November 2019

Later this week most of us will gather with family and friends to eat a delicious meal and reflect on all that we are thankful for. And though I daily give thanks for all that I have been blessed with, this holiday season helps me to reflect on all that brings joy and meaning into my life: a faith that serves as my anchor and lodestar, a beautiful wife who is my best friend, five adult children and their spouses who are happy and healthy, 13 grandchildren, good health, and the opportunity to work at Alpine Elementary with a dedicated staff, kind and motivated students and supportive parents.

Our annual Candlelight School Coin Drive brings into clearer focus all that makes the Alpine Elementary Community so special, and for that reality, I am very grateful! In five days, we raised at least $10,410! I say “at least” because there is still money to be counted. Check out the past four-year Coin Drive contribution totals:

            2016 – 17      $7,500

            2017 – 18      $8,245

            2018 – 19      $9,170

            2019 – 20      $10,410

And once again, our Nutrition Services ladies, Whitney Wilson, Shirleen Jenks, Gina Lye and Tina Gast, modeled what it means to dig deep and generously give to a worthy cause. These ladies don’t give to be recognized, and I won’t embarrass them by giving you the total amount, but I will simply say these ladies gave a significant portion of the total amount contributed. Every year, Whitney Wilson tells me the Coin Drive Week is their favorite week of the year. Our Nutrition Services staff truly walk the talk!

I heard multiple Coin Drive stories that warm my heart and make me grateful for the students that attend our school. Kindergarten teacher, Colleen Aitchison, shares the following:

And on a post-it note in one of the coin cans, a little girl wrote:

From the mouth of babes! I thank all of the Alpine Elementary Community for their generosity and for doing the right thing last week!

The month is almost over, so keep clipping those Box Tops for our November contest deadline, which is November 27th.  Treats are being generously donated by Sun Haven Tanning and Salon located at 238 E. State St. in Pleasant Grove, Utah.  Check out their website: sunhaventan.us!  They have been voted #1 tanning salon in Utah for 3 years!  And they offer more than just tanning, they offer microblading, eyelash extensions and waxing services, also.  Just text the word “Start” to (801) 285-9210 and you will get a free tan!  Thanks, Sun Haven!

The following students were nominated by their teachers and recognized last week for consistently demonstrating the character traits of the Alpine Big 3: Responsibility, Respect and Readiness to Learn.

Leah Christensen–5th Grade, Mrs. Weakley

Brooke Christoffersen–6th Grade, Mrs. Monson

Nolan Crawley–4th Grade, Mrs. Vipperman

Eliza Gooch–4th Grade, Mrs. Vipperman

Millie Greer–5th Grade, Mrs. Padgett

Jaxon Larkin–2nd Grade, Mrs. Wallace

Madi Morris–5th Grade, Mrs. Hill

Lincoln Peay–6th Grade, Ms. Kuo

Emerson Reynolds–1st Grade, Ms. Johnson

Ella Turner–6th Grade, Mrs. Reyes

Mia Wallace–6th Grade, Mrs. Reyes

Lexi Wing–1st Grade, Ms. Johnson

I hope that all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends. Be safe in your travels, express love for those closest to you and give thanks for all that is yours!

Elementary school students can sometimes try an educator’s patience with the things they say, do, or not do in the school setting. But if we look and listen, there are daily nuggets of joy and gratitude that students will bring into our lives. I recently experienced one of those moments when I was observing one of our teachers. Her students were seated in a circle on the carpet participating in a “Math Battle” where two students would stand up, receive a multiplication problem from the teacher, and the student who answered the math fact equation first and correctly continued standing to battle the next student who would stand to battle. In one battle, the student who had won several consecutive battles, barely beat with the correct answer another student. The student, a boy, lost the battle sat down a bit dejected, and a girl who was sitting in the circle opposite the boy, gave him two thumbs up, smiled brightly, and mouthed the words, “Good job!” The boy smiled. I’m sure feeling a little better about himself. The boy is a student who doesn’t always want to come to school and is trying to find his place in his grade level social circle. The little girl certainly doesn’t know all that the teacher and I know about the boy’s struggles, but she knew enough on that day to reach out to someone in need, and though the students in the room didn’t see it, there was a principal with a tear in his eye observing that simple act of kindness. On that day, in that classroom, during that learning activity, one little girl showed me, and more importantly a boy who needed some positive feedback, that there is love and kindness all around us if we take the time to simply notice. Our students can teach us all valuable life lessons if we will look, listen and feel!

And speaking of acts of kindness, the Alpine Elementary Community has the opportunity this week to participate in our annual Candlelight School Coin Drive! Each year we send our donations to the Candlelight School in Nairobi, Kenya and the money donated helps purchase rice and beans to feed the students. We ask any families that can help to donate.

Monday—Pennies

Tuesday—Nickels

Wednesday—Dimes

Thursday—Quarters

Friday—All types of money

Our community donated over 300 blankets during the two-week Blanket Drive!  Thank you for your kindness. There will be many homeless people along the Wasatch Front grateful for a blanket to keep them warm during the cold winter months. Once again, the Alpine Elementary Community demonstrates their willingness to help those in need.

The month is almost over, so keep clipping those Box Tops for our November contest deadline, which is November 27th.  Treats are being generously donated by Sun Haven Tanning and Salon located at 238 E. State St. in Pleasant Grove, Utah.  Check out their website: sunhaventan.us!  They have been voted #1 tanning salon in Utah for 3 years!  And they offer more than just tanning, they offer microblading, eyelash extensions and waxing services, also.  Just text the word “Start” to (801) 285-9210 and you will get a free tan!  Thanks, Sun Haven!

The following students were nominated by their teachers and recognized last week for consistently demonstrating the character traits of the Alpine Big 3: Responsibility, Respect and Readiness to Learn.

Hallie Alire–4th Grade, Mrs. Orgill

Jordan Anderson–1st Grade, Mrs. Faux

Bria Basil–5th Grade, Mrs. Hill

Brady Beck–3rd Grade, Elder

Adrienne Bodily–4th Grade, A. Moore

Anna Rose Cox–1st Grade, Mrs. Faux

Elin DeGroot–1st Grade, Mrs. Liston

Ruby Jones–4th Grade, Mrs. Vipperman

Katie Kitchel–4th Grade, Mrs. Orgill

Noah Larsen–1st Grade, Mrs. Liston

Collins Nelson–1st Grade, Mrs. Faux

Quincy Peper–5th Grade, Mr. Horan

Daniel Snow–4th Grade, Mrs. Vipperman

Benson Wood–1st Grade, Mrs. Liston

Calvin Wood–4th Grade, Mrs. Orgill

Have a great week, and as always, remember that it is a great day to be an Eagle!

A warm enough day in November to ride your bike up the Provo Canyon to Vivian Park is a not to be taken for granted, so I took advantage of that gift on Saturday morning. Laura and I capped the day off by taking two of our grandsons (see attached photos) to the BYU football game. The Cougs were victorious, but I don’t think the outcome of the game was particularly important to Paxton and Easton. They were much more interested in consuming large quantities of hotdogs, popcorn, soda, salted pretzels, and of course Cougar Tails. And let’s not forget arguing over who got to use the binoculars, which I don’t think either boy either really knew how to use and get into proper focus. But a fun time nonetheless.

Don’t miss the opportunity on Veterans Day to have a discussion with your students on why we celebrate our veterans, past and present. The armistice to end World War 1, “the war to end all wars”, was signed at the 11^th hour on the 11^th month. Sadly, our country has been involved in multiple wars since November 11, 1918, but I am certainly grateful for the service rendered by veterans both living and deceased to protect our country’s freedoms. My wife and I are proud of our fathers’ war time service in World War 2 and the Korean War. We owe a debt of gratitude to our veterans that we can never fully repay.

One more week left in our Blanket Drive. It was gratifying to see the blanket donation box fill up every day last week. As of this morning, we have collected 102 blankets. Our goal is 700, so every donation helps. Here is the link to the updated Amazon Wish List page.  Hopefully, this makes it possible for more people to help.  Thank you for your generous support of this project and for helping others stay warm this winter.

Our school nurse, Paige Price, asked me to send out the attached flyer on General Precautions for the Gastrointestinal Virus.

The following students were nominated by their teachers and recognized last week for consistently demonstrating the character traits of the Alpine Big 3: Responsibility, Respect and Readiness to Learn.

Bronson Beck–1st Grade, Mrs. Bailey

Jackson Bruce–5th Grade, Mrs. Hill

Caden Bybee–5th Grade, Mrs. Weakley

Leah Clawson–2nd Grade, Mrs. Blodgett

Bridger Cook–Kindergarten, Mrs. Aitchison

Benson Elder–1st Grade, Mrs. Bailey

Cambree Hegerhorst–Kindergarten, Mrs. Aitchison

Nora Lee–2nd Grade, Mrs. Wallace

Tommy Lyon–3rd Grade, Mrs. Duke

Timothy Merrell–1st Grade, Ms. Johnson

Sawyer Petersen–5th Grade, Mr. Horan

Savana Smith–3rd Grade, Ms. M. Moore

Belle Spencer–Kindergarten, Mrs. Aitchison

Peter Taylor–1st Grade, Ms. Johnson

Have a great week, thank a veteran for his or her service, and as always, remember that it is a great day to be an Eagle!

Leftover Halloween candy, fall leaves removed from my lawn, all my favorite football teams victorious on Saturday, great participation in the Sunday School class I taught, and my cold is finally gone. Now that is a great weekend!

November has arrived! And sadly, at least in my opinion, the turning of the calendar means we are deluged with Christmas advertisements in all media forms weeks before sitting down for our Thanksgiving meals.

There will be a School Community Council meeting Thursday, November 7, 9:30 – 10:30 am in our Conference Room. The agenda is attached. All parents are welcome to attend.

All Alpine Elementary students who submitted Reflections Art entries will be recognized at our school Reflections Gala, 7:00 – 8:00 pm, Thursday, November 7 in the gym. Unfortunately, there was some miscommunication about due dates, and not all entries were judged in time to proceed to the Council level; consequently, none of our students will have Reflection entries advancing to the Lone Peak Council level.

Alpine Elementary will be participating in a Blanket Drive for the homeless along the Wasatch Front, November 4 – 18. Soul Food USA, a non-profit organization, is working to help keep people warm and provide dignity for those experiencing homelessness. Timberline Middle School is also participating in this Blanket Drive.

Any blankets donated need to be new and adult size and can be of any color or design. Please no homemade or baby blankets. Blankets can still be in store packaging when put in the donation box that will be in front of our main office November 4 – 18.  On December 22, Soul Food USA will be handing out the donated blankets to the homeless at their Christmas Chili Party in Salt Lake City.  If you have questions, contact Tres Hatch, the Blanket Drive Coordinator, 801-953-4276,

It’s not too late to join the Lone Peak Youth Wrestling Program! We have started our practices but the season is just getting started. Our practices are on Monday and Wednesdays, 4:30 to 5:30 for the Advanced and 6-8th grade wrestlers and 5:30 to 6:30 for the Novice and through 5th grade wrestlers. Our practices are at the LPHS Wrestling Room near the trophy case at the south end of the school by the gymnasiums. Signups can be completed at the practices. For more information, you can visit the Lone Peak Wrestling webpage at  http://lonepeakwrestling.weebly.com/  or by emailing Coach Wallace at [email protected].  Go Knight Wrestling!

The following students were nominated by their teachers and recognized last week for consistently demonstrating the character traits of the Alpine Big 3: Responsibility, Respect and Readiness to Learn.

Sofia Allen–1st grade, Mrs. Faux

Arianna Anderson–1st grade, Mrs. Liston

Ethan Bowler–5th grade, Mrs. Padgett

Connor Campbell–1st grade, Mrs. Faux

Crew Gustafson–1st grade, Mrs. Faux

Anya Hansen–1st grade, Mrs. Liston

Cooper Higginson–6th grade, Ms. Kuo

Grant Howard–2nd grade, Mrs. Andersen

Ethan Lokey–6th grade, Mrs. Monson

Jacob Marion–1st grade, Mrs. Liston

Margaret Merrell–5th grade, Mrs. Hill

Malyssa Moore–6th grade, Mrs. Reyes

Ella Packer–6th grade, Mrs. Monson

Eden Rasband–4th grade, Mrs. Keller

Brightyn Rodman–6th grade, Mrs. Reyes

Penny Turner–2nd grade, Mrs. Andersen

Tali Zito–6th grade, Ms. Kuo

Have a great week, and as always, remember that it is a great day to be an Eagle!