Happy New Year!
I hope that all of the Alpine Elementary Community had a joyous holiday season with family and friends. Welcome to 2022! We are grateful that our students have been able to attend school since August 2020 as we all deal with the roller coaster of life that a worldwide pandemic and its variants have created. We are hopeful that 2022 brings ongoing enriched learning opportunities for students, happiness and good health for our entire community.
Acadience Testing
Our students will be participating in middle of the year Acadience testing on Wednesday, January 5. The Acadience Reading Assessment is a set of procedures and measures for assessing the acquisition of early literacy skills from kindergarten through sixth grade. They are designed to be short (one minute) test probes used to regularly monitor the development of early literacy and early reading skills. It will be a quick turnaround for our students after returning from the holiday break, but we are confident the literacy instruction our teachers have provided since the beginning of the school year will be reflected in student assessment scores.
Crossing Guard
We are in need of new crossing guard before and after school. Our crossing guard is employed by the Lone Peak Police Department. If you are interested in applying for the job, here is the link. Direct any questions to Jessica Scholle at the Lone Peak Police Department. The job pays $13.25 an hour.
PTA News
- PTA Meeting this Thursday at 9:30 am in the Faculty Room. Please join us and give us your ideas on what we can do!
- Junior Achievement packet pick-up/training meeting is Friday January 14 at 2:45 in the library. The following classes need a volunteer: Aitchison, Johnson, Faux, Bailey, Duke, Chen, Kaczmarek, Moore, Reyes, and Kuo. Please sign up at https://www.signupgenius.
com/go/4090a4aa8a922a3ff2- junior or contact Dana Fong with questions: 385-770-0897. Fathers, mothers, and grandparents are welcome to volunteer! Junior Achievement is a global nonprofit with a mission to help develop business, financial, and entrepreneurial skills in elementary-age children. Activities are 30-60 minutes and include materials and clear instructions.
First Grade Chinese Immersion Application
Parents of current kindergartners can apply for admission to the first grade Chinese Immersion Program at Alpine Elementary, with January 31 being the application deadline. Here is the link:
Outside the Principal’s Office
I include an “Outside the Principal’s Office” section in the weekly Eagle News so that parents can get to know me and my family a little better. Thank you to the many parents who have told me that they enjoy the personal anecdotes I share.
No personal holiday stories to share this week. Just some news you might be interested in. I have decided that I will be retiring as the principal at Alpine Elementary at the end of June when my current contract expires.
I informed the Alpine Elementary staff of my decision in a meeting we had this morning.
I am not retiring because of family issues, health reasons, the pandemic, or any problems/concerns I am having with members of the Alpine Elementary Community or the Alpine School District. After 38 years as an educator, I am simply ready to begin the next chapter of my life. In fact, I would like to continue working part time in some capacity, perhaps in the education field, or maybe in the private sector.
In August of 1982 I graduated from BYU with a degree in English Literature. Laura and I loaded our few possessions in a U-Haul trailer, pulled by our 1967 Ford Galaxy 500. We, along with our one-year-old daughter, drove to Salem, Oregon where I began my first year of studies at Willamette University School of Law. I did not enjoy the study of law, which was an expensive mistake, and subsequently enrolled at Western Oregon University to obtain my secondary teaching license. Beginning in the fall of 1984, I taught and coached at Stanfield High School near the Columbia River for three years, five years in the classroom at Redmond High School in Central Oregon, 14 years as an Assistant Principal at Redmond High School, eight years as an elementary principal in Redmond, and eight years as the principal at Alpine Elementary. 38 years working in four different public schools, two high schools and two elementary schools! I have never regretted my decision to become an educator. What a wonderful and fulfilling career it has been!
I am confident that the Leadership Team at the Alpine School District will select a principal who can lead Alpine Elementary to even greater heights. Parents will be notified when the new principal has been selected.
I have always loved working with students, both at the elementary and high level, and my time at Alpine Elementary has been the perfect capstone in my professional journey. It has been a privilege to be the principal at Alpine Elementary and to associate with wonderful students, loving and caring parents, and a very talented and dedicated faculty.
Thank you for trusting me to be the leader in this incredible school! I will forever say, “It is a great day to be an Eagle!”
Dave Perdue, Principal
Alpine Elementary
Alpine School District