Focus on our Fabulous Open House
Wednesday, September 22nd, we held our annual Open House. This year, in order to keep students, staff, and families safe, and so that we continue to respect the appropriate social distancing protocols, the event was held outdoors. It was a beautiful evening and we had a great turnout. Our food services team put together an amazing spread, and Mr. Jones, our HS Principal, took charge at the grill. Families had the opportunity to eat a great meal, enjoy fun music from the Adams State radio station, and meet teachers and other staff.
The Open House started at 4:30 pm and families had the first half an hour to eat and socialize. At five, families were given raffle tickets that required them to visit different stations and get signatures from staff members and community organizations. We were happy to have the following organizations take part in our Open House: the School to Work Alliance (SWAP) through BOCES, the US Army, Marines, Parents Involved in Center Schools (PICs), Promotores, Center Town Hall, Rio Grande Public Health, and Cesar Chavez Medical Clinic. Our nurses provided information and immunizations at the health station. The evening ended with the raffle drawing. We had a plethora of fantastic prizes thanks to generous community donations. We had over 30 businesses across the Valley donate prizes for our students and families. We are very grateful for the partnerships and community support in our district. It makes a difference. It was great to get to see families back face-to-face, or mask-to-mask, at school. All in all, it was a great event and we can put another successful Open House in the books!
A big thanks to Dalia, Brisa, Itzel, Pancho, Andrew and McKenzie for getting the great prizes for our raffle!
Meet Our Fabulous New Staff
Last week I introduced our new elementary staff, this week, I’d like to introduce you to some of the new faces on our secondary team.
Alondra Maldonado is a familiar face. She has been serving as BOE secretary for the last several years, but is now going to step into some big shoes, and take over our photography and graphics art classes at the high school. Alondra is a Center graduate and a great role model for our students.
Jill Martinez comes to us with a great deal of experience and knowledge. She has been in education for over 20 years, teaching all areas of History and Social Studies. She has a wealth of knowledge in curriculum, standards, and assessment and has worked at the state level in these areas. She loves working with kids and she is opening some new elective doors in our district by teaching psychology, yoga, and some of our Explore classes.
We are happy to welcome Kaitlin Martinez to our Viking team. She is coming to our district with some worldly experiences. Last year, she was in Spain as an English language teacher. Kaitlin has also done some substitute teaching in neighboring districts. These experiences will serve her well in her new role as our middle/high art teacher. She will get to use her creative talents and passion to inspire our kids!
Laurice Butler is part of our special education team at the middle/high. Laurice has 30 years of experience teaching. She has taken on many roles during this time including teaching Title I Reading, PE, Language Arts, coaching basketball, volleyball, and track! She is already making some great connections with her students and she is providing them with the support they need to be successful.
Make sure if you haven't already to give a warm Viking welcome to our new staff. We are fortunate to get the quality and experience we have in our new teachers!
Forward Focus
The leaves are beginning to change and we are starting to phase into fall and cooler weather.
September 15th - October 15th is Hispanic Heritage Month. We celebrate Hispanic Heritage month to recognize the achievements and contributions of Hispanic American champions who have inspired others to achieve success. The reason that the celebration begins in the middle rather than the start of September is that it coincides with national independence days in several Latin American countries including Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. These countries celebrate independence on September 15th and Mexico celebrates independence on September 16th.
Believe it or not, our first quarter will be ending on October 14th. We will have a staff Professional Development day on October 8th and Parent-Teacher Conferences on the 20th and 21st.
Homecoming will be the week of October 18th and we will have our football tailgate on October 22nd @ 6:00 pm, before the big game against Monte Vista.
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