Echoes from Cañon
Examples of Excellence

As we begin another school year I want to thank our district custodial, operations and technology crew for their great work preparing buildings for students and staff. Though we don’t have unlimited financial resources, our crews show extreme pride in what they do and always bringing our buildings, both old and new, back to life.
Speaking of custodial personnel, Lincoln School of Science and Technology Principal Tammy DeWolfe asked me to offer a shout out for Abe England, her head custodian. She says, “Abe is a wonderful team player who is always willing to go the extra mile. Recently he received a Fire Inspection Report with zero violations. This has been a professional goal of his for the 10 years he has served as Lincoln's head custodian. This is
Speaking of custodial personnel, Lincoln School of Science and Technology Principal Tammy DeWolfe asked me to offer a shout out for Abe England, her head custodian. She says, “Abe is a wonderful team player who is always willing to go the extra mile. Recently he received a Fire Inspection Report with zero violations. This has been a professional goal of his for the 10 years he has served as Lincoln's head custodian. This is

not easily obtainable. Considering our aging building and creative usage in support of our school-wide technology initiative and science work, and this is a truly special achievement.” I know Abe has also been instrumental to Lincoln’s success by repairing technology devices for teachers and students. This includes tablets, HP streams, and Promethean Boards. I understand he also plays a major role in the production of Lincoln’s weekly Video Announcements. Abe has even served as an instructor for Super Science Friday and Breakfast Science Club sessions, and has recently offered to serve on the governing board of the Cañon City Education Organization for Excellence (CCEOE). Abe, we are fortunate to have you working on behalf of our children!
Thanks to some fine advocacy work by Suzanne Cooper, several of our Cañon City schools were awarded $500.00 checks to support the purchase of new art supplies for students. The Royal Gorge Artists Association awarded these scholarships. Thank you, Suzanne, for helping to make it more possible for our students to experience the arts this year.
If you haven’t seen the work Cañon Exploratory School Principal Kelly Albrecht is doing communicating with her teachers and parents through her weekly Cañon Compass blog, I encourage you to check it out at this link: https://cescompass.wordpress.com/2017/08/20/week-in-review-aug-14-18-2017/ Thank you Kelly!
Thanks to some fine advocacy work by Suzanne Cooper, several of our Cañon City schools were awarded $500.00 checks to support the purchase of new art supplies for students. The Royal Gorge Artists Association awarded these scholarships. Thank you, Suzanne, for helping to make it more possible for our students to experience the arts this year.
If you haven’t seen the work Cañon Exploratory School Principal Kelly Albrecht is doing communicating with her teachers and parents through her weekly Cañon Compass blog, I encourage you to check it out at this link: https://cescompass.wordpress.com/2017/08/20/week-in-review-aug-14-18-2017/ Thank you Kelly!
The Focus of Our Work

New playgrounds are almost ready for kids at Cañon Exploratory School and McKinley. These are being installed at no cost to the district thanks to Colorado Health Foundation grants we were awarded last year.
Fox 21 News was in town Monday. They produced a story about facilities concerns we have at Cañon City Middle School. If you would like to view it you can do so at this link: http://fox21news.com/2017/08/14/teachers-concerned-for-students-safety-at-canon-city-middle-school/
Unfortunately, we had a fiber optic line cut during road construction by Mountain View Core Knowledge School last Thursday. This disabled their access to our network and phone system at a time when school is already in session. Director of Technology Shaun Kohl and Director of Operations Jeff Peterson and their crews have been working hard to set up a temporary fix, and to prepare for a permanent one. MVCKS should be up and running on Monday when their kids arrive once again, and we should have our permanent fix installed by the end of the week.
Instructional staff spent this week in various planning and professional development sessions. Director of Instruction Adam Hartman has done a fine job organizing and guiding this work. We all look forward to the arrival of the rest of our students this week!
Fox 21 News was in town Monday. They produced a story about facilities concerns we have at Cañon City Middle School. If you would like to view it you can do so at this link: http://fox21news.com/2017/08/14/teachers-concerned-for-students-safety-at-canon-city-middle-school/
Unfortunately, we had a fiber optic line cut during road construction by Mountain View Core Knowledge School last Thursday. This disabled their access to our network and phone system at a time when school is already in session. Director of Technology Shaun Kohl and Director of Operations Jeff Peterson and their crews have been working hard to set up a temporary fix, and to prepare for a permanent one. MVCKS should be up and running on Monday when their kids arrive once again, and we should have our permanent fix installed by the end of the week.
Instructional staff spent this week in various planning and professional development sessions. Director of Instruction Adam Hartman has done a fine job organizing and guiding this work. We all look forward to the arrival of the rest of our students this week!
Last Week
Last week I presented accreditation and ballot question information at our all-staff gathering, addressed some of the recent changes we have made at Canon Online Academy, attended a board meeting and work session, touched base with Director of Special Services Lynnette Steinhoff, met with RE-2 Superintendent Rhonda Roberts, and made the rounds at some back to school ice cream social events.
This Week

On Monday and Tuesday I’ll make the rounds of school openings. This week I’ll also meet with some literacy coaches, attend the Washington Elementary open house, hold a SAC meeting, attend an Early Childhood Leadership Commission meeting in Denver, attend a Cañon City Republican Party meeting to share information about our pending ballot questions, and touch base with Director of Instruction Adam Hartman. Also on my to-do list are writing bond and mill override question and answer sheets, attending a regional superintendents meeting, and publishing a video about our facilities needs at Washington Elementary.
Thanks for listening once again!
George S. Welsh
Thanks for listening once again!
George S. Welsh