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Happy New Year!  Hindsight is 20/20, as was the year in our rearview mirror. I can only speak for myself, but I am happy to see the calendar flip over to a new year, and I hope that 2021 enables us to not have “social distancing, quarantine protocols, contact tracing, Zoom meetings, and face masks in school” be a part of our everyday experience and vocabulary.

As we enter a new year, while still dealing with pandemic issues, the staff at Alpine Elementary will continue to make every effort to provide in-person learning opportunities for our students that are following all health and safety protocols, while at the same time giving each and every child an individualized and meaningful learning experience.

Thank you to all the parents who gave me a Christmas gift before the Holiday Break! I made every attempt to personally thank all parents who were kind enough to give me a gift, but I may have missed someone. And for future reference, though all treats, gift cards and gifts are very much appreciated, trusting Alpine Elementary to educate your children, is all I need in the way of holiday giving.

Tuesday, January 5, will be Acadience (formerly DIBELS) Reading Assessments for all K – 3 grade students. Our K – 3 students take the Acadience test three times during the school year, and

Tuesday’s test administration with be the second and middle-of-year reading assessment opportunity. Each K – 3 teacher has a scheduled time to bring students to the library where school district Acadience test administrators will give the reading assessment that measures student proficiency foundational reading skills. The assessment for each student will be brief in duration, lasting no longer that 3-5 minutes, and will give teachers middle-of-the-year feedback on grade level reading benchmarks. 4 – 6 grade students will receive their Acadience Reading Assessment between January 4 – 14 from Alpine Elementary teacher aides.

Alpine School District Nutrition Services has announced that free meals will be provided to all students through the end of the school year.

I have attached the testing schedule for parents who are interested in having their child (grades 3 – 8 in the 2021- 2022 school year) admitted into the Advanced Learning Lab program. Please contact Jamie James [email protected] in the Alpine School District Gifted Services Department if you have any questions.

Laura and I were able to spend a week, December 20 – 27, with our second daughter, Shayla, and her family, in Redmond, Oregon. We lived in Redmond for 27 years with our five children prior to moving to Utah seven years ago, so Christmas 2020 was spent in familiar surroundings. Having said that, the COVID protocols in Oregon are much more restrictive than here in Utah, so aside from a day hike at Smith Rock State Park, we pretty much stayed in our daughter’s home, enjoying the time with three of our grandchildren and their parents.  A BYU football victory in their December 22 bowl game was a nice early Christmas present, and a capstone to a great football season heavily impacted by COVID-19.

Over the Holiday Break, the governor of Oregon, announced that schools can resume in-person learning in 2021. Our three grandchildren in Redmond will step into a school for the first time in the 2020 – 21 school year in mid-February. I am so grateful that even with all of the COVID-19 logistical issues, our students at Alpine Elementary have had the option of face-to-face learning with teachers since August 18, 2020.

I am confident that the approaching new year will be one where we continue to say, “It is a great day to be an Eagle!”

We will be sending you a YouTube link later in the week so parents can watch a livestream of the Christmas Sing 9:30 – 10:30 on Thursday, December 17. If you are unable to watch the livestream, we will send you a link for the recording as soon as it becomes available through YouTube. Each grade level, starting with kindergarten will sing two songs and then return to their classrooms. Because of COVID health restrictions, no parents will be able to watch the performances in-person.

2020, the year of the pandemic, will be a year that will never be forgotten. As we approach the end of the calendar year, encouraging vaccine news is appearing in media outlets.

I would like to express my gratitude to the entire Alpine Elementary Community for joining together and being able to provide in-person school learning opportunities to 665 students from August 18 until the end of the 2020 calendar year. There are many schools across the country that have only been able to provide online learning options for students in this 20 -21 school year, so we are grateful to be able to provide as normal as a learning experience as possible for children in the midst of a pandemic.

Alice Afwai, co-founder of the Candlelight School in Nairobi, Kenya with her husband Fred, sent the following letter after our recent Coin Drive:

The following students were recognized as Students of the Week on Friday, December 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!

Jack Ballif—3^rd grade, Mrs. Duke

Kash Bennett—4^th grade, Mrs. Orgill

Camden Blackham—6^th grade, Ms. Kuo

Livie Frazier—2^nd grade, Ms. Blodgett

Grace Hancock—1^st grade, Mrs. Faux

Brynlee Hughes—1^st grade, Ms. Chou

Arianne Ingo—5^th grade, Mrs. Chang

Truitt Joseph—2^nd grade, Ms. Blodgett

Cody Kitchel—1^st grade, Mrs. Bailey

Dylan Lambert—3^rd grade, Ms. Chen

Gideon Myers—4^th grade, Ms. Vipperman

Kaleb Nay—5^th grade, Mrs. Hill

Pearl Nelson—4^th grade, Ms. A. Moore

Eleanor Oldroyd—2^nd grade, Ms. M. Moore

Enzo Roundy—Kindergarten, Mrs. Aitchison

I hope that our entire Alpine Elementary Community has the happiest of holiday seasons. A wise individual after experiencing some valuable life lessons said the following:

“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store? What if Christmas perhaps means a little bit more.”                                     ~Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

I am confident that the approaching new year will be one where we continue to say, “It is a great day to be an Eagle!”

Thank you for all of your generous donations to our annual Candlelight School Coin Drive! The Coin Drive was rescheduled after the Thanksgiving Holiday this year, but without fail, our annual efforts to help the children in the Candlelight School in Nairobi, Kenya make me so grateful to be a part of the Alpine Elementary Community. In five days, we raised at least $11,000! I say “at least” because there is still money to be counted. Check out the past five-year Coin Drive contribution totals. Thank you!

            2016 – 17      $7,500

            2017 – 18      $8,245

            2018 – 19      $9,170

            2019 – 20      $10,410

            2020 – 21      $11,000

We will be doing our Christmas Sing, K-6 grades, 9:30 – 10:30 am on Thursday, December 17. We will broadcast the grade level performances to parents online. I will send a link to parents prior to the Christmas Sing. Each grade will sing two songs on stage in the gym and then return to their classrooms. If you are not able to watch the live stream, we will send you link later in the day on December 17 or December 18, so you can watch a recording of the performances.

December 18 will be a Minimal Day and students will be dismissed from school at 12:35 pm.

The Alpine School District has received funding to continue the free meal program through the end of the school year.

The following message comes from our PTA:

Teacher and Staff Favorites link 

Thank you, and have a wonderful holiday. 

Today, December 7, is Pearl Harbor Day. That is why flags across the state are at half-mast. 79 years ago today, a surprise attack was launched on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and 2,403 United States citizens perished. This was a 9/11 like experience for past generations, and was the historical event that caused the United States to enter World War II, a war that shaped the destiny of this country. Today we remember those who lost their lives on that tragic day.

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

We are having our annual Candlelight School Coin Drive this week. Any contributions will help feed children at our sister school, the Candlelight School, in Nairobi, Kenya. The plan is for pennies on Monday, nickels on Tuesday, dimes on Wednesday, quarters on Thursday and any amount of money on Friday. Having said that, we understand that because of the pandemic, there is a shortage of coins, so sending any type of money throughout the week will work this year. Here is a short video of the students our Coin Drive will be helping.

We are still looking for volunteers to help with our coin drive this week. If you have a morning that you are available from 9-9:30, we would love to have your help!! You can sign with the link below.

Every year, I receive reports from the teachers about the kindness of our students and their sincere desire to help the students at the Candlelight School in Kenya. In a previous Coin Drive, I had a kindergarten teacher share the following:

And on a post-it note in one of the coin cans, a little girl wrote:

Our Lost and Found is overflowing. Please come to the school and see if your student has any items that have not been claimed in our Lost and Found!

We are still looking for a PTA president for the 21 – 22 school year. We need your help! Please contact me or one of our current PTA co-presidents, Amme Gillespie [email protected],  or Laralee Proctor [email protected].

I hope you all had an enjoyable and relaxing Thanksgiving Break! Did the pandemic alter some of your family gathering plans for Thanksgiving? Our son and daughter-in-law in South Dakota, and my brother and his family in Washington state, were planning on joining us for the holiday, but decided stay home, as a precautionary health measure. We hosted the families of our three children that live along the Wasatch Front, eight adults, and 11 grandchildren. If we were still residents in Oregon, we would have been breaking state guidelines of no gatherings of more than six people. Interestingly, the governor in Oregon encouraged people to call the police if they observed anyone violating the six plus in one household restriction. The 30-years we were able to raise our family in Oregon were wonderful years, but I am grateful to now be a resident of Utah and have in-person learning in our schools, and not have to worry about a neighbor calling the police because of the number of people we had in our home for Thanksgiving.

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

I have seen a lot of expressions of gratitude on social media in recent days. If I was a poster, which I am not, I would shout from the social media rooftops how grateful I am for the Alpine Elementary Community!

As a faculty, we are truly grateful for the incredible students that attend our school, and for parents who are so kind and supportive as we make every effort to help each and every child have the best educational experience possible at Alpine Elementary. None of us has ever experienced a school year while dealing with worldwide pandemic. Indeed, these are challenging times. On a personal note, the strength and optimism I receive while dealing with all of the school issues related to COVID-19, are directly attributable to our amazing students, supportive parents and dedicated staff. Thank you!

We have had one employee and one student added to our COVID-19 dashboard in recent days, but we have had four staff members and one student come off the active virus list. Consequently, we have moved from yellow to green on the Alpine School District COVID-19 dashboard!

 https://alpineschools.org/returntolearn/

Our annual Candlelight School Coin Drive will be November 30 – December 4. See the attached flyer. We need help from parents to count coins on the Coin Drive dates. If you can help, will you please sign-up on the attached document.

Our Lost and Found is overflowing. Please come to the school and see if your student has any items that have not been claimed in our Lost and Found!

We are still looking for a PTA president for the 21 – 22 school year. We need your help! Please contact me or one of our current PTA co-presidents, Amme Gillespie [email protected],  or Laralee Proctor [email protected].

The following students were recognized as Students of the Week on Friday, November 20. 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 Clawson– 5th grade, Mr. Horan

Connor Campbell– 2nd grade, Ms. Blodgett

Rubie Christensen– 1st grade, Ms. Chou

Brinley Cormier– 1st grade, Ms. Johnson

Jackson Gifford– 1st grade, Mrs. Bailey

Clark Greer– PM Kindergarten, Mrs. Malone

Beckham Johnson– 1st grade, Mrs. Bailey

Andi Layton– 2nd grade, Mrs. Wallace

Jones Oldroyd– 4th grade, Mrs. Orgill

Samuel Phillips– 1st grade, Mrs. Faux

Zac Roberts– 5th grade, Mrs. Hill

Cy Slesk– Kindergarten, Mrs. Aitchison

Cade Upshaw– AM Kindergarten, Mrs. Malone

Sophie Womble– 6th grade, Mrs. Reyes

Kate Woodbury– 2nd grade, Ms. Blodgett

I have much to be thankful for in this season of thanksgiving. My faith and family top my gratitude list, and as we welcomed a new grandson, our 14^th grandchild, to the family on November 12, our family has been abundantly blessed! As a pandemic rages across the world, we are all reminded to never take our good health for granted. Most bicyclists don’t venture out into colder weather, but a brisk ride up to Southfork on Saturday morning was my way of expressing gratitude for the good health I enjoy in my sixth decade of life.

Have a safe and relaxing Thanksgiving Break, and as always, remember that it is a great day to be an Eagle!

We were hit hard by the COVID-19 virus last week, as we needed to quarantine our 4^th and 5^th grade Chinese classes because a teacher in each of those grade levels tested positive for the virus. And over the weekend, we needed to call parents of students in our Resource Classroom to inform them that their children will need to quarantine until after the Thanksgiving Break because a teacher’s aide has tested positive. Consequently, we currently have over a hundred students that are quarantined as a result of being in close contact with a teacher or aide who tested positive for the virus.

We currently have six staff members and three students, for a total of nine, who have tested positive for the virus and are on the Current Positive Virus List. Individuals come off this list when they finish their self-isolation period, so the Current Positive Virus List is always fluid. We will drop from nine to six individuals this week, assuming that we don’t have anyone who tests positive this week. If we were to reach a total of 15 people on the list, the Alpine School District would consider a modified schedule at our school. If you have a child who has tested positive for the virus, and is being kept home for self-isolation, please let us know here at the school. Only current active cases.

Last week’s spike in positive COVID—19 cases throughout the state of Utah has also impacted students and staff at Alpine Elementary.

Because of the number of students that are currently quarantined, we are postponing the Candlelight School Coin Drive to November 30 – December 4. We sent out an updated Coin Drive flyer last week.

The following students were recognized as Students of the Week on Friday, November 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!

Will Hanes– 3rd grade, Ms. Elder

Benson Wood– 2nd grade, Ms. Blodgett

Katherine Gerber– 6th grade, Ms. Kuo

Cooper Finlayson– 1st grade, Ms. Chou

Lucy Taylor– 5th grade, Mrs. Hill

Brody Burr– 5th grade, Mrs. Padget

Mason Anderson– 4th grade, Ms. A. Moore

Mary Challis– 1st grade, Mrs. Faux

Clara Hoard– Kindergarten, Mrs. Aitchison

Ada Villareal– 6th grade, Mrs. Monson

Tate Beal– 6th grade, Mrs. Monson

Miley Benson– 2nd grade, Ms. Blodgett

Blake Benson– 4th grade, Ms. Vipperman

Joe Hansen– 2nd grade, Ms. M. Moore

Lucy Bingham– 4th grade, Ms. A. Moore

Sometimes a principal has a week where it seems like he is in the middle of a never-ending sequence of events that are negatively impacting students, parents and staff. Because of COVID-19, last week was one of those weeks for me. But in the darkness of storm clouds a bright light shone through. On November 12, our 14^th grandchild was born in American Fork Hospital. Little Mace Tyler Perdue has helped me to remember and refocus on what is most meaningful in life.

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