September 11, 2023
Focus on the Fabulous
We have some pretty fabulous students to focus on! Fourth-grade students in Mrs. Pepper's and Mrs. Lane's classes who had enough classroom money from their economy classrooms got to pay to have Popsicles in the Park! They had a great time!
Not only are our younger students modeling great behavior, but we have some of our older students who are making names for themselves out in the community! There are three Center Viking students who are being spotlighted!
Jesus Valadez was highlighted in a Denver Post article as one of the impact players to watch in 2023! Jesus is our varsity quarterback. The article states the 5-foot-11, 190-pound signal caller put up video game numbers last season, accumulating 2,693 total yards (2097 passing, 565 rushing) over just nine starts. That included six games of at least 200 yards passing. Check out the August 24th article in the Denver Post!
Alicia Rios was in the Valley Courier making a big play on the softball field in their game against Pueblo Central. Center does not have a softball team, so Alicia is playing in another district and is a contributing member of the team! She is an all-around great athlete and represents the Vikings well, wherever she goes! Way to go Alicia!
Jacqueline Aguilar is a Viking alumni and she is being highlighted in a September 6th article in The Guardian that highlights some of the challenges our youth face. Jacque did an internship in Washington with the Child Labor Coalition over the summer. In the article, she shares some of her personal experiences.
It’s impressive to see the impact our students are making in the classrooms, on the field, and out in the real world! Way to represent the Vikings! You make us proud!
We are beginning to see hints of fall as the weather is starting to turn and so are the leaves.
Everybody should be breathing cleaner air thanks to Wendy Murillo, our district nurse, and all the air purifiers we have received for our classrooms. So, take some deep, fresh, fall breaths as we kick off another week! Our nursing team does an amazing job keeping our staff and students healthy. We have a new addition to the nursing department -Taylor Hacsi. She will be working with secondary students and supporting the Viking Youth Club after-school programs. Taylor is a Valley native, is married to Justin Hacsi, and they have a little boy, Dawson, who is part of our staff child care! We’re so happy to have you, Taylor!
Angel Guerrero is our new middle school English teacher. Angel did his student teaching with Hanna Hays, and when Mr. Hagan took the secondary position, Angel was able to become a permanent member of the district. Angel has jumped right in and hasn’t stopped working since his student teaching. He helped out with summer school and has hit the ground running this year. Mr. Guerrero considers some of his strongest assets as an educator to be his creativity and caring attitude. I dropped by his class last week and one of the students stayed after class so that he could take a picture with him! He is making some great connections with our students!
Coach Bob Frederickson is our new middle school PE teacher and our head football coach! He has 28 years of experience, all at the secondary level, from 7th to 12th grade! He has taught PE, English, History, and wood shop! Talk about a vast array of knowledge! Coach Frederickson has a caring, not coddling, approach to education and coaching. He is working hard both in the classroom and on the field and it shows! I have heard many positive comments about the camaraderie on the team and how the boys are working together productively!
Thanks to everybody who pitched in to support one of our own at the benefit dinner for Safety Steve-O! He's showing all of us what it means to be #VikingStrong!
Rewind
Last Friday we had a professional development day. Thanks to Ashley Lane, Kevin Hagan, and Julio Paez for coordinating the day! We have a great deal of talent on our teaching staff and it’s great to see staff sharing their areas of expertise and the willingness to learn from each other! This is a great example of district ownership and another deposit in our shareholders' account.
At the elementary level, Alex Magness, Ashley Lane, and Joy Massey presented on Eureka math. Dr. Stephanie Hensley did a summary writing session. The elementary was broken into primary elementary grades, K-2, and upper elementary, 3-5 so that instruction could be targeted specifically to those grade levels. At the secondary level, Kevin Hagan did a great session on the Workshop Model, and staff had time to construct lessons together in their respective content areas. Thanks to our SPED and CLD teams for presenting to staff the needs of students identified in those areas and ways to access their specific plans so that appropriate programming can take place. Thanks too, to Genesis Escalon for presenting to staff on suicide prevention and signs for staff to look for if our students are struggling. The afternoon focused on ActivPanel training so that staff can make the most of the amazing technology that they have available to them in their classrooms. Great job everybody!
Fast Forward
Upcoming events for the week
Calendar Dates
Monday, Sept. 11th- 22nd Anniversary of 9/11- Never Forget; Framework and Data Review- CDE, PD Debrief
Tuesday, Sept. 12th- State Finance Task Force Meeting, Saguache County Commissioners Meeting, Skoglund V-ball @ Alamosa, C-Team- Home vs. Antonito,
Wednesday, Sept. 13th- Picture Day Elementary, Superintendent PLC, CLD Program Work, Regular BOE Meeting
Thursday, Sept. 14th- Picture Day Secondary, CHS V-ball vs. Buena Vista, Skoglund V-ball @ Sierra Grande, C-Team Home vs. Mtn. Valley
Friday, Sept. 15th- Optional PD Day, Future Town Celebration, Football vs. Rye, CHS V-ball vs. Rye, Cross Country Gerald Archuleta Night Invitational