Staff Appreciation Week
It is Staff Appreciation Week! Our incredible PTA and other parent volunteers have scheduled multiple ways of saying thank you to our staff this week. Check out (see attached photo) how our main door entry by the flag pole is decorated on Monday.
We would love to show appreciation from the parents to all of our wonderful teachers and staff this year with a flood of thank you notes.
If you choose to participate in this effort, you can E-mail the teacher/staff directly (see school website if you don’t know the email: https://alpine.alpineschools.org/faculty-staff/)
If you have a desire to give the teachers/staff more than a thank you note, here is a document with a list of faculty favorites:
Here is what the happening this week:
Monday—Thank you notes
Tuesday—Soft ice cream bar in faculty room
Wednesday—Lunch provided by the PTA
Thursday—Waffle kits delivered to classrooms with Susie’s Original Syrupdipity Spread
Friday—Taco Food Truck serving lunch
The Alpine Elementary staff do an incredible job of working with your students in any given year. Having said that, students, parents and staff will always remember the “Year of the Pandemic”. The fact that our staff has been face-to-face with students since August 17 when so many other places in the country have not opened their schools is reason for celebration. We appreciate all that the PTA is doing this week to say thank you to the Alpine Elementary faculty!
Fourth Grade Utah Program
At 1:45 pm on Thursday, April 29 our 4th graders will be performing their Utah State Program. Parents are welcome to attend but must be wearing masks. We will livestream the program if you want to stay home and watch it. I will send you a link later in the week.
Acadience Testing
The third and final Acadience reading assessment will be administered on Thursday, April 29. Acadience is the diagnostic test all K-3 graders takes to assess their foundational reading skills.
No Kindergarten May 10 – 14
There will be no kindergarten May 10 – 14 as our kindergarten teachers will be administering the Kindergarten Entry and Exit (KEEP) Assessment. The final day of school for kindergartners will be May 26.
School Schedule 2021 – 2022
I have had some questions as to whether a decision has been made on next year’s schedule. We have received feedback from our faculty Leadership Team and almost everyone wanted to recapture lost instructional time, but find some sort of schedule that gives teachers the opportunity to work with students that need extra interventions. I and other principals have shared the feedback we are getting from teachers with our Supervisors, who in turn, have communicated with other District leaders. On Tuesday, April 27 the Alpine School District School Board will be discussing next year’s schedule and will probably vote on the 2021 – 2022 proposed schedule in the May 11 School Board Meeting.
State Testing Opt Outs
Our 3rd – 6th graders are beginning their end-of-year state standardized tests called RISE Assessments. All 3rd – 6th graders take a English Language Arts (ELA) and Math assessment and the 4th – 6th graders also take a Science assessment. If you do not want your child to participate in the state assessments, please notify your student’s teacher and you will need sign an opt out form.
Teacher Requests
We will be accepting Teacher Request Forms (attached) until April 30. Because of the staffing changes next year, we will only be accepting Teacher Requests in grades K, 1, 2, and 3. There will only be one non-Chinese teacher, Mrs. Keller, in 4th grade. Both non-Chinese teachers in 5th grade are newly hired staff members. The students in Mrs. Hill’s 5th grade class will be in her class for 6th grade; consequently, there will be no teacher requests in the non-Chinese classes in grades 4, 5 and 6.
In May, our grade level teams will place students into next year’s classes. We make every effort to create classes that are balanced by gender, and academic/behavioral factors. We do our best to honor Teacher Requests from parents, but please know that turning in a Teacher Request Form does not guarantee class placement.
Ink and Toner Recycle
Just a reminder that we have a recycle box in the Staff Room for your old ink and toner cartridges. Place the old cartridges in a plastic bag and deposit in the recycle box. Alpine Elementary receives money for the recycled ink and toner cartridges. Thank you!
Outside the Principal’s Office
On Saturday, I biked with my bike team, Epic, from University Mall in Provo to Hobble Creek Canyon where we climbed both forks of the canyon. Saturday’s ride was wonderful, with no complications. Some of you may remember a different experience I had biking Hobble Creek Canyon in April 2018.
At the top of the right fork, I had a flat tire which I repaired, but unfortunately as I was riding down the mountain, I soon had another flat tire on the same wheel, so then I had a real predicament! We were miles above a locked gate so no cars would be driving by to help, no cell service and an inoperable bike! I told the friend I was with to ride down the mountain and call Laura and I would start walking down the road toward the locked gate, which in my clip-in bike shoes, would take a couple of hours. Fortunately, my friend told two members of our bike team who were waiting for us at the bottom of the mountain what had happened and they rode back up the mountain to rescue me. What loyal friends, right? My friend Blake is 5’9” maybe a 150 pounds. I am 6’2” 210 pounds, but nevertheless, he told me to sit on his bike while he straddled the frame and we coasted down the mountain as I carried my bike on my back to the locked gate, where I hitched a ride with a stranger and called my son in Mapleton to come pick up the weary bike rider in Springville. A bike ride for the ages! Don’t believe that story? Check out the attached photos!
Have a wonderful week, and as always, remember that it is a great day to be an Eagle!
Dave Perdue, Principal
Alpine Elementary
Alpine School District