Focus on the Fabulous
May 9, 2022
This week is National Nurses Week and we have the opportunity to recognize our fabulous school nurses. This week gives us the opportunity to honor the important role that nurses play in our lives. We are especially fortunate in Center to have three amazing nurses supporting our students, staff, and families. Wendy Murillo, Randi Asbell, and Tiffany Smith all work hard to keep our district healthy and safe. We’ve seen the tremendous impact they have made in our district over the last few years, especially during the challenges of the pandemic. All three ladies have gone the extra mile to put the necessary precautions in place and because of their efforts we have been able to be in school, onsite this entire year.. (minus one week..:0).. and that was a good call!)
Thank you Wendy, Randi, and Tiffany for the great work you do each day. You are valuable members of our Center family!
Our Sunshine Committee hosted a fun, end-of-year event on Thursday evening. The crew got together to socialize and do some bowling. There was a good turnout and fun was had by all! The event was a fundraiser to help the Monte Vista first responders with the recent fire. Thanks to Christy Mikeljack for chairing the committee and planning fun events throughout the school year!
The Secret Pal was a fun exchange that took place throughout the year. We all had fun hearing about the great gifts they received and the different ways their pals appreciated them. The big reveal will be on May 19th at the Windsor in Del Norte.
Our seniors had some fun this past week pranking Mr. Vigil! Be on the lookout for this guy…. apparently, he is causing unnecessary duress to our students!
Rewind
I think it’s a good problem to have… but it is challenging to keep up with all the great things going on at Center Schools. Thanks to everybody who keeps me in the loop.
Our Kindergarten team held a registration event on April 18th. Thanks to Jessica Garberich, Jaton Najera, and Deb Morris for all their work this year with our kindergarteners. This year was especially challenging as these kids have been impacted by the pandemic and many did not receive the pre-k structure and support that has been present in the past. These ladies showed up on a daily basis and gave it their all, with smiles on their faces! The registration even was a success and we were able to register 14 students from Headstart. Thanks to everybody who helped make the night a success: Kristin, Gerri, Yazmin, Anel, and Brisa. This is a great way to get things in place for our youngest to start the year on a good foot!
I was able to get into some classes last week. It’s so exciting to see the kids playing music, singing, and practicing with instruments. We had a very generous donation from Neufeld Farms that helped our middle/high band program purchase new wind instruments! Listen in when you pass by Mr. Noriega’s room! It’s great to hear music in the hallways again.
In Mr. Swanson’s class, kids had the chance to play percussion instruments during their classes. They were having a good time with the beat!
Last week our high school juniors presented their capstone projects. This is a culminating project for our juniors, focused on student outcomes, and aligned with graduation requirements. For those of you that got to sit in and evaluate the presentations, I’m sure you were impressed. These projects are not only impacting our students positively, but they are also making our district and community better along the way. Janet Sanchez, our preschool director, was thrilled that one of the capstone projects was painting an interactive storyboard for her playground.
The following day our students had the chance to present their capstones at the RISE Expo at Adams State as part of the SLV Collaborative. Students had the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship. We have a group of students that are working on the revitalization of the downtown. Some of these students had the chance to participate in a Shark Tank competition and they took second place and earned some money! Thanks to everybody who is helping to make these opportunities available for our students. We are helping our students to develop the skills and knowledge necessary so that they can perform at high levels and be successful in life!
We had a couple of visitors from Colorado Education Initiative visiting elementary classrooms last week. They also conducted a family focus group with about ten families. CEI is helping us to gather information, and look at our district to see what we are doing well and identify areas that we can improve upon. I’m excited about this work as it will continue to elevate our district and ensure that we are providing our students, families, and community with the best education available. One of our next steps is to conduct a student perception survey with our 3rd-5th grade students next week. If parents have questions about the survey or would like to opt-out, they just need to contact the elementary office or send a note to the classroom teacher. We will be conducting focus groups with the elementary teachers in the next couple of weeks. I will email information on that in the near future.
Forward Focus
We are starting to wind down… counting today, we have 12 days of school left! Let’s finish as strong as the wind is blowing today! Administrators are finishing up end-of-year evaluations and they will be completed by the end of the month. This process is about our ongoing efforts at continual improvement. I’m hoping that the meetings you have with your principals and department heads are meaningful and will provide feedback that will help you strengthen your performance. We have an amazing staff to begin with, and this process should help us fine-tune our skills, to be the best. Our district is committed to excellence in all we do, every day! We are all a part of this work and being the best at our job!
Center High School Awards ceremony will be tonight at 6:00 pm. We will honor students who have succeeded in accomplishing goals and recognize their diligence and determination.
We have a regular Board meeting Tuesday night at 6:00 pm. Our District Accountability Committee will meet at 4:15 pm on Tuesday.
On May 24th, Haskin Elementary will have Field Day. Kindergarten graduation is that evening at 6:00 pm.
There’s a lot going on this time of year. Buckle up and hang on! Twelve days and counting. Have a great week!
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