May 2022

Can you believe we only have three and a half days left in the school year? Students will be involved in many end-of-year activities in their classes this week. Thursday, May 26 will be a shortened day and students will be dismissed from school at 10:35 am.

Mrs. Aitchison’s kindergarten class will have their graduation at 11:00 am on Tuesday, May 24. Mrs. Malone’s morning and afternoon classes will have their graduation ceremony at 11:00 am on Wednesday, May 25. Both graduation ceremonies will take place in the kindergarten classroom.

We will be having an Awards Assembly, May 24, 2:15 – 3:15 pm in the gym. We will inform parents who have students who will be recognized at the assembly.

The library will be open on Tuesdays 10:00 am – noon on the following summer dates:

May 31

June 7, 21, 28

July 19, 26

August 2

The main office at Alpine Elementary will be open in June and July on Tuesdays, 8:30 am – 12:30 pm.

Because of the generosity of the Alpine Elementary Community, we raised $18,000 in our “One and Done Fundraiser” in April. That money will be used to purchase new Chromebooks for students. Consequently, Mr. Perdue needs to follow through on his promise to students and sleep on the school roof. I will be on the roof in a tent after school on Wednesday, May 25, and will be there when the students arrive for their final day of school on Thursday, May 26. And yes, I will be on the roof all night!

This is a link to a Chinese Summer Camp that is not associated with Alpine Elementary or the Alpine School District, but is being offered by a lady named Su Ma Ma. Please direct all questions to her.

I write parents my final “Outside of the Principal’s Office” in the Eagle News as the time has come to retire and leave the principal’s office after a 38-year career as an educator, 30 years in Oregon, and eight at Alpine Elementary. Many people have asked me how I am feeling as I enter the final week of my professional career. The answer is I am very content, feeling like the time is right to hand Alpine Elementary off to new leadership, next year’s principal, Mr. Finlayson. All of the important student achievement metrics indicate that Alpine Elementary is providing students a high-quality education. We have a dedicated staff who will continue to help all students achieve to their fullest potential.

What a joy and privilege it has been to serve as the principal at Alpine Elementary for the past eight years! I thank the Alpine Elementary Community parents for all of your support as the most effective schools have a strong partnership between parents and school staff. I truly appreciate all the words of kindness and appreciation that have been directed my way since I announced my decision to retire. Whether it be our annual Candlelight School Fundraiser or our recently completed “One and Done Fundraiser”, I have seen time and time again the generosity of the Alpine Elementary Community to do not only what is best for our students but also less fortunate students on the other side of the world. I loved my 30-year educational career in Oregon, but the eight years I have been at Alpine Elementary have been the perfect capstone to my professional journey.

I feel extremely blessed to begin the next chapter of my life with my best friend and forever partner, my beautiful wife, Laura. And so begins our new adventures!

I have fond memories of my time spent at Alpine Elementary, and I will forever say, “It is a great day to be an Eagle!”

School Carnival Happening This Afternoon! – Come celebrate the end of a great school year and come to our school carnival, happening from 4 to 8 pm this afternoon! We’ll have several food trucks there, along with lots of fun activities for the family! Wristbands and tickets sold there (Wristbands: $10 for rides / $12 for unlimited rides and games).

I am attaching our year-end RISE (3 – 6 State Assessment) and Acadience (Foundational K-3 Reading Skills). Our student achievement scores, combined with the highest Dual Language Immersion assessment results in the Alpine School District, clearly indicate that our teachers and support staff are making every effort to help all students achieve to their fullest potential. The Alpine School District has higher state testing scores than other elementary schools in the state of Utah, and Alpine Elementary’s achievement scores exceed the ASD averages. Well done Alpine Elementary students and faculty!

We have had enough kindergarten registrations to receive the necessary staffing from the Alpine School District to return to three sections of kindergarten for the 2022 – 2023 school year! Mrs. Aitchison and Mrs. Malone will each teach a morning section of kindergarten and Mrs. Malone will also teach an afternoon kindergarten class. We are excited that we will have three kindergarten classes as we begin a new school year!

There will be a retirement Open House for Mr. Perdue, Wednesday May 18, 3:30 – 4:30 pm in the gym. No planned program, just a quick meet and greet.

We will be having an Awards Assembly, May 24, 2:15 – 3:15 pm. We will inform parents who have students who will be recognized at the assembly.

The following students were recognized as Students of the Week on Friday, May 13. 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!

Jordan Anderson-3rd grade, Mrs. Chen

Colson Barlow-1st grade, Mrs. Jin

Alivia Barnes-6th grade, Mrs. Monson

Chambers Broadhead-6th grade, Mrs. Hill

Zoi Bruni-6th grade, Mrs. Hill

Kadee Davies-2nd grade, Ms. Andersen

Lincoln Deaton-4th grade, Mrs. Vipperman

Patrick Gheciu-4th grade, Mrs. Keller

Quinn Haas-2nd grade, Mrs. Orgill

Luke Johnson-3rd grade, Mrs. Chen

Frances Johnson-1st grade, Mrs. Jin

Faith Kafi-5th grade, Mrs. Menssen

Cody Kitchel-2nd grade, Ms. Andersen

Chat Lawrence-4th grade, Mrs. Vipperman

Andi Layton-3rd grade, Mrs. Kaczmarek

Fiona Lind-1st grade, Mrs. Jin

Knight Longnecker-4th grade, Mrs. Keller

Brinley Raven-6th grade, Mrs Reyes

Capri Reynolds-1st grade, Miss Johnson

Addison Rose-2nd grade, Mrs. Orgill

Jake Ross-5th grade, Mrs. Menssen

Enzo Roundy-1st grade, Mrs. Jin

Kew Smith-Kindergarten, Mrs. Malone

Daniel Snow-6th grade, Mrs. Monson

Parks Stephan-3rd grade, Mrs. Kaczmarek

Evelyn Stewart-Kindergarten, Mrs. Malone

Zarina Taylor-5th grade, Mrs. Chang

Decker Upshaw-4th grade, Ms. Moore

Violet Warren-3rd grade, Mrs. Chen

Jane Wilson-6th grade, Mrs. Reyes

Calvin Wood-6th grade, Mrs. Hill

Danielle Zaharias-6th grade, Mrs. Reyes

As our grandchildren get older, Laura and I have to make decisions about what activities to attend. On Saturday, we watched a four-year-old girls soccer game (more like a bunch of giggling girls in a tight beehive formation) and two of our grandsons play a flag football game. We missed seeing our 14-year-old grandson who lives in Daybreak and his team win the state rugby championship for their age group. And I really wish I could have been in Oregon to see our grandson who is a freshman at Redmond High School hit a home run to win the game against the cross-town rival high school. The video from our daughter helped us to experience our grandson’s joy, along with teammates and coaches. Retirement will give Laura and I more opportunities to share these fun times with our grandchildren!

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

We have had enough kindergarten registrations to receive the necessary staffing from the Alpine School District to return to three sections of kindergarten for the 2022 – 2023 school year! Mrs. Aitchison and Mrs. Malone will each teach a morning section of kindergarten and Mrs. Malone will also teach an afternoon kindergarten class. Mrs. Malone’s magnanimous gesture of being willing to reduce her teaching hours to half-time to be able to continue to work and collaborate with Mrs. Aitchison is one of the more selfless gestures from a teacher I have seen in my career, but that teaching schedule won’t be necessary. And now, thankfully, we will return to our historical level of having three kindergarten classes at Alpine Elementary.

Thank you to all parents and staff members who helped with the 6^th grade dance, Springtime in Paris, on May 6. Our 6^th graders looked awesome in their fine attire and had fun at the dance.

On Friday night, Laura and I had the privilege of joining with our Movement Teacher, Angela Tanner, and her husband, Dave, at the Sorension Legacy Awards Dinner at the University Parkway Hotel in Salt Lake City, where Mrs. Tanner was recognized as the state of Utah 2021 Elementary Dance/Movement Teacher of the Year! Mrs. Tanner was one of many Beverly Taylor Sorenson arts teachers from the state of Utah who received recognitions for their outstanding arts instruction to the students with whom they work. Congratulations, Mrs. Tanner!

All library books are due this week!  Books can be paid for on MySchoolFees.com or here at the school. Students with all their books returned can win prizes at the Buy One Get One Free book fair during their library time this week. Parents are welcome to contact me if they have any questions.

Buy One Get One Free Book Fair Hours

Monday 12:00 – 4:00 pm

Tues-Thurs 8:45 am – 4:00 pm

Friday 8:45 am – 1:00 pm

We will be having an Awards Assembly, May 24, 2:15 – 3:15 pm. We will inform parents who have students who will be recognized at the assembly.

The following students were recognized as Students of the Week on Friday, May 6. 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!

Spencer Bergquist-3rd grade, Mrs. Kaczmarek

Bryce Bird-4th grade, Mrs. Keller

Kai Campbell-1st grade, Mrs. Faux

Max Dominguez-2nd grade, Mrs. Orgill

Benson Elder-3rd grade, Ms. Elder

Sydney Hogge-3rd grade, Ms. Elder

Daniel Mellor-1st grade, Mrs. Faux

Cache Owens-5th grade, Mrs. Menssen

Jane Rasmussen-6th grade, Mrs. Hill

Phoenix Reinwand-3rd grade, Mrs. Kaczmarek

Rachel Schmidt-6th grade, Mrs. Hill

Quail Smith-2nd grade, Mrs. Orgill

Colin Spigarelli-5th grade, Mrs. Menssen

Monte Wood-Kindergarten, Mrs. Malone

Rory Zito-Kindergarten, Mrs. Malone

One of the unexpected advantages of recovering from my knee replacement surgery on April 25 is that I am not able to do any yard work in my compromised health condition. I am fortunate to have a wife who is picking up yard maintenance, in addition to everything else she is doing for her essentially helpless husband while he recovers from his knee surgery.

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

Monday, May 2 is Acadience Reading Assessment Day for our K – 3 graders. This will be the third Acadience diagnostic assessment for our students as student basic foundational reading skills are measured for the final time in the 2021 – 2022 school year.

Our 5^th graders practice for Hope of America today at the Marriott Center. The parent Hope of America Program will be May, 3, 6:00 – 8:00 pm in the Marriott Center.

This year, our 5^th graders will not be staying overnight at Clear Creek. They will travel to and return from Clear Creek on May 5.

Our 6^th graders will be having their Sixth Grade Dance, 1:15 – 3:15 pm, on Friday, May 6 in the gymnasium.

The Alpine Elementary faculty was recognized and honored last week for Staff Appreciation Week. Food trucks, ongoing treats in the staff room, parent volunteers walking students to lunch so teachers could have a little extra break time, personalized cookies, staff drawings, a beautiful balloon arch, and a delicious lunch were just some of the ways our staff was recognized. There were multiple parent volunteers who helped last week, but special recognition needs to go to Mary Field for all she did to make our staff feel appreciated. Additionally, for the final time after many years of preparing and serving meals to our staff, we thank Cherie’s Kelly and her team for another incredible staff lunch. Every staff member at Alpine Elementary says a huge “thank you” to all that was done for staff last week. The Alpine Elementary Community truly made the entire staff feel honored and appreciated!

We are sad to soon be saying goodbye to Mr. Perdue, Mrs. Vipperman, and Mrs. Keller, who will all be retiring at the end of this school year. If you choose to do so, we’d love to collect as many well wishes for them as possible! Here is a link to a simple Google Form where you can submit a message for them to read, including perhaps one of your favorite memories or even a picture. We will compile your thoughts and present them to these wonderful individuals at the end of the year!

Please submit your thoughts by the end of day next Friday, May 6th.

An Open House will be held for Mr. Perdue, May 18, 3:30 – 4:30 pm in the school gym.

Last week, I shared the joyous news of our 15^th grandchild being born to our son and his wife after five years of trying to start a family.

This week, a medical procedure made the past seven days not so fun. Full knee replacement surgery, rehab and recovery, ain’t for wimps! According to the doctor, the surgery on April 25 went well, but the reality of a full-knee replacement is your entire leg is cut open so that the worn-out natural knee can be removed and an artificial knee can be inserted. The trauma to the entire leg is significant, resulting in bruising from toes to hip. Post-surgery pain, lack of sleep, leg swelling, painful rehab exercises and constipation are all post-surgical realities. A painful grind, but a necessary process that will in a coming day be worth the effort. I’m at work today, but it is already clear that I will only be able to work a partial day.

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