On November 19th, Mr. Jones, Center High School principal, hosted another successful Men on Center Campus event. He cooked breakfast for all the dads, uncles, father figures, grandpas, and other male friends and relatives who support our Center students. This is just another great example of the outreach our district does with family and community members. Center schools recognizes
the importance of connecting with and working collaboratively with our families and the community. We are all invested in helping our students to be successful and achieve at their fullest potential. The Men on Campus event had a great turnout and the men all enjoyed a great meal put together by Mr. Jones!
A big thanks to Ms. Alfson and the Culinary Arts class. They provided an amazing meal for our school board at our November organizational meeting. The outgoing board and the newly elected members feasted on chicken, salad, and homemade pie. The class also treats us to special meals and desserts throughout the school year. Most recently, we enjoyed pumpkin pie over the Thanksgiving holiday. The Culinary Arts class is a great real world learning experience that we are able to offer to our students. Ms. Alfson, and her exceptional culinary skills, are providing our students with valuable lifelong skills.
Fabulous Students at Philanthropy Days
Our students had the opportunity to participate in the Rural Philanthropy Days that took place earlier this year. Three of our students, Fabian Chavez, Pedro Gonzalez, and Nuvia Quintana were able to speak to a crowd of 45 people representing the different philanthropy groups throughout the state and nation. Our students shared their stories about growing up in Center. They talked about the importance of family, school and the other extracurricular activities that are meaningful to them and their school experience, including sports and after school clubs. Students also discussed the needs of the school and community. They expressed the desire of the district to get a new stadium complete with concession stand, lockers and bathrooms, along with a new football field and track.
Elizabeth Molina-Valadez and Jose Villagomez spoke to the audience about the culinary class and the skills they are gaining through this experience. They stressed that often times their parents work late in the evenings and now, because of this class, they are able to prepare their own meals. Charles Willis served the guests refreshments that they had made in class.
The students were recognized and awarded checks from the San Luis Valley Development Resource. They also received a letter from the Anschutz Family Foundation commending their leadership skills. This came unexpectedly and the students were excited about the recognition. This will be an excellent addition to their senior resumes.
Above- Fabian Chavez, Chales Willis, Elizabeth Molina-Valadez, Pedro Gonzalez pose with the checks they received from SLV Development Resource.
To the rights- Jose Villagomez and Nuvia Quintana show off the checks they received from SLV Development Resource
School Board- CASB
Center School Board, district leadership, and student leaders all attended the 79th annual Colorado Association of School Board convention in Colorado Springs this past weekend. The conference centered on creating a vision and the challenge of change. Our board plays a vital role in providing vision, structure, accountability, and advocacy for the district. Board members and students had the chance to listen to keynote speaker Kai Kight. He shared his life experiences and the lessons he’d learned over time. He asked all of us to identify where we have been “air violin-ing” in life and challenged us to make the change to actually learn the music. As a classical violinist, he uses music as a metaphor to inspire. We also listened to another great keynote speaker, Rosalind Wiseman. Her presentation centered on creating a culture of dignity by shifting the way we think about our physical and emotional wellbeing by working in partnership with the experts of those communities- young people, educators, policy makers, and business and political leaders. The convention gives us the time to attend various breakout sessions related to current areas of importance in the educational realm, as well as network and learn with colleagues from other districts.
School Board members- Enrique Aguilar, Kim Duran, Misty Palacios, and Lloyd Garcia at the CASB convention
Our student leaders who represented the district were: Jackie Agular, Azia DeHerrera, Yahilin Negrete, Jaelin Padilla, and Austin Smith. These student leaders had the opportunity to meet with the distinguished speakers and participate in Q & A sessions with them. The students also worked together to identify the biggest challenges in their schools and then come up with strategies and ideas to address those challenges. Some of the common themes were mental health wellness, relationship building with students and staff, and bullying issues.
Thanks to Miss Hanna Hays for sponsoring the kids on this event and for making this experience possible for them!