theme," Hardcastle said, standing before the artwork in the front hall of the South Riding school. "It's perfect."
HARDCASTLE WAS HIRED as Little River's principal as a replacement for Kritsten Reedy, who went on leave following her husband's job transfer and learning she was pregnant, said Wayde Byard, public information officer for Loudoun County Public Schools.
Before coming to South Riding, Hardcastle spent 26 years working in Loudoun County public schools. She began her career as a special-education teacher at Sterling Middle School where she stayed for eight years before spending 11 years as a teacher at Sully Elementary. While she was teaching, Hardcastle was given the opportunity to work as a summer-school principal, which got her thinking about moving into administration.
"Each day is different," she said about being a principal. "You wake up each day and you have no idea what each day is going to bring. You get the whole school perspective, not just a single classroom."
After one and a half years of teaching second and fourth grades at Horizon Elementary, Hardcastle became assistant principal at Round Hill Elementary for two and a half years. She was principal at Aldie for two and a half years before accepting her current position.
For all of her years of experience, Hardcastle said teaching was in her life long before she stepped into the classroom.
"In high school I was in the Future Teachers Association," the mother of two adult children said. "There was nothing else. It was always teaching for me."
WHEN ASKED ABOUT why she chose to work in elementary schools, Hardcastle's face lights up and she cannot keep the joy out of her voice.
"I just love being with kids, being around kids," she said.
Hardcastle said it is the kids that keep her going and keep her motivated, even seemingly boring tasks such as bus or cafeteria duty.
"I found that I need to be around the kids," she said, "seeing them in a whole different light and interacting with them. If ever [my job] is getting me down, I go into the classroom."
On a typical day, Hardcastle said, she will not be found at her desk. Instead she will be in the classes themselves.
"What matters is what is happening in those classrooms," she said. "I am going to be out there in the classrooms with the kids.”
Little River assistant principal, John Mihalyo, said he was impressed with the way Hardcastle would come to the school in the afternoons after she had been hired to work and get to know the school.
"That's dedication to the kids, right there," he said.
In addition to being dedicated to the students themselves, Hardcastle is also dedicated to encouraging their education.
"The one thing that I know I want to bring is that joy, that enthusiasm for learning from that kindergartner to that fifth-grader," she said. "[At this age] they just have this joy and this love of learning and I want that to continue through their education. I want them to leave here excited about learning."
HARDCASTLE'S PHILOSOPHY on learning is right on track with the philosophies laid out by Little River's former principal.
"Everything I have seen about Little River is everything I believe," she said. "I am reading the parent/student handbook and everything I believe, it is all in there."
Mihalyo and Hardcastle also worked together before as teachers at Horizon Elementary and through their cluster's meetings and seminars, which is making for an easy transition into the new school year.
"Sometimes we find ourselves finishing each other's thoughts," Mihalyo said. "We are really on the mark with each other."
Mihalyo said he believes that Hardcastle will be a great asset to the school and make the transition between principals as smooth as it could be.
"It is always difficult when someone leaves and another person comes in," he said, "but we really hit the jackpot."
Part of what makes Hardcastle an asset to Little River, Mihalyo said, is her "willingness to listen."
Indeed, Hardcastle said she truly has an open-door policy when it comes to both parents and teachers.
"I don't believe in little things," she said. "I want to hear it all. It takes parents, students, teachers and staff working together to make these great years for the kids. This is really their school."
Although Hardcastle has not yet been able to interact with her future students, she plans on spending time with each teacher before the school year begins and creating a relationship with Little River's Parent Teacher Association. As her excitement shows, she is itching for the school year to start.
"I am looking forward to putting it all together and having a great school," she said. "Right now it is all on paper, I want to see them. I want the kids to get here."