alpineweb

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!

Monday, April 25 is a Teacher Work Day. No school for students. The second-grade classes are performing “Glow” this week. Your child’s teacher should have communicated the time of the performance.

We all view life through different lenses, shaped by our own personal experiences. On Friday, we had a Math Madness Week Pi Assembly, as 20 different students shoved pies into my face celebrate meeting their math goals during Math Madness Week. The students, staff, and I had a fun and enjoyable experience. There was one student, however, in the audience who saw the event though a different perspective. We have two Ukrainian refugee students, a boy and girl, both 5^th graders. The young lady was in tears as she saw pie after pie shoved in the principal’s face. It is safe to say that students in Ukraine don’t shove pies into the face of a school leader, and she viewed the pie-in-face assembly as disrespectful to an adult who should be respected. These students left siblings, pets and homes behind in Ukraine, and they can quickly Google the city where they lived and see where bombs have been dropped in their beloved homeland. Though the vast majority in attendance had a lot of fun at the pie assembly, the experience of our refugee student is an important reminder that the world is a lot bigger than Alpine, Utah, often with life changing realities in faraway places.

On Friday, I announced to students, parents and staff that our “One and Done’ fundraiser had brought in a little over $13,000. I forgot that our PTA is donating $5,000 for the purchase of Chromebooks, so in fact we raised $18,000; consequently, we exceeded our $15,000 fundraising goal! I will definitely be sleeping on the roof before the end of the school year. Thank you so much to everyone who donated for “One and Done”, enabling us to purchase updated Chromebooks for our students!

Mrs. Menssen, who has taught 5^th grade this year, will be moving to 4^th grade to be the English Partner Teacher in our Chinese Immersion Program. Mr. Finlayson now needs to hire a 5^th and a 6^th grade teacher. See the attachment for next year’s current staffing assignments

Please submit any Teacher Requests by April 29. The Teacher Request Form is attached and is also available in the office.

Just a reminder that you can bring your ink and toner cartridges to our Staff Room where we have a recycle box. The recycle program brings money to Alpine Elementary.

The following students were recognized as Students of the Week on Friday, April 22. 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 Anson-5th grade, Mrs. Chang

Armor Arkell-1st grade, Ms. Johnson

Pete Ballif-1st grade, Mrs. Faux

Linden Bateman-6th grade, Mrs. Monson

Eliza Christensen-4th grade, Mrs. Vipperman

Benjamin Cluff-2nd grade, Mrs. Orgill

Rosie Ence-1st grade, Ms. Johnson

Easton Hogge-Kindergarten, Mrs. Aitchison

Joy Hung-6th grade, Mrs. Monson

Valentino Mendez-4th grade, Mrs. Keller

Thomas Simmons-Kindergarten, Mrs. Aitchison

Cora Spencer-5th grade, Mrs. Chang

Daisy Taylor-4th grade, Mrs Keller

Marshall White-5th grade, Mrs. Menssen

Akselander Wilcox-1st grade, Mrs. Faux

It was a joyous week in the Perdue family! Our oldest son, Brady, and wife, Whitney, have been trying to start a family for over five years. They have spent thousands of dollars on in vitro procedures, and two of the IVF attempts were unsuccessful. They of course have been devastated by the unsuccessful in vitro attempts.  And Laura and I have experienced the crushing heartache that comes when what one of our children and spouse so desperately want does not happen. Their faith and resolve have been tested, but they continued to believe that one day a child would come into their lives.  Though Brady and Whitney live in Rapid City, SD, IVF attempt number three (first two procedures in Arizona) at a fertility clinic in Pleasant Grove was successful. And at 5:45 am on April 21, Lily Bea Perdue arrived three weeks early, weighing 6 lbs. 4 oz, and measuring 19 inches long! This is grandchild number 15 for Laura and me, but Lily in our hearts and minds is a miracle baby, so our entire family is elated at her safe arrival.

I fully understand that there are many couples who face issues related to infertility, and that not all couples have the outcome that our son and his wife have had. I have a more profound empathy for those wanting to start a family but are unable to do so.

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

It is “One and Done” week! We call our fundraiser “One and Done” because it is only a five-day, one school week fundraising effort. Our goal is to raise $15,000 this week so we can purchase Chromebooks for our students. A student Chromebook only has a five-year life span as supported by the Alpine School District Technology Department; consequently, we have 200 Chromebooks that students are currently using that will be retired in June 2022. A Dell Touchscreen Chromebook costs $304.00 to purchase. We know we won’t be able to replace all 200 Chromebooks that are being retired, but we hope to purchase 1-2 new classroom sets of devices that our students can use next year.

You can make online donations by clicking on this Success Fund link. SuccessFund does attach an administrative fee, so you can subtract that fee from what you want to donate, or pay the additional fee. Please use this link and not the Donate tab on our school website.

You can also send checks (made out to Alpine Elementary) or cash with our child to school. Please place cash or checks in an envelope that your child can give to her/his teacher.

The Alpine Elementary Community has always been so kind and generous for worthy causes, as was the case in November when we raised $20,000 for our sister school, the Candlelight School, in Nairobi, Kenya. We thank you for any donations you can make to bolster the technology resources that our students will use!

There have been some changes in recent days in next year’s staffing assignments:

Parents will be able to make teacher requests. I will be sending out the teacher request information later this week.

The following students were recognized as Students of the Week on Friday, April 15. 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!

Russell Adams-1st grade, Mrs. Faux

Will Gifford-6th grade, Mrs. Reyes

Jackson Gifford-2nd grade, Ms. Andersen

Jacob Manke-1st grade, Mrs. Faux

Kimber Mason-5th grade, Mrs. Menssen

Watson Mathis-3rd grade, Ms. Elder

Claire Owens-2nd grade, Mrs. Orgill

Kennedy Rodman-6th grade, Mrs. Hill

Claire Sampson-2nd grade, Ms. Andersen

Ryder Sterzer- Kindergarten, Mrs. Malone

Vivian Swalberg-Kindergarten, Mrs. Aitchison

Sydney Turner-6th grade, Mrs. Hill

Jack Womble-Kindergarten, Mrs. Malone

Beatrix Wood-Kindergarten, Mrs. Malone

Willa Yeck-Kindergarten, Mrs. Malone

I hope you all had a joyous Easter holiday! The weather cooperated on Saturday, allowing me to get in a 45-mile bike ride in the Northern Utah Valley. And on Sunday, we had our three children who live along the Wasatch Front and 11 grandchildren in our home. The kids had a fun Easter egg hunt. Watching the grandchildren search for eggs in our yard, it is obvious it is time to mow the lawn and pull some weeds. Spring has sprung!

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

I hope that the entire Alpine Elementary Community had a safe and enjoyable Spring Break. Can you believe there are only seven weeks of school left before our Summer Break?

Next year’s principal, Mr. Finlayson, and I are working cooperatively on a transition plan for the 2022 – 2023 school year. At this time, there is only one certified teaching position to fill, and that is our Computer Lab teacher, because the current teacher, Jaime Clement, will be teaching second grade next year. All hiring decisions will be made by Mr. Finlayson from this point forward, as he will be responsible for hiring and evaluation of the entire Alpine Elementary faculty.

Here is a link to sign up for an after school golf program for those that are interested.

Laura and I had a wonderful Spring Break, traveling lots of miles in our car. We drove down to Las Vegas to watch our son, Brady, who lives in Rapid City, SD run and finish his first marathon. From Vegas, we drove to the Pacific Ocean, where we stayed three days on the Oregon Coast in Lincoln City. We then spent the final part of the week in Redmond, our home for 27 years, and where our second daughter and her family now live. I biked in Red Rock State Park in Nevada, the Oregon Coast and in the Cascade Mountains. Watching our grandsons play baseball, seeing a Carrie Underwood performance in Vegas and visiting with many dear friends in Redmond made for a very enjoyable Spring Break!

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

Next week, April 4 – 8, is Spring Break. We hope that the entire Alpine Elementary Community has a Spring Break filled with family time, fun and relaxation, but please be safe in whatever you will be doing!

Once again, our Lost and Found is overflowing, as you can see from the attached photo. We encourage students daily to check the Lost and Found for their personal items. Parents, please come into the school this week and see if your student or students have items in the Lost and Found. Any items not picked up this week will be bagged up during Spring Break and placed in storage until the end of the school year.

Our 6^th grade Battle of the Books team, The Book Busters, which included team members Lexie Orgill, Mollie Otis, Lucy Taylor, Joy Hung and Helen Mains represented Alpine Elementary in the District Battle of the Books Competition on March 26 at AFJHS in an exemplary fashion! Out of the more than 35 teams competing, The Book Busters, finished in the top four teams! We will find out sometime this week whether they finished 2^nd, 3^rd, or 4^th. The girls were amazing, and in the competitive rounds I watched, there was only one question they didn’t know the answer to. We are so grateful to our Librarian, Paula Ruesch, for all she does to make Battle of the Books a reality at Alpine Elementary! We had over 225 3^rd – 6^th graders participate in Battle of the Books this year!

Our fourth graders did an excellent job in their State of Utah Program on March 24. We are grateful to the fourth-grade teachers and a special shout out to our Music Teacher, Melinda Hunt, for all of the time and effort that went into the program preparation. I had one parent, who recently moved to Utah, come up to me after the parent performance, telling me how much she enjoyed the program, and how some of the songs brought tears to her eyes.

We are grateful to anyone who made contributions to our Diaper Drive for Ukrainian refugees. As you can see from the attached photo, our Alpine Elementary Community was very generous with their donations. We appreciate all that parent volunteer, Chelsea Hertig, did to organize the Diaper Drive.

The following students were recognized as Students of the Week on Friday, March 25. 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!

Carter Clark-6th grade, Mrs. Hill

Mia Crump-3rd grade, Mrs. Kaczmarek

Hank Gillespie-3rd grade, Mrs. Kaczmarek

Ellie Greenwood-6th grade, Mrs. Hill

Claire Hamilton-6th grade, Mrs. Monson

Dawson Joseph-Kindergarten, Mrs. Aitchison

Millie Lanham-1st grade, Mrs. Faux

Ella Muskat-6th grade, Mrs. Reyes

Isla Rose Parcell-1st grade, Mrs. Bailey

Sam Petty-4th grade, Mrs. Keller

Wyatt Prasad-1st grade, Mrs. Faux

Isobel Spencer-2nd grade, Mrs. Orgill

Julian Stanley-6th grade, Ms. Kuo

Elle Weichers-5th grade, Mrs. Chang

Caleb Whetten-1st grade, Mrs. Bailey

Anna Willis-4th grade, Ms. Moore

What a beautiful Spring weekend we just experienced! Because of a recent medical procedure, I couldn’t exercise for a week, so it felt good to be back on my bike Saturday morning before watching our students compete in the District Battle of the Books competition. There were lots of people biking, running or walking on the Murdock Trail. And biking up to the top of Suncrest was the both energizing and beautiful. The panoramic view of the Utah Valley, better seen on the descent, always makes me grateful to live in such a beautiful place in the world.

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

Next week, April 4 – 8, is Spring Break. We hope that the entire Alpine Elementary Community has a Spring Break filled with family time, fun and relaxation, but please be safe in whatever you will be doing!

Once again, our Lost and Found is overflowing, as you can see from the attached photo. We encourage students daily to check the Lost and Found for their personal items. Parents, please come into the school this week and see if your student or students have items in the Lost and Found. Any items not picked up this week will be bagged up during Spring Break and placed in storage until the end of the school year.

Our 6^th grade Battle of the Books team, The Book Busters, which included team members Lexie Orgill, Mollie Otis, Lucy Taylor, Joy Hung and Helen Mains represented Alpine Elementary in the District Battle of the Books Competition on March 26 at AFJHS in an exemplary fashion! Out of the more than 35 teams competing, The Book Busters, finished in the top four teams! We will find out sometime this week whether they finished 2^nd, 3^rd, or 4^th. The girls were amazing, and in the competitive rounds I watched, there was only one question they didn’t know the answer to. We are so grateful to our Librarian, Paula Ruesch, for all she does to make Battle of the Books a reality at Alpine Elementary! We had over 225 3^rd – 6^th graders participate in Battle of the Books this year!

Our fourth graders did an excellent job in their State of Utah Program on March 24. We are grateful to the fourth-grade teachers and a special shout out to our Music Teacher, Melinda Hunt, for all of the time and effort that went into the program preparation. I had one parent, who recently moved to Utah, come up to me after the parent performance, telling me how much she enjoyed the program, and how some of the songs brought tears to her eyes.

We are grateful to anyone who made contributions to our Diaper Drive for Ukrainian refugees. As you can see from the attached photo, our Alpine Elementary Community was very generous with their donations. We appreciate all that parent volunteer, Chelsea Hertig, did to organize the Diaper Drive.

The following students were recognized as Students of the Week on Friday, March 25. 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!

Carter Clark-6th grade, Mrs. Hill

Mia Crump-3rd grade, Mrs. Kaczmarek

Hank Gillespie-3rd grade, Mrs. Kaczmarek

Ellie Greenwood-6th grade, Mrs. Hill

Claire Hamilton-6th grade, Mrs. Monson

Dawson Joseph-Kindergarten, Mrs. Aitchison

Millie Lanham-1st grade, Mrs. Faux

Ella Muskat-6th grade, Mrs. Reyes

Isla Rose Parcell-1st grade, Mrs. Bailey

Sam Petty-4th grade, Mrs. Keller

Wyatt Prasad-1st grade, Mrs. Faux

Isobel Spencer-2nd grade, Mrs. Orgill

Julian Stanley-6th grade, Ms. Kuo

Elle Weichers-5th grade, Mrs. Chang

Caleb Whetten-1st grade, Mrs. Bailey

Anna Willis-4th grade, Ms. Moore

What a beautiful Spring weekend we just experienced! Because of a recent medical procedure, I couldn’t exercise for a week, so it felt good to be back on my bike Saturday morning before watching our students compete in the District Battle of the Books competition. There were lots of people biking, running or walking on the Murdock Trail. And biking up to the top of Suncrest was the both energizing and beautiful. The panoramic view of the Utah Valley, better seen on the descent, always makes me grateful to live in such a beautiful place in the world.

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