September 4, 2023
Focus on the Fabulous
This week we are focusing on our fabulous fourth-grade team, made up of Ashley Lane and Nikki Pepper. Nikki is a great, new addition to our staff. She brings 14 years of elementary classroom experience with her. Her most recent teaching position was in La Jara as a fourth-grade teacher. Nikki has two kids, Harlee and Kage, and she and her husband have a family farm. Recently, her family moved to the northern end of the Valley, and lucky for us, she joined our crew! Nikki runs a community classroom management system and has already supported other staff in utilizing that approach in their classrooms.
Ashley is the other half of the 4th grade team and she is a veteran staff member in the district. This year, along with teaching students, she is also taking on some new responsibilities that include coordinating the professional development efforts at the elementary and conducting classroom observations.
Ashley will be getting into classrooms, as an Evaluator Designee, to support the administration teams with observations and meaningful feedback. You can see Ashley’s creative talents in the 4th-grade hallway that she has decorated to look like a wonderland!
Celina Arguello is the newest member of our 1st-grade team. Celina has taught for five years and holds a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She considers her strongest assets as an educator to be the clear, consistent expectations she sets, her ability to build relationships with students, and her work on equity. She is a tremendous addition to our Viking team and we are thrilled to have her onboard! When you get a chance, swing by her creative, welcoming classroom and say hi!
Logan Montoya has jumped right in as part of our student behavior team. Logan is located in the In-School Solutions room and has already started the work of establishing relationships with students. One of our district boulders is on ensuring students have a sense of belonging in our school. The Viking staff goes the extra mile to make sure students feel connected and a part of the Center family. Logan is helping us to connect with students, set high expectations, and hold students accountable. Logan brings with him background and experience in Emergency Preparedness and Response. He’s also connecting with students on the field as one of the high school assistant football coaches.
We are fortunate to have assembled the amazing team we have this year! With everybody working together on our shared ownership approach we can ensure ALL our students achieve at high levels and are successful in life!
Rewind
We had our first Recruitment & Retention (R&R) meeting for the year on Thursday. The R&R work focuses on the 4th Improvement Strategy for the district: CCSD is committed to attracting the best and brightest to teach our students. Our goal is to recruit, train, and retain highly qualified teachers because we know that effective educators are the single most important school-based factor determining student success. The committee works on establishing a system to attract high-quality teachers and staff, promoting the district, profession, and public education, and increasing retention rates. The district boulder of developing and maintaining a positive climate and culture throughout the district is integral to R & R. The next event the R&R crew is working on is the Homecoming Tailgate for the football game which will be on October 6th.
Fast Forward
Upcoming events for the week
Calendar Dates
Monday, Sept. 4th – Labor Day- No School
Tuesday, Sept. 5th- Superintendents Advisory Council- SC & SLV BOCES Joint SAC Meeting Wednesday, Sept. 6th- Rural Alliance Advocacy, BOE Policy Work, Superintendent PLC, ELD Review and Program Plan
Thursday, Sept. 7th- SLV BOCES Meeting, Fundraiser Dinner for Safety Steve
Friday, Sept. 8th – Staff PD Day- No Students, Football @ Peyton, Volleyball @ Sargent
Saturday, Sept. 9th- Cross Country- Joe Vigil Invitational