October 2009

Fall is here again! With the changing of the seasons comes change in the weather. Please remind your children to dress appropriately for the weather so they can enjoy their recess and P.E. time. Fall also marks the official beginning of the flu and cold season. We appreciate your efforts to help keep our students healthy at school. Thank you for keeping your children home when they are sick. We are doing our part by disinfecting the desks once a week as well as thorough cleanings of the bathrooms, door handles, and other frequently touched surfaces. We are grateful to our custodian, sweeper, and teachers for taking the time to do these extra things to keep our students healthy.

We received the No Child Left Behind Federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Summary Report for the 2008-2009 school year. We passed due to the great progress our students made. In order to continue to provide support for our students and to help them continue their progress we have hired some additional aides to work with students in literacy and math. Our school goal for the year focuses on continued student growth language arts and math. We are putting much of our financial resources toward reaching this goal. We are doing all we can to help your children continue to progress, but we cannot do it alone. There are many ways you can help at home. Please help your children complete their homework on time and listen to them read. Reading even for a few extra minutes each night can help your child. Ask them questions about what they read, have them retell the story, and make predictions. Encourage your child to write. Ask your child’s teacher if you have questions about more specific strategies. Look for ways to help your child solve math problems with everyday situations. With your help, we can accomplish our goal.

You have probably noticed that construction and renovation has begun on our “new” building. We are excited about the progress that is being made. We will keep you updated as things progress. Once construction is complete and we are settled in the building, we will hold an open house for the community to show off our new addition.

School/District Spotlight

Each month we will spotlight one of the values of our school or Alpine School District. Alpine School District’s mission statement is “Educating all students to ensure the future of our democracy.” Cedar Valley’s mission statement is “Inspiring students for lifelong learning.” These statements describe what we are about as a district and a school. As decisions are made at the district and school level, we ask ourselves if what we are doing is in line with these statements. If so, we feel comfortable to continue in that direction.

School Community Council (SCC) Update

We are grateful to our School Community Council and the role they play in supporting our school. Our SCC chairperson is Julie Barnum. Our co-chairperson is our third grade teacher, Andrea Hosmer. The other members of the SCC are MaryBeth Thomas, our kindergarten teacher, Jamie Degelbeck (representing Cedar Fort patrons), Hollie McKinney (representing Fairfield patrons), and Amanda Watterson, Bobbie Allinson, and Joy Larsen (representing White Hills). Please contact your SCC member or our chairperson if you have concerns you would like to have addressed. We appreciate the service they give to our community. Our next meeting will be held on Monday, October 12 at 3:45 p.m. in the lunchroom. We will be meeting with the PTA and some district representatives.