Great Things Going On Now
Thankfully a new Americorps crew arrived in Center this past week. We are truly fortunate to have them on site. This group of nine young men and women from all over the country has already helped us to pack up the library in preparation for our big move. They even worked with our custodial staff to relocate the weight room for the summer, and have sorted through middle and high school classrooms for recyclables prior to building demolition. They will be in Center helping us out in many ways for the next month.
I want to commend the entire district staff for the great job they have done packing up their classrooms and work spaces. The formal move into our new building will take place this coming week and by the looks of things it should be fairly easy as items appear to be well marked and secured.
I want to commend the entire district staff for the great job they have done packing up their classrooms and work spaces. The formal move into our new building will take place this coming week and by the looks of things it should be fairly easy as items appear to be well marked and secured.
I want to offer a gigantic thank you to the Center Technology Department for the great work they have done securing technology items for the upcoming move and keeping our network systems functioning despite the many obstacles they have faced in the last several months. Director of Technology Julio Paez, and Technicians Teddy Garcia and Ascencion Najera have been a true asset to the district at this time of transition.
A big thank you also goes out to staff members Scott Poole and Lauren McEvoy for sponsoring this year’s Senior Trip to San Diego. Special events like these are just not possible unless responsible adults step forward to make them happen. Thanks Scott and Lauren for allowing the class of 2012 to have such a great experience!
Finally, congratulations are due to to Center High School's Maya Martinez upon placing 4th in the discuss event at the Colorado State Track and Field championship meet!
A big thank you also goes out to staff members Scott Poole and Lauren McEvoy for sponsoring this year’s Senior Trip to San Diego. Special events like these are just not possible unless responsible adults step forward to make them happen. Thanks Scott and Lauren for allowing the class of 2012 to have such a great experience!
Finally, congratulations are due to to Center High School's Maya Martinez upon placing 4th in the discuss event at the Colorado State Track and Field championship meet!
The Past Week
The highlight of the past week was definitely the removal of the Haskin and Center High School cornerstones. These blocks of granite will be cleaned up and displayed prominently on the new school site. Each cornerstone contained a time capsule that held newspapers from the year each school was built, as well as coins of the period and lists of key individuals involved in each project. We will work to prepare these items for public display in the district administration building as soon as possible.
Tuesday was bittersweet as students roamed the hallways of the old Haskin, Skoglund, and CHS buildings for the last time. It is exciting to see the new school the community will be getting, but our old buildings certainly served many generations of children admirably over many years, including my own.
Tuesday was bittersweet as students roamed the hallways of the old Haskin, Skoglund, and CHS buildings for the last time. It is exciting to see the new school the community will be getting, but our old buildings certainly served many generations of children admirably over many years, including my own.
On Wednesday staff members finished packing their workspaces and items that were sold through bidding processes were removed from campus by various entities. Unfortunately we were not fully prepared for the onslaught of community members who wanted access to items we are disposing and things got a bit out of hand. We have all agreed that the next time we build a new school we’ll handle this part of the process much better.
On Saturday morning I attended the Academic Recovery Center/Center Virtual Academy graduation ceremonies. This was the 10th ARC graduation and the very first Virtual Academy graduation. In total 8 students received high school diplomas this year who probably would not have done so if they were limited to attending school in the traditional way. Since 2002 a total of 75 students have graduated from these programs. I especially want to offer my appreciation to ARC Director Joy Werner and Center Virtual Academy Director Chris Vance for the great job they have done working together and building such a positive learning community.
On Saturday morning I attended the Academic Recovery Center/Center Virtual Academy graduation ceremonies. This was the 10th ARC graduation and the very first Virtual Academy graduation. In total 8 students received high school diplomas this year who probably would not have done so if they were limited to attending school in the traditional way. Since 2002 a total of 75 students have graduated from these programs. I especially want to offer my appreciation to ARC Director Joy Werner and Center Virtual Academy Director Chris Vance for the great job they have done working together and building such a positive learning community.
Big Things We Are Working On
The latter part of the week was focused on improvement planning and budgeting. The Haskin BLT met on Friday and built a solid plan focused on improving school climate, engaging more students in learning processes, better supporting English Language Learners, refining Response to Intervention processes, and enhancing Professional Learning Community structures. I met with middle school, elementary, district level instruction, and technology departments to tie out their preliminary budgets and I look forward to tackling the same tasks with the transportation, alternative, virtual, custodial and high school departments this coming week. The budgeting process got a bit easier late in the week when we learned we came out well in the arbitration process with Saguache County regarding this year’s distribution of Secure Rural Schools funds.
The other big thing we are working on is the move into our new building. Boxes will be transferred from our old schools to the new one starting Tuesday. We anticipate this process being completed by the end of the day Friday.
In conjunction with our move, and because we will not likely be able to occupy our building until mid July, the Fyock Community Library is setting up temporary services in the alternative school building on 4th Street. For the time being community access computers will be available, as well as interlibrary loan. A limited selection of videos will also be available for checkout as this is a very popular service with many of our summer migrant workers.
The other big thing we are working on is the move into our new building. Boxes will be transferred from our old schools to the new one starting Tuesday. We anticipate this process being completed by the end of the day Friday.
In conjunction with our move, and because we will not likely be able to occupy our building until mid July, the Fyock Community Library is setting up temporary services in the alternative school building on 4th Street. For the time being community access computers will be available, as well as interlibrary loan. A limited selection of videos will also be available for checkout as this is a very popular service with many of our summer migrant workers.
Construction News
Most items sold through the bidding process have already been removed from the property. Several portable buildings, a railroad car used for storage, and a series of storage sheds are also in the process of being relocated. In addition, earthwork has already begun on the old playground and to the East of the administration/auditorium building.
It is looking like our internet connection will be coming down next Tuesday, May 22nd. At this time we are hoping CenturyLink will be relocating our connection to the new building. If this happens access to the internet from campus will be down, making it impossible to access web sites with the exception of the District pages. In addition, our email server will not be accessible from campus. It will only be accessible from outside our school network. We are hoping our network changeover only takes a couple of days.
It is looking like our internet connection will be coming down next Tuesday, May 22nd. At this time we are hoping CenturyLink will be relocating our connection to the new building. If this happens access to the internet from campus will be down, making it impossible to access web sites with the exception of the District pages. In addition, our email server will not be accessible from campus. It will only be accessible from outside our school network. We are hoping our network changeover only takes a couple of days.
The Week Ahead
On Monday I will be in Limon attending a Focal Point leadership training session. I’ll be back in Center on Tuesday to continue working on budget items. On Wednesday Michael Lobato, Lori Cooper and I will be attending Governor Hickenlooper’s second regional TBD session in Alamosa. That evening I will be at the Center Firehouse for a meeting about the planning of an active shooter scenario training. On Thursday the Center BOE holds a special meeting to adopt a preliminary budget, to act on probationary teacher recommendations and to approve the list of Center High School graduates. CHS graduation ceremonies will take place on Saturday May 26th at 10 AM on the front lawn of Haskin Elementary School.
Thanks for listening again and have another great week.
George