February 2022

Our February springlike weather has been replaced with a light snowfall. Though the warmer weather was nice, more moisture is always needed in the drought stricken western United States.

During the three days of school that students have this week we will be focusing on internet and social media safety. On Thursday, the students will participate in an assembly put on by NetSmartz, a statewide organization that teaches students about digital safety. I have attached the first of eight parent newsletters that NetSmartz prepares on digital safety. I have also attached the letter from the PTA I sent out last week that outlines what is happening this week for White Ribbon Week.

Kindergarten Registration is March 1 – 25. Go to the Alpine Elementary website and the entire registration process can be completed online. Call our Main Office if you have any questions.

Last week, KSL News came to Alpine Elementary to do a feature on Ms. Elder’s third grade class and their focus on the recently concluded Winter Olympics. Here is the link if you didn’t see the broadcast last week. A gold medal effort by Ms. Elder and her students!

The following students were recognized as Students of the Week on Friday, February 18. Teachers nominate students who are consistently demonstrating the character traits of the Alpine Big 3: Being Respectful, Responsible and Ready to learn. Congratulations, Students of the Week!

Brielle Anson- 1st grade, Mrs. Faux

Cymry Beck- 2nd grade, Ms. Andersen

Rachel Christensen- 1st grade, Mrs. Bailey

Georgiana Cvetko- 4th grade, Ms. Moore

Mabel Greer- 3rd grade, Ms. Elder

Christian Jewkes- 1st grade, Mrs. Bailey

Katielyn Kitchell- 6th grade, Mrs. Reyes

Cora Mason – 1st grade, Ms. Johnson

Joseph Merrell- 5th grade, Mrs. Menssen

Remi Muskat- Kindergarten, Mrs. Malone

Holland Pace- 5th grade, Mrs. Chang

Bronwyn Peay- 5th grade, Mrs. Chang

Zac Roberts- 6th grade, Mrs. Hill

Jacob Smith- 6th grade, Mrs. Reyes

Finn Thompson- Kindergarten, Mrs. Malone

I was at the annual Elementary Principals’ Conference in St. George on February 17 and 18. Southern Utah, and particularly St. George, has lots of visitors over the President’s Day weekend. As we drove back to the Utah Valley on Friday, the southbound traffic on I-15 was at least double to what the northbound lanes had. On Thursday after the Conference sessions, Laura and I drove to Zion’s National Park to do a little hiking. Shuttle buses don’t start running until February 19, so vehicles are allowed on Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. We hiked the trail leading to the Virgin River where The Narrows Hike in the river starts, and there were a few people in the river hiking The Narrows. We asked those coming out of the river if they got cold, and we were told that the Gore-Tex shoes and waders kept them plenty warm. On a pleasant day in February, it was nice to not have to deal with the large crowds of people that are in the park in the summer months. We have hiked The Narrows before, but will return for a February hike in the Virgin River, with far fewer people in the park.

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

A close exciting Super Bowl game that I hope you enjoyed regardless of the team you were rooting for. In our family, there was probably more animated discussion about the halftime show than the actual football game. Our children were reliving their high school days singing along with the performers. Laura and I? We don’t speak hip-hop and could not understand what was being sung and we were trying to understand why our children enjoyed that music. Lesson learned, music is a personal experience depending on the age and background of the listener.

Today is of course Valentine’s Day. Some of our teachers celebrated with students on Friday, but most teachers will be having Valentine’s Day activities today. Teachers make every effort to make all students feel recognized and loved on this special day.

You all should have heard by now that Paul Finlayson will be the new principal at Alpine Elementary, starting the job on July 1, 2022. Mr. Finlayson lives in Alpine and returns to the school where he worked as a fourth and fifth grade teacher for 11 years. He is excited to return home and will be an outstanding school leader! I sent his bio out on Friday and I have attached Mr. Finlayson’s bio in this week’s Eagle News.

We had a lot of fun last week celebrating the Chinese New Year and Year of the Tiger with several activities, including a Chinese Lantern Art Night, student concert and an assembly put on by the Chinese students at Skyridge and Lehi High Schools. We had hundreds of Chinese lanterns that students had made hanging in our hallways, and with the hallway lights turned off and the lanterns illuminated, we had a beautiful display on Monday night at the Chinese Lantern Art Night.

A huge thank you and special recognition to Suzanne Campbell for all she did to organize last week’s Chinese New Year activities. The third annual Chinese Lantern Art Night doesn’t happen without Suzanne’s vision and passion! And thank you to all of the parent volunteers who helped Suzanne hang the lanterns on Monday and take them down on Friday. Suzanne also handled all of the logistics with our Friday Chinese New Year assembly put on by the Chinese students at Skyridge and Lehi High Schools. The Chinese New Year dances the high school students performed were outstanding! In addition to all of her Chinese New Year’s efforts, Suzanne is also our PTA President, and we are grateful for all she does to support our PTA!

Last week, the fish tank in the library sprung a major leak sometime between 4:00 pm on Wednesday and 6:00 am on Thursday. The library was partially flooded and when we discovered the flooded floor on Thursday, most of the water had leaked out of the tank and the fish were barely clinging to life. Thanks to the heroic efforts of our Head Custodian, Mike Carter, all of the fish were retrieved and saved! Sadly, our fish tank is so old that it needs to be retired. The fish and corral are now safely in another location, outside of the school, and we will need to decide if we want to purchase a new fish tank. Stay tuned!

You can turn in your old printer cartridges to a box we have in our Staff Room, and the school receives money for the recycled cartridges. Please place the cartridges in a plastic bag before depositing in the recycle box.

We will be having our White Ribbon/Internet Safety Week February 22-25. Here are some grade level lessons, with accompanying password, that parents can use at home, not just next week, but at any time.

The following students were recognized as Students of the Week on Friday, February 11. Teachers nominate students who are consistently demonstrating the character traits of the Alpine Big 3: Being Respectful, Responsible and Ready to learn. Congratulations, Students of the Week!

Adrienne Bodily-6th grade, Mrs. Monson

Beckham Burgess-4th grade, Mrs. Keller

Addi Cook- 5th grade, Mrs. Menssen

Ashley Hauck-2nd grade, Mrs. Orgill

Owen Layton-5th grade, Mrs Menssen

Redford Mathis-Kindergarten, Mrs. Malone

Nina Matthews-Kindergarten, Mrs. Malone

Kaleb Nay-6th grade, Mrs. Hill

Violet Olson-6th grade, Mrs. Hill

Katie Proctor-6th grade, Ms Kuo

Raquel Roach-4th grade, Mrs. Vipperman

Sam Scoville-Kindergarten, Mrs. Malone

Ezra Smith-2nd grade, Mrs. Orgill

Liam Smith-1st grade, Mrs. Faux

James Squires-Kindergarten, Mrs. Malone

Hope you have been able to get outside and enjoy the sunshine that has warmed the Wasatch Front in recent days. Any time that I can get on my bike in February is a good day, and I was able to bike up to Suncrest on Saturday morning. It felt good to be off the Peloton in my basement which is my go-to mode of exercise in the winter months! Love the Peloton, but a stationary bike will never replace the real thing and the joy, sometime pain, and beauty of an outdoor ride.

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

Today is the last day for our Book Fair, 8:30 am – 8:00 pm. The Book Fair will be open tonight in our library during our Chinese Lantern Festival.

As you walk into the Book Fair, you will see the short hallway leading into the library decorated with Chinese Lanterns and with some tigers in the jungle. As we celebrate the Chinese New Year, it is also the Year of the Tiger. We are so grateful to parent volunteer, Chelsea Hertig, for the time and effort she took to decorate for our Book Fair. Chelsea has decorated for previous Book Fairs and we are fortunate to have someone with such incredible talent share her artistic creations with Alpine Elementary!

For 17 years, parent volunteer Cherie’ Kelly has been the driving force in the PTA Hospitality Committee. So for 17 years for Cherie,’ and seven years for Erin Stanley, these ladies have fed our staff a delicious lunch during Parent/Teacher Conferences in October and February and during Teacher Appreciation Week. Both of Cherie’ and Erin’s youngest children are sixth graders, so after their many years of service to Alpine Elementary, they are moving on to the secondary schools with their children. We are so grateful for the countless delicious meals that these ladies have prepared for the faculty at Alpine Elementary!

Cherie’ will continue organizing our annual Coin Drive for the Candlelight School in Nairobi, Kenya!

Thank you for all of the parents who conferenced with teachers last week. Most parents did online conferences, but I did see some parents come to the school. Please communicate with your child’s teacher if you have any questions about academic performance as we enter the month of February.

Chinese Lantern Festival Starts Today – We are so excited to be celebrating the Chinese New Year this week, starting today! Our Chinese Lantern Festival Arts Night is happening TONIGHT from 6 to 8 pm here at the school! We invite you and your families to come enjoy an evening celebrating the Chinese New Year. Come let your kids make fun Chinese arts and crafts, play games, and take a tour of the lanterns throughout the school! Attached is a flyer that includes details about all the fun activities taking place tonight!

Also today at 2:30 pm, the Chinese Immersion students will perform their Chinese New Year concert. We ask that parents watch the concert virtually. Here is the link to the concert, starting at 2:30 pm this afternoon!  https://forms.gle/3cM58G1tKfPALivj6.

PTA Meeting at 7 pm this Thursday – Also this week, please join us for our February PTA meeting this Thursday at 7:00 pm! This month, we’re hosting an evening PTA meeting in hopes that some of you who can’t make it to our meetings during the morning hours can hop on a call in the evening. Simply use this Google Classroom link to join us.   https://meet.google.com/dxw-kjyq-yrg

Are you excited for Sunday’s Super Bowl? Most of you know I bleed BYU Cougar Blue, but I do root for the Utes when they are not playing the Cougs. I was really hoping for an Utah Rose Bowl win, but sadly they fell a little short of victory. I will be rooting for the Rams on Sunday! There are two former Utes who are key players on the Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl team, safety Eric Weddle, and placekicker Matt Gay. Eric Weddle retired two years ago, but was persuaded to return to football action just prior to the playoffs after the Rams had some injuries. From coaching his son’s 12-year-old Pop Warner football team in Southern California to playing in Super Bowl a month later. Quite a story!

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