Alpine Elementary News
I usually send out the Eagle News on Monday morning, but with the announcement on Friday by Governor Herbert that we will have a two-week “soft closure” of schools in the state, I wanted to communicate with parents what that means for our students at Alpine Elementary.
Teachers will be receiving training on Monday and Tuesday, March 16 and 17, on how to best provide online instruction to students. Teachers will communicate to parents before 4:00 pm on Tuesday what the online learning expectations are for students in their classes.
Parents will need to determine if they have sufficient devices at home to accommodate the teacher’s online learning expectations. Chromebooks grades 3 – 6, or iPads grades K – 2, can be checked out from the school. Your child’s teacher will tell you how that process is going to work.
The Alpine Elementary office will be open 8:30 am – 3:30 pm each school day during the two-week closure.
The school will be providing daily “Grab and Go” breakfast, 8:00 – 9:00 am, and lunch, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm for all students who want to come to the school grab a meal and leave. As “Grab and Go” plainly states, the meals will not be eaten at the school.
This is definitely a new way of doing school, but when the World Health Organization announces that COVID-19 is a worldwide pandemic that has swept into 114 countries, we all need to take the necessary precautions.
Whether or not the school closures extend beyond two weeks will be determined by Governor Herbert and those leaders on his team as they receive updated health information from medical experts.
If there are families in need of food or basic household necessities, please let me know. There are community resources available to those in need. If you or your children need something, we can help!
Battle of the Books competitions have been postponed but will rescheduled, meaning students will have more time to read their books, an excellent learning opportunity during the school closure!
The following students were nominated by their teachers and recognized last week for consistently demonstrating the 6 C’s: collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking, citizenship and character.
Briggs Ballif–4th Grade, Mrs. Vipperman
Jaxton Bennett–4th Grade, Mrs. Orgill
Camden Blackham–5th Grade, Mrs. Weakley
McKinlay Cluff–6th Grade, Mrs. Reyes
Addison Cook–3rd Grade, Ms. Elder
Gage Kirkham–5th Grade, Mr. Horan
Kate Larkin–3rd Grade, Ms. Moore
Abbie Menlove–4th Grade, Mrs. Orgill
Sterling Raven–6th Grade, Mrs. Reyes
Jaxon Raven–5th Grade, Mrs. Padgett
Parker Rodman–2nd Grade, Mrs. Wallace
Chloe Rogerson–5th Grade, Mrs. Hill
Claire Seedall–6th Grade, Mrs. Monson
Grady Slesk–6th Grade, Ms. Kuo
Zia Taylor–5th Grade, Mrs. Weakley
Outside the Principal’s Office.
Yesterday, Laura and I went to see “Seussical” at the Hale Theater in Orem where one of our former students had one of the lead roles as he portrayed Horton the Elephant. A delightful performance! I continue to ride my bike and eat at my favorite restaurants. First time since my volunteer service in Guatemala 40 years ago, that I have not been watching any sporting events on TV on a March weekend. Amazing how much time I now have to do other things! And this morning, Laura and I had our own church services, which was truly a spiritual experience! Don’t know if I would be able to say the same thing when we had all five of our children at home. In short, I make daily life choices that bring me and my family joy and fulfillment, and encourage all of our parents to do the same. And I have not been to “ground zero”, the paper products aisle at Costco or Walmart, so life is good!
We all learn new things during challenging times. Though I have never heard the phrase before, I now know what “social distancing” is, and will do my best to not get into anyone else’s personal bubble. I continue to be optimistic that we will all successfully navigate this time frame of school closures.
Have a great week, and remember even during a pandemic and in a world that has changed for all of us, it is a great day to be an Eagle!
Dave Perdue, Principal
Alpine Elementary
Alpine School District