November 6, 2023
Focus on the Fa- BOO - lous
There was a lot of Halloween fun to be had in the halls of Center schools last week. From the amazing costumes and fancy doors to the parade, tricks and treats, and candy corn competition, there were a lot of festivities for the students and staff to enjoy!
Apparently, something happened in Mr. Jones' class that I am unaware of! Sometimes it's just better not to know!
Despite all of the fun going on last week, there was still focused learning going on in the classrooms. I had the chance to drop into some classrooms and in every class I visited students were engaged in text. Ms. Cantello was reading a story to her students that was focused on 1st-grade reading standard #2- applying foundational reading strategies to fluently read and comprehend literary texts. She was modeling reading to the class and then had students return to their seats and fill out a graphic organizer on the story plot.
Mr. Guerrero’s class was reading Bless Me, Ultima together and taking Cornell notes. He also modeled reading to the class and then had students popcorn read. He questioned students throughout the lesson to ensure comprehension. Mrs. Slade’s reading group was reading stories that they had written themselves! In Schmoker’s book, Results Now, the author highlights the power of authentic literacy in the classroom. It was great to see that happening in so many classes last week. The most authentic forms of literacy include purposeful, intellectually engaging reading, writing, and discussion.
Our juniors are working hard on Capstone projects and we have seen some pretty impressive work already this year. Max Almanza, Mario Varo, and Angel Rios hosted a mini car show for students and teachers on Halloween in the high school parking lot.
Jose Valadez and Angel Baca produced a Study Buddy Podcast that gives a great overview of the weekly activities at the high school with some personal opinions!
You can check it out at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=459K56rvMhU.
Students are developing their post-secondary and workforce readiness skills through these projects.
Rewind
Staff participated in Crisis Prevention Intervention Training on Friday Professional Development Day. This training has given the staff the tools to de-escalate situations and the appropriate techniques for intervening when necessary. Some people were doing better than others... but by the end of the day, we got it figured out! :0)
Our middle school basketball team is off to a great start. Our Viking boys defeated Centauri on Tuesday and Monte on Thursday!
After the CPI training, staff had the chance to unwind and relax together during the R & R activities. Some staff bowled in Monte, others sat in the hot tubs at Hooper, and there were some that chose to stay and work in classrooms to get caught up on things. Whatever people chose, it was a good way to end the week! We decided that we needed to have a Center Bowling Team and join the league! Jaton was the high scorer for the day... with a score of 147. Kevin Hagan wasn't too far behind her with 129! I see greatness in our future!
This is Mike having fun... no really, it is!!
Fast Forward.
Upcoming events for the week
Calendar Dates
Monday, Nov. 6th- Career Centered Learning Check-in, Jose Villagomez Rosary
Tuesday, Nov. 7th- Election Day! Concurrent Enrollment Meeting, Jose Villagomez Funeral, Finance Office Meeting SMS Boys’ Basketball @ Sierra Grande
Wednesday, Nov. 8th- MS/HS 2nd quarter B-day celebration, Rural Alliance Advocacy Meeting, Healthy Kids Colorado Survey, MS/HS Device Inspections, Superintendent PLC, Parent Meeting
Thursday, Nov. 9th- Negotiations
Friday, Nov. 10th- CDE Language Partnership Meeting, Colorado School Finance Project Advisory Meeting, Meeting with Trinidad State
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