Center of Focus

May 18, 2026

Focus on the Fabulous

Monday night, the band held its end-of-the-year concert celebrating some of the greatest hits from the 1960s. Fifth graders kicked off the evening with the “Mickey Mouse Medley,” while middle school students performed several timeless favorites, including “Stand By Me” and Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl.”

The high school band sounded fantastic and featured an impressive solo by Elijah Swanson.

The evening concluded with one of my favorites, “Sweet Caroline,” followed by the Viking Fight Song. It was a great night, and I truly appreciate the beautiful Neil Diamond poster signed by all of our band students. Thank you to our amazing band students and Mr. Noriega for creating such a memorable evening that I will always cherish.

Students in Mrs. Stilly’s 1st grade class filled out their Viking Characteristic posters to earn a “Stay Later Night.” Whenever students were caught exhibiting one of our Super Viking words, they earned the opportunity to color in a piece of the poster. Students stayed until 5:30 p.m., enjoyed pizza, watched a movie, played games, ran in the halls, and celebrated together. Way to go, Super Vikings! They also crushed it on their NWEA test scores, making the celebration even more meaningful as we recognized all of their hard work and success.

Congratulations to our track team members who qualified for the state track meet. The team as a whole performed exceptionally well this season, and we are excited about the program's future.

The team also enjoyed some bonding time ahead of the meet, making the experience even more memorable. Overall, it was a great season and a valuable experience for our student-athletes.

Our CTE Health students, under the leadership of District Nurse Wendy, hosted a health fair on Thursday afternoon. High school students provided valuable services to younger students and were shining examples of leadership, compassion, and hard work.

The school health fair, organized by our Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) students, was an interactive, student-led event where learners applied their clinical training to provide free health screenings, wellness education, and preventative care resources to students and members of our school community. (Not sure what was going on with Mrs. Hintz.. but fortunately the police were here to supervise.)

Congratulations to Amanda Alanis, who graduated this past week with her Master’s Degree in Special Education from Adams State University.

Amanda was also recognized by the Teacher Education Department with the Outstanding Advocate Award within the Special Education Cohort. We are incredibly proud of your many accomplishments, Amanda. Congratulations, and thank you for making us Viking Proud!

Congratulations to our CHS Knowledge Bowl teams for successful seasons. Our JV Team took 3rd place against 2A schools in the last competition of the year. Our Varsity team placed in April. It was a great way to close out the season.

And last, but not least... Mrs. Hintz released the butterflies last week. This has turned into an annual lesson on the life cycle of a butterfly. It's a great lesson for our young students to see how something beautiful can emerge from what looked like the end. Mrs. Hintz had the butterflies in the library for the last month, so students could watch the process of making cocoons, be patient as the caterpillars went through their transformation, and finally see the release!

We will also finalize our District Ownership Plan (DOP) in the end-of-year report, which will be reviewed during our final DOT meeting on Wednesday.

District Ownership Plan at Work

Priority #1- Curriculum and Instruction

CCSD staff lead rigorous, engaging, collaborative learning experiences in every classroom that align with CCSD Instructional Expectations.  

Priority #2 – Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness (PWR)

CCSD develops hardworking learners who are contributors, problem solvers, effective communicators, and future-ready with the skills needed to succeed.

Priority #3 – Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)

CCSD maintains high expectations for student learning and behavior, with structures in place to support the needs of all students.

Priority #4- Recruitment and Retention (R&R)

CCSD is committed to attracting, training, and retaining highly qualified teachers, knowing that effective educators are the single most important school-based factor in student success.

 Fast Forward-

Monday, May 18^th- Morning Duty, CHS Day Awards, NJHS Induction Ceremony

Tuesday, May 19^th- Senior Exit Interviews, CHS Evening Awards- 6:00 pm Auditorium

Wednesday, May 20^th-  CRSA Statewide Weekly Meeting, End of Year final grade posting, MLT, Admin. Team Meeting, DOT, CNA Pinning Ceremony 

Thursday, May 21^st- 5^th Grade Continuation- Auditorium @ 2:00 pm, Senior/Kindergarten Walk @ 3:00 pm, CHS Athletic Banquet- Commons @ 6:00 pm

Friday, May 22^nd

Monday, May 25^th- Memorial Day- No School

Tuesday, May 26^th- Kindergarten Graduation- Auditorium @ 6:00 pm

Wednesday, May 27^th- Skoglund Middle School Awards- Auditorium -8-10 am, Device Inspection and Turn In, 8^th grade Continuation- 7:00 pm

Thursday, May 28^th- Students last day of school, Building X- Ribbon Cutting, Preschool Graduation – Auditorium @ 6:00 pm, Special BOE Meeting

Friday, May 29^th- Staff Work Day- Morning breakfast- EOY recognitions

Saturday, May 30^th- CHS Graduation- Main Gym @ 10:00 am

Saturday, June 6^th- ARC Graduation- Auditorium @ 10:00 am