April 21, 2024
Focus on the Fabulous
Congratulations to our Center Educator of the Year, Lindsay Stillwagon! Mrs. Stilly, as she is affectionately called, is part of our amazing 1st grade team! Mrs. Stilly has been in our district for the last four years and she’s been in education for nine years! During that time, Lindsay worked to develop positive relationships with her students and her peers. She approaches challenges with a positive attitude and is considered a mentor and leader in our district. Ms. Bouet shares that Lindsay’s class is her students’ family away from home because of her kind and compassionate approach to educating the whole child. Lindsay is actively involved in a number of our leadership teams including R&R, BOT, Curriculum and Instruction, and negotiations! We are very fortunate to have her as part of our Viking Family! We are #VikingProud of YOU!
The CHS Prom was this weekend, and an army of adults worked hard to make the night memorable for our students. The night started with a fancy, formal dinner for students to enjoy, put together by Lucia Miranda and her amazing team of parents!
Then, students took a voyage to Atlantis, where the auxiliary gym was transformed into an underwater fantasy! Thanks to the junior class sponsors, Alondra Maldonado, Kevin Hagan, Cameron King, and Camille Villa for working tirelessly throughout the year to make this night a memorable event for our students! Thanks to Mrs. Neufeld and Mr. Kuhns for helping out with supervision throughout the night!
And that wasn’t all… next students got to have the time of their life at the incredible After Prom put together by our fabulous Viking parents! It was a successful, amazing night for our students- one they won’t forget! Thanks to parents, sponsors, staff, and administrators who helped and stayed way past their bedtimes so that kids could have an incredible experience. Once again, thanks to Lucia’s team made up of Paula Alvarez, Annett Rios, Kristy Pulido, Amanda Luna, Karla Fierro, Angelica Navarro, Edith Ortiz, Mayra Villagomez, Liza Palma, Miriam Gonzalez, and Lupita Monje! Without each of you, the night wouldn’t have been as fabulous as it was! Muchas gracias!
Vikings in the News
On Sunday morning, several of our Viking students were on air in the KSLV Valley Views program. The show highlighted the Center Capstone program and projects. This is part of focus area #2 of our District Ownership Work- Post Secondary and Workforce Readiness (PWR)! Mr. Lock interviewed several of our students about their projects and they were able to share on air on Sunday morning. We will get the recordings posted to our website as soon as they are available. A Viking Shout Out to Mrs. Rounds, who has taken on the high school ICAP classes so that we could dedicate focused time to the PWR work. Itzel Duran is also helping teach those classes at the middle school level. Our district is leading the state in our dedication to helping students develop the necessary skills to ensure they can pursue post-secondary options when they graduate and be productive members of society. The skills that are articulated in the CCSD Graduate Profile.
Rewind
Our Girls on the Run had an eventful week as they competed at a practice run in Alamosa!
Kristin Enquist started this program to help girls build confidence through mind and body. The program focuses on helping girls understand themselves, build relationships, work productively on teams, and recognize their impact on the world. Thanks to Kristin for dedicating her time and energy to this awesome experience for our young lady Vikings! It’s important work!
We are winding down on our state testing. Thanks to Adele Alfson for all her work getting things prepared for our SAT and PSAT testing at the high school. Her attention to detail helped to ensure that testing went smoothly for our high school students. Mrs. Neufeld had special treats for the juniors to motivate them to Show All They Knew as they started their round of testing! This week, we will be wrapping up state testing and finishing make-ups. It’s been a team effort! Way to share ownership of our district’s success. Some of us sometimes carry heavier loads, and those additional loads aren’t taken for granted. There are a number of people who work quietly behind the scenes getting things done. Thanks to everyone for their efforts.
HB 24-1448 passed through the House Education Committee this week. I testified in support of the bill which takes into consideration and implements a number of the recommendations from the School Finance Task Force, which I had the opportunity to serve on earlier this year. The bill, sponsored by Speaker Julie McCluskie and Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, would update Colorado’s outdated and inequitable school finance formula by increasing funding for rural schools and at-risk, special education, and English Language Learner students.
Fast Forward
Calendar Dates
Monday, April 8th - April 30th- State Testing Window
Monday, April 22nd- Earth Day, English 101 Placement Exam, Rocky Mountain Family Engagement Planning Meeting
Tuesday, April 23rd- Opportunity Coalition, Southern Superintendents’ Conference, SLV Career Connected Partnership, Rocky Mountain Family Engagement Collective Presentation Webinar, CHS Baseball @ Rocky Ford, SMS Baseball @ Sanford
Wednesday, April 24th- Southern Superintendents’ Conference, Superintendents’ PLC, SLV BOCES Board Meeting
Thursday, April 25th- SMS Baseball @ Centauri
Friday, April 26th- Spirit of Sports Basketball Tournament, SMS T&F @ Centauri
Saturday, April 27th- Kermes Celebration!! T&F High Altitude Challenge, Gearhead Gala Car Show, CHS Baseball @ Custer County