Echoes from Cañon
Examples of Excellence
Sharon Parnell's Washington Elementary students constructed bridges on their own time as an extension activity related to a reading lesson.
CCHS and PCC automotive trades instructor John Duston recently reported that 36 of our students passed their Snap-On 504 Certification test. Additionally, 35 were recently certified by the Rubber Manufaturer’s Association in tire repair. This is significant as it is estimated fewer than 20% of shops repairing tires in Southern Colorado are either not doing it as advised or lack certified personnel in such positions. It is exciting to see so many of our students getting the opportunity to learn valuable job skills and this is made possible thanks to our wonderful partnership with Pueblo Community College.
Washington Elementary 3rd grade teacher Sharon Parnell shared with me a reading extension activity she recently conducted with students. After learning about bridges during a Journeys lesson several students requested Sharon create an activity where they could design their own bridges as an at home project. Sharon quickly created a lesson requiring students to spend little or no money designing a bridge using materials they had readily available at home. As a way to promote interaction, parents were encouraged to help their children as well. The results were amazing as can be seen by the attached photo. Thank you Sharon, for going the extra mile by expanding learning opportunities in an area in which your students showed clear interest!
Finally, I want to thank the Lincoln School of Science and Technology learning community for support they have been offering special education teacher Sarah Lobato who is unfortunately struggling to treat newborn son Sean’s rare San Luis Valley genetic disorder. Sarah, and her husband Fabain, have been fighting this since Sean “Chewy” was born back in May. To this point Chewy has spent 55 days of his young life in hospitals. He recently underwent heart surgery and currently receives in home health care on a weekly basis. The Lincoln staff has recognized how this has effected Sarah’s family financially and as a result have planned a spaghetti supper fundraiser to offer support. This will take place on Thursday October 20th from 5 PM to 7 PM at the Lincoln School of Science and Technology at 420 Myrtle Avenue. The cost will be $10 for adults and $6 for children under age 12. Of course donations are being accepted as well. These can be dropped off at the Lincoln school office.
Washington Elementary 3rd grade teacher Sharon Parnell shared with me a reading extension activity she recently conducted with students. After learning about bridges during a Journeys lesson several students requested Sharon create an activity where they could design their own bridges as an at home project. Sharon quickly created a lesson requiring students to spend little or no money designing a bridge using materials they had readily available at home. As a way to promote interaction, parents were encouraged to help their children as well. The results were amazing as can be seen by the attached photo. Thank you Sharon, for going the extra mile by expanding learning opportunities in an area in which your students showed clear interest!
Finally, I want to thank the Lincoln School of Science and Technology learning community for support they have been offering special education teacher Sarah Lobato who is unfortunately struggling to treat newborn son Sean’s rare San Luis Valley genetic disorder. Sarah, and her husband Fabain, have been fighting this since Sean “Chewy” was born back in May. To this point Chewy has spent 55 days of his young life in hospitals. He recently underwent heart surgery and currently receives in home health care on a weekly basis. The Lincoln staff has recognized how this has effected Sarah’s family financially and as a result have planned a spaghetti supper fundraiser to offer support. This will take place on Thursday October 20th from 5 PM to 7 PM at the Lincoln School of Science and Technology at 420 Myrtle Avenue. The cost will be $10 for adults and $6 for children under age 12. Of course donations are being accepted as well. These can be dropped off at the Lincoln school office.
The Focus of Our Work
CES students participate in a reading intervention activity with their teacher and a robot coach.
On Monday our board will continue considering two facilities options, one that would build a new Washington Elementary School on its current site while demolishing the old one and removing some excess square footage from CCMS. An additional that would call for constructing a brand new CCMS building on current CCMS property, while the district would pursue further demolition of current CCMS structures, while also repurposing the original 1925 high school structure.
The estimated cost for the Washington project, if we can secure a BEST grant to help fund it, would be just under 10 million dollars to our taxpayers. The total cost of the plan that adds a new CCMS school, if a BEST grant could be secured, would be 15 million dollars.
The board will be holding public hearings on these options during the month of October with the goal of making a decision as to which direction to seriously pursue by November 1st. I encourage all interested community members to attend our October 10th board meeting to learn more about these options.
On our literacy implementation front, last week 5 new "staff members” arrived at CES, Harrison, Lincoln, McKinley, and Washington schools in the form of Lindamood-Bell robots. These devices are in our buildings as part of our reading intervention initiative. Lindamood-Bell employees on the other end utilize them to observe and coach our teachers and paraprofessionals who are now conducting Seeing Stars and Visualizing and Verbalizing reading interventions during the school day.
The estimated cost for the Washington project, if we can secure a BEST grant to help fund it, would be just under 10 million dollars to our taxpayers. The total cost of the plan that adds a new CCMS school, if a BEST grant could be secured, would be 15 million dollars.
The board will be holding public hearings on these options during the month of October with the goal of making a decision as to which direction to seriously pursue by November 1st. I encourage all interested community members to attend our October 10th board meeting to learn more about these options.
On our literacy implementation front, last week 5 new "staff members” arrived at CES, Harrison, Lincoln, McKinley, and Washington schools in the form of Lindamood-Bell robots. These devices are in our buildings as part of our reading intervention initiative. Lindamood-Bell employees on the other end utilize them to observe and coach our teachers and paraprofessionals who are now conducting Seeing Stars and Visualizing and Verbalizing reading interventions during the school day.
Last Week
On Monday I attended an all staff meeting at McKinley Elementary School to share some wonderful news related to accreditation. On Tuesday I appeared on KRLN radio’s Morning Line with RE-2 superintendent Rhonda Roberts. I then met with my Superintendent Advisory Council and spent the rest of the day traveling to and from Denver for the quarterly Colorado Safe Schools Resource Center advisory board meeting. I began Wednesday in a meeting with our central office staff, followed by my monthly meeting with director of special services Lynnette Steinhoff, and a coffee session with our district operations staff. At that last session I picked the brains of our operations staff about our remaining facilities options. I spent Wednesday afternoon taking UCCS education students on a tour of several of our school buildings, and ended the day at CCMS sharing exciting accreditation news with that staff. On Thursday morning I had a monthly touching base meeting with RE-2 superintendent Rhonda Roberts. I also met with probationary teacher coach Jamie Davis before conducting another director evaluation and attending another Cañon 2020 visioning meeting.
This Week
I’ll start my week Monday at an early morning meeting about implementation of technology devices at Cañon Exploratory School. I will also meet with district literacy coordinator Gina Gallegos before addressing some CCHS disciplinary issues in the afternoon. I’ll end Monday at a board work session and regular meeting. On Tuesday I’ll poke in on our monthly meeting with the CCPD, followed by our weekly Superintendent Advisory Council meeting and monthly BSERT meeting. On Tuesday afternoon we have our monthly leadership team meeting, and I’ll also touch base with our classified and certified association leaders. On Wednesday I hope to catch up on a lot of paperwork at the office, though I also have some parent meetings on my calendar. On Thursday I’ll be in Thornton for the Colorado School Safety Resource Center annual Safe Schools Conference, and on Friday board director Lloyd Harwood and I will be presenting a breakout session at the Colorado Association of School Board’s fall conference in Fort Collins.
Thanks for listening once again!
George S. Welsh
Thanks for listening once again!
George S. Welsh