Focus on the Fabulous
Last week we recognized our amazing teaching staff with Teacher Appreciation Week. This week we are honoring our nursing heroes for National Nurses Week, May 6th-12th. On the front lines of a national health crisis, nursing professionals need our support now more than ever. Center Schools is lucky to have Wendy Murillo and Randi Asbell serving as our health professionals, and working hard to keep our students and staff healthy and safe. They each have gone the extra mile to make sure we are following the proper protocols, have the necessary resources and equipment in place to meet our needs, and are doing what we can to stay healthy. Now, more than ever, we see their hard work and dedication shining through on a daily basis.
This year is unlike any other and the Covid-19 virus has brought unprecedented challenges in caring for our children and community. School nurses promote learning through healthy children. Our nurses are the first place kids think to go when they don’t feel well or have been hurt. But they also provide a wealth of information that supports a successful education. Wendy, is our district nurse, and she serves in a variety of roles, including providing health education, taking care of our students on a daily basis, leading district health efforts, serving on a number of committees including health advisory and safety, and reviewing school health policies. She’s made sure that we have the necessary health equipment available during this time and she went above and beyond by making homemade masks for our staff.
Randi has been a great addition to our team. She provided consistent care throughout the school year and took care of daily students' needs. She has willingly come in during the school closures to assist in making sure we are following all the appropriate protocols. She has helped with weekly distributions and has taken temps and gone through the necessary checklists with staff on site to make sure we are following the necessary guidelines. She is willing to jump in and help as needed. We appreciate all their efforts in helping our district to stay #VikingStrong.
More Fabulous Things to Celebrate
With the current national and world situation, it’s easy to get focused on the negative things going on. However, during these challenging times, there have also been some wonderful things to celebrate. Center Schools has been blessed with generous support from a number of organizations. The Colorado Health Foundation has been a long standing supporter of schools and our district. We are grateful for a $20,000 donation that we received from them this past week to support our efforts during the pandemic. This was an unsolicited donation that they graciously made available to us, and we are truly grateful for their ongoing support of our district.
We also appreciate the partnership from Jade Communications and Rural Electric Cooperative, Ciello, for helping us to provide internet services for approximately 100 Center families. REC and Jade, both were willing and supportive in getting our students and families the services we needed so that we could provide remote learning options to all students.
Quality Instruction Going #VIKINGSTRONG
Teachers and students continue to show their commitment to excellence on a daily basis. Classroom instruction has remained top notch throughout the remote learning approach as exemplified in Ms. Dolan's Coding class, Mrs. Rounds Language Arts, and Mr. Schoenfelder's Photography class... to name a few. There are multiple examples each day of the commitment our staff has to our students' needs. Our elementary students are loving the new Showbie program that is being used and we are hearing a lot of positive feedback about this approach to instruction.
We will be wrapping up our last week of instruction and making plans to end our remote learning for the regular school year. Building principals will be sending out specific information related to cleaning out lockers, turning in devices, and finishing up the regular school year. All of this will take place the week May 18th- 22nd. Thank you all for your support and commitment to student learning during this time.