Meet Our Fabulous New Staff
Welcome to Salma Cendejas, our new BOE secretary. Salma has transitioned smoothly into her new position and is keeping up with the fast pace in the front office. We are happy to have her on board. Her friendly, welcoming demeanor greets visitors when they enter the district office. Salma is a graduate of Center Schools and comes to this new position well prepared to take on the responsibilities of this role. Her last job was at SLV Federal bank. She also has experience as a lab technician, waitress, and teacher assistant. Salma is familiar with Board work and responsibilities, as both of her parents have served on the CCSD board over the years. She did a great job running the show at our October BOE meeting! If you haven’t already, please give her a friendly welcome.
Focus on our Fabulous Students
Speaking of Board meetings, at our October meeting, Dr. Hensley invited a couple of student groups to present to the Board. Ms. Dolan’s coding class shared with the Board the work they have completed this first quarter. Students presented the programs they had designed that required certain features to be used in each project.
It’s exciting to see Center students having the opportunity to learn these real-world skills that could potentially lead to future options outside of high school. The students that presented were Raul Gonzalez, Priscila Rodriguez, and Hayle Larimore. They all spoke about how much they have learned in this class and how much they enjoy the work they are doing.
Mrs. Stillwagon and Mrs. Vigil had a couple of their students present to the Board as well. Students had just finished reading the book “The Most Magnificent Thing” by Ashley Spires. This book tells the story of a young girl who sets out to make a magnificent thing. She is met with some challenges along the way, but in the end, she perseveres and creates a magnificent invention. Students in Mrs. Vigil and Ms. Stillwagons' classes had the opportunity to create their own magnificent things. Ava Gonzales and Ryker Bouet both presented their magnificent creations to the Board!
There are so many great things happening in classrooms, it’s hard to keep up with them all. Mr. Steward had students taking a historical gallery walk. His lesson incorporated research, creativity, and literacy skills.
Mrs. Martinez had her students finding their inner balance and Namaste during yoga.
Our staff has worked hard the first quarter of the year, despite a number of challenges, and they have provided our students with authentic, rigorous, fun learning opportunities!
Our Viking athletes were busy this weekend with a variety of events. Friday morning, we had four of our cross country runners compete at the Eric Wolfe Memorial meet in Monte Vista. The girls all ran well, despite the brisk, fall weather.
Schoenfelder with his middle school girls: Giselle Miraz, Analicia Villagomez, and Kiera Ruggles.
Stephanie Molinar-Almeida, our sole high school competitor, qualified to compete in regionals this coming weekend. Way to go Stephanie.
We also have two of our female athletes who are playing softball with the Alamosa team. That team qualified to compete in the regional playoffs for the first time. Congratulations to Alicia Rios and Yareli Garcia for their participation in softball this year.
Friday night, our Center Viking football team took on the Tigers, under the lights in Del Norte. The boys played well together as a team and came up with another W with a final score of 13 to 6.
The lady Vikings hosted Custer County on Saturday. The girls started out strong, winning the first game by a considerable margin. However, they lost their momentum and fell to CC in four games. The girls are playing well together and will continue to push forward this week as they have games on Tuesday and Saturday. Parents and family members were recognized for their support throughout the season between games during Parent Appreciation.
Forward Focus
This week is Homecoming week. Ms. Hays and the student council have organized some fun activities throughout the week. This year the Homecoming theme is a Blast from the Past! Each grade level is assigned a different decade to represent. Today is sports day and the Powder Puff Football game. Tomorrow is costume day and the Ruff ‘n Tuff Volleyball game. Wednesday is decade’s day and the Homecoming Parade at noon. Thursday, students and staff will dress in pink or blue to beat cancer and the pep rally will be held during ICAP. Friday, Stephanie Molinar-Almeida will compete at Regional X-Country in Rocky Ford. Football will play here vs. Monte Vista. The Homecoming Tailgate will start at 6:00 pm before the game! Saturday volleyball will host South Park and the dance will be that evening at 7:00 pm. We are looking forward to everyone participating in our fun Homecoming week!
CCSD will be holding Parent-Teacher Conferences on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Students will be released at 12:45 on Wednesday. Staff will have collaboration time from 1:00- 4:00 pm. Elementary conferences will start at 4:00 pm and middle/high staff will be conducting Home Visits. Thursday is an ICAP day and early release. Staff will participate in Professional Learning Communities from 1:00- 3:00 pm and conferences will run from 4:00- 7:30 pm.
Have a great week Vikings!