Good morning as I write this from Broomfield Colorado. I am attending the annual CADA (Colorado Athletic Directors Association) conference. It is great to see various athletic directors, who are dealing with some of the same issues and concerns no matter how big the school may be. One of the big topics in the state right now is concussions in sports. As a former athlete, it is reassuring to make sure our coaches and athletes are identifying concussion symptoms. As the acting athletic director I want to be informed to make the best decisions possible for each student.
I want to take a moment to thank Becky Reed, Annie Rice and Carla Smith for taking many hours of their personal time to help log all the data needed for NWEA testing. They took the time to write down all the RIT scores for the benefit of each student. Becky does a great job helping schedule this annual event. It is nice for each student to have a goal in mind when testing. Thanks to Annie and Carla, all the scores are logged for immediate data. We will begin testing on Monday and continue through Wednesday. NWEA testing is vital for our student growth. In my opinion, this test does an excellent job of displaying what our students are learning throughout the year. Many of our teachers are anxious to see immediate results of their hard work. Our purpose is to increase student academic achievement for all students. NWEA testing will help us analyze a scope of what great things we are currently doing and how we can improve our instruction.
I want to congratulate Alexa Lobato and her sponsor Daniel Newmyer for being selected to carry the Colorado flag at ISWEEP this week. Alexa was selected as the sole representative from our state. She was singled out based on her hard work and dedication on her project. I believe that Daniel does a great job pursuing these opportunities for our students, as I remember CHS former student Nick Arellano had the privilege to do the same thing a couple of years ago.
Kate Newmyer put on a heck of a band concert on Monday evening. I know from personal exposure (remember my office is directly across from the band room) the students have improved drastically. Let’s put it this way, my office door is open more now than it was in August. Good job to all students and Kate!! Kate is preparing our students to be ready for life.
I would like congratulate our soccer team for notching their first victory of the season. They defeated Ignacio on Friday afternoon. As I talk to some of these student/athletes they are buying into the philosophy of “hard work pays off”. Thanks to coach Selby, Flood and Rodriguez for their efforts. If you ever have the opportunity to watch these girls and coaches condition in front of the school you can see why they continue to get better and better each week. I want to offer congratulations to the high school baseball team for their sweep of Del Norte last Saturday. The wins against Del Norte made our guys automatically qualify for the Southern Peaks League tournament on Friday. The guys are the number two seed in the four team tournament. They will be playing their first game vs. Del Norte at 10:00 and the winner will advance to the championship game at 12:30. All the games are played in Alamosa at Ortega Middle School. Good job to all three Garcia's! Lloyd, LJ and Fred continue to improve and make this team a contender!
Jones' past week- This past week was dedicated to many walk-throughs. I was able to get into more than 20 classrooms last week. It is good to see great instruction happening this late in the game. Tuesday was a day of fun in the sun, rewarding the freshmen class for their merit point competition. We spent the afternoon at Hooper Pool. Katrina Ruggles kept us on our toes with a few early morning meetings this past week. The meetings were pertaining to ICAP and bullying. They were very productive meetings. Wednesday, Greg Malbon put together a great career day for the students. We had a very productive PLC in the afternoon. There were many conversations that afternoon that proved our staff is committed to the pursuit of excellence. Wednesday evening ended with honoring Russ Braiden at the SLV Teacher of the Year banquet. It was my pleasure and honor to attend this event with Russ and his wife. Thursday was another day of walk-throughs and some discipline issues. Friday began with a little pep talk to the students about the importance of NWEA and trying their best. The end of the day was a highlight for many students and staff. They were allowed to throw pies at my face (National Honor Society fundraiser). Friday evening was spent traveling to Denver for the CADA conference.
The week ahead is another busy one. Monday was spent finishing up the CADA conference. Tuesday will be the beginning of ALL students testing for NWEA. Tuesday is a meeting day (7 of them). I am still hoping to get into a few classrooms in the afternoon. Wednesday is another trip back to Denver, but it is a much deserved trip for 20 students. We will be attending the “Science/Weather 9 News” program at Coors Field. We will also get to watch the Rockies take on the Dodgers. All morning on Thursday will be occupied with evaluating walk-through data for both the middle and high school. The afternoon will be dedicated to more walk-throughs. Friday morning will be more walk-throughs before heading back to Alamosa for district baseball. Hopefully my afternoon will be attending the championship baseball game. Friday evening will include some staff stress relieving activities. We will be getting a free golf lesson from the pro at Cattails. Saturday will be another trip (keeping the road hot), this time to Pagosa Springs for a track meet.