Great Things Going On
On Saturday evening I had the pleasure of attending the Kiwanis Club of Center’s anniversary celebration. The Kiwanis building was packed to the rafters for this fine event that was catered expertly by the Moffat High School KEY Club and attended by many Kiwanis International dignitaries. Highlights of the event included an outstanding recitation by cowgirl poet Peggy Godfrey, and a wonderful oral history of the Kiwanis Club of Center as told by William Worker. Believe it or not the Kiwanis Club of Center was established in May of 1930 and has now been in existence for 85 years!
This week our Center High School varsity baseball team competed in the regional tournament in Pueblo where they won their first game against Kiowa. This excellent win, by a score of 10-4, took place behind the fine pitching of Alex Steins, solid hitting by catcher Christian Espinosa, and fantastic defense at all positions. Unfortunately our boys were beaten soundly in the second game by a tough team from Hotchkiss, bringing the outstanding tenure of legendary baseball coach Lloyd M. Garcia to an end just one game shy of another trip to the state championship final four. At the same time this weekend our Center High School track athletes were competing in the Colorado State Track and Field Championships in the Denver area where our men’s 4 by 100 meter relay team, consisting of Marcus Torres, Josh Jones, Angel Villagomez and Adrian Bahena, finished 4th; our men’s 4 by 400 meter relay team, consisting of Marcus Torres, Heriberto Gonzales, Angel Villagomez, and Adrian Bahena, finished 4th overall as well. Congratulations to these boys and coach Dennis Schoenfelder on such a fine showing.
This week our Center High School varsity baseball team competed in the regional tournament in Pueblo where they won their first game against Kiowa. This excellent win, by a score of 10-4, took place behind the fine pitching of Alex Steins, solid hitting by catcher Christian Espinosa, and fantastic defense at all positions. Unfortunately our boys were beaten soundly in the second game by a tough team from Hotchkiss, bringing the outstanding tenure of legendary baseball coach Lloyd M. Garcia to an end just one game shy of another trip to the state championship final four. At the same time this weekend our Center High School track athletes were competing in the Colorado State Track and Field Championships in the Denver area where our men’s 4 by 100 meter relay team, consisting of Marcus Torres, Josh Jones, Angel Villagomez and Adrian Bahena, finished 4th; our men’s 4 by 400 meter relay team, consisting of Marcus Torres, Heriberto Gonzales, Angel Villagomez, and Adrian Bahena, finished 4th overall as well. Congratulations to these boys and coach Dennis Schoenfelder on such a fine showing.
I want to thank 5th grade teachers Honey Stecken and Zoraya Vazquez for once again doing a fine job in sponsoring and supervising our annual 5th grade night at the museum trip. At the Denver Museum of Science and Nature they viewed an IMax movie, dissected animal hearts, and toured the various exhibits. While in Denver our children also had the opportunity to experience the Casa Bonita restaurant and to go to Jump City to expend energy on the many trampolines there.
On a final note I want to take a moment to thank all of our staff members for the amazing job they did moving our kids to safety and keeping them engaged in activities while the Center Volunteer Fire Department handled a blaze that sprung up at the old Pepper Potato Warehouse on Wednesday. At just before 8 AM many people saw and smelled smoke starting to seep out of the warehouse. Fortunately the fire department quickly arrived on the scene to put out the blaze. Upon learning about the situation we made the decision to move our students and staff members completely off site, first securing an invitation from Sangre De Cristo Schools to shelter our students and staff members. We then alerted our transportation department, made an all call to staff, and began the process of orderly moving kids to buses and off out of harms way. We also did our best to get information out to the community through our robo-call system and through social media means. Just after the last bus filled with kids left campus at around 9:05 AM we got a call from the Center Police Department letting us know the fire was completely under control and that we could begin making plans to bring the kids back to campus. We made the decision at that time to replace all the filters in our air circulation units and to run the system for a while to clear out the air in our buildings. We also made contact with our food service department to see if we could still pull off lunch and ware told we could. The building was aired out, lunch was prepared, and our children started arriving back on campus around 11:30 AM. We fed them lunch, returned them to classes, then released them from school at 1 PM as was originally planned for the day. Thanks to our wonderful staff, the Center Volunteer Fire Department, and the Center Police Department for the tremendous professionalism with which the entire incident was handled. I also want to thank our neighboring school districts at Sangre De Cristo and Sargent for being available to us in our time of need by offering up space to house our children and vehicles to transport them.
On a final note I want to take a moment to thank all of our staff members for the amazing job they did moving our kids to safety and keeping them engaged in activities while the Center Volunteer Fire Department handled a blaze that sprung up at the old Pepper Potato Warehouse on Wednesday. At just before 8 AM many people saw and smelled smoke starting to seep out of the warehouse. Fortunately the fire department quickly arrived on the scene to put out the blaze. Upon learning about the situation we made the decision to move our students and staff members completely off site, first securing an invitation from Sangre De Cristo Schools to shelter our students and staff members. We then alerted our transportation department, made an all call to staff, and began the process of orderly moving kids to buses and off out of harms way. We also did our best to get information out to the community through our robo-call system and through social media means. Just after the last bus filled with kids left campus at around 9:05 AM we got a call from the Center Police Department letting us know the fire was completely under control and that we could begin making plans to bring the kids back to campus. We made the decision at that time to replace all the filters in our air circulation units and to run the system for a while to clear out the air in our buildings. We also made contact with our food service department to see if we could still pull off lunch and ware told we could. The building was aired out, lunch was prepared, and our children started arriving back on campus around 11:30 AM. We fed them lunch, returned them to classes, then released them from school at 1 PM as was originally planned for the day. Thanks to our wonderful staff, the Center Volunteer Fire Department, and the Center Police Department for the tremendous professionalism with which the entire incident was handled. I also want to thank our neighboring school districts at Sangre De Cristo and Sargent for being available to us in our time of need by offering up space to house our children and vehicles to transport them.
Big Things We Are Working On
With only one week left we are well into our annual end of year schedule with spring concerts, class field trips, high school evening awards, National Honor Society induction, 8th grade continuation, a senior trip, and our alternative school-virtual academy graduations already having taken place. This is the last week of school, with the last day for students taking place on Thursday, and the year capping off this Saturday with the graduation ceremony of the Center High School Class of 2015.
Though the school year is about to end the Center Schools board
Though the school year is about to end the Center Schools board
of education is still hard at work. The board met last week in it’s regular May meeting to rehire non-probationary teachers, fill many open staff positions, review and revise policies, approve the monthly bills, and listen to many wonderful year-end reports by student activity groups. At this particular meeting we heard presentations from middle school science, National Honor Society, science fair, high school yearbook, middle school yearbook, and middle school knowledge bowl. The board will hold a special meeting this Thursday evening at 6 PM in the Fyock Community Library community room aimed at approving Class of 2015 Center High School graduates, rehiring probationary teachers, and considering a preliminary budget for the 2015-16 school year to be submitted to the Colorado Department of Education by June 1st.
The Past Week
On Monday I took part in a series of meetings with folks from the Boettcher Teacher Program, as well as various SLV agencies. I also attended the high school evening awards program in the auditorium. On Tuesday I travelled to Alamosa for the monthly San Luis Valley Superintendent Advisory Council meeting, then back to Center for our district accountability and board of education meetings. I also had time to stop in and watch the Center High School National Honor Society induction ceremony. On Wednesday my work plans were drastically changed due to the Pepper warehouse fire. On Thursday I had several meetings pertaining to upcoming summer school programs, as well as a budget planning session with director of instruction Lori Cooper and incoming superintendent Chris Vance. On Friday I travelled to Pueblo to watch the Center High School baseball team compete at regionals. On Saturday evening I attended the Kiwanis Club of Center’s 85th anniversary dinner.
The Week Ahead
This Monday we’ll conduct spring contract negotiations with the Center Education Association. Our Students for a Cause group will also host a regional blood drive on this day, and the Colorado Association of School Executives will send representatives to Center to honor principal Kevin Jones as the Colorado high school principal of the year. On Tuesday I will take a personal day to work in Canon City as we will hold interviews to fill the position of principal at the Harrison K-8 school. Wednesday is field day for Haskin Elementary students. I meet with a Denver University researcher on Wednesday. Thursday is the last day of school for all students, as well as our special board meeting pertaining to approving graduates, budgeting, and staff hiring. Friday is a work-day for all Center Schools employees and on Saturday we’ll conduct graduation ceremonies for the CHS Class of 2015.
Thanks for listening once again.
George
Thanks for listening once again.
George