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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!

We are encouraging teachers to schedule online parent/teacher conferences this week. If parents would prefer to meet in-person with their child’s teacher, you can still do so, but an online conference is encouraged during for this week’s conferences. Teachers will be scheduling conferences with parents on Skyward. Contact your student’s teacher if you have any questions.

February 4 will be a Teacher Work Day; consequently, there will be no school for students on Friday.

The Alpine Elementary staff was as surprised as parents at the announcement last week from the Alpine School District Board of Education that we would be making a daily schedule change starting on January 31. That decision was put on pause, so we continue with our current schedule until the Board gathers more input from ASD stakeholders. This is the message all parents received last week from the ASD School Board:

As many of you may have heard, the Board of Education has been studying ways to address teacher fatigue while keeping students in school, face-to-face, every day. Although a decision was made in last night’s board meeting to implement a temporary schedule adjustment, the board has now requested a pause to allow for further study and review of operational challenges, feedback, and logistics.

We apologize for any confusion this has created for you and your student. The board will be considering additional solutions to address teacher fatigue and student absenteeism. We want to make sure that decisions made don’t increase teacher burden or negatively impact student learning. Schools will continue on the normal schedule until further notice.

It’s Book Fair Time! We’re so excited and hope you’ll stop by and pick up some great books to read. (All purchases benefit our school library.)

Book Fair Hours:

Jan. 31st & Feb. 1st

8:30 am – 4:00 pm

Feb. 2nd & 3rd

8:30 am – 7:00 pm

Feb. 4th Closed

No school for students

Feb. 7th Chinese Lantern Festival

8:30 am – 8:00 pm

Be sure to complete the attached Reading Bingo card. Return it to the library on Monday, February 7th to be entered in our prize drawing.

We are in need of a teacher aide to work in a 5^th grade classroom, 9:15 am – 2:15 pm. Please email Mr. Perdue if you are interested in a TA job or if you have any questions. The job pays $11.28 an hour unless applicants have previous experience working in schools.

Spirit Night this Wednesday, Feb. 2nd at the NEW Zupas from 4-9 pm – Come to the brand-new Cafe Zupas in Highland for an easy house-made meal, and Alpine Elementary PTA will earn 25% back! There are 3 ways to order (remember to mention the fundraiser for us to get credit!): 1) Run through their new drive-thru, 2) Drop in, in-person (right after parent-teacher conferences, right?!), or 3) Order online or via their mobile app – mention FUNDRAISER25 in the coupon code (Also, you can choose for a delivery option through the app/online also!).

Dad Help Before School – The Alpine Elementary PTA is helping us round up some dad helpers (or grandfathers, uncles, or other dudes!) to help monitor outside the school while kids are out waiting to be let inside. We are looking for dads/dudes who can help monitor outside the school on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8:45 to 9:15 am. Please sign up on this Google doc to help or make sure to let those gentlemen know we would love to have them on board!

Chinese Lantern Festival – The PTA is hosting the school’s third annual Chinese Lantern Festival the week of February 7 – 11! There are quite a few things to be aware of for that week:

Daphne Anderson-6th grade, Ms. Kuo

Lexi Cann-5th grade, Mr. Horan

Landon Deveraux-Kindergarten, Mrs. Aitchison

Terry Dilts-3rd grade, Ms. Elder

Rosie Ence-1st grade, Ms. Johnson

Gracie Gillespie-6th grade, Mrs. Hill

Dresden Hansen-1st grade, Mrs. Faux

Max Hertig-Kindergarten, Mrs. Aitchison

Adaline Larkin-Kindergarten, Mrs. Malone

Kayleigh Nelsen-5th grade, Mrs. Chang

Lewis Olson-Kindergarten, Mrs. Malone

Madi Sardoni-4th grade, Mrs. Keller

William Stewart-1st grade, Mrs. Bailey

Aksel Tedrow-1st grade, Ms. Johnson

Thor Tom-4th grade, Ms. Moore

With my wife, Laura, being in Oregon watching grandchildren for the past 10 days, I have relied on eating establishment gift cards and my own unique cooking skills. Did you know the microwave oven was introduced in 1967, and only became affordable to families in the late 1970’s? I can assure you that microwaves still are common household appliances in the 21^st century and are the go-to cooking method for some people who prefer a quick meal or are too lazy to cook. Frozen chicken pot pies and burritos really make tasty meals!

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

With the recent COVID spike, we are encouraging teachers to schedule online parent/teacher conferences the first week in February. If parents would prefer to meet in-person with their child’s teacher, you can still do so, but an online conference is encouraged during this pandemic resurgence. Teachers will be scheduling conferences with parents on Skyward. Contact your student’s teacher if you have any questions.

Some of you may have watched or listened to last week’s emergency school board meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss board plans for dealing with the recent COVID resurgence. As I listened to the meeting, my primary take away is that the Alpine School District School Board thinks that in-person learning for students is a much better option than online learning, and they are committed to making traditional in-person learning happen for the 80,000 students in the ASD while at the same time ensuring the health and safety of all children.

We are in need of a teacher aide to work in a 5^th grade classroom, 9:15 am – 2:15 pm, Monday – Friday. Please email Mr. Perdue if you are interested in a TA job or if you have any questions.

We recently received the Alpine School District results in the Assessment of Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL) that our 3^rd – 6^th grade Chinese Immersion students take each year. Check out our scores and how we compare with other Chinese Immersion Schools and all of the Dual Language Immersion (DLI) schools in the ASD. You will see that all of our Chinese Immersion teachers are doing incredible work, and our AAPPL scores compare very favorably with the other DLI schools in the ASD. Google tells me that gàn dé hÇŽo translates to well done in Mandarin. Gàn dé hÇŽo Alpine Elementary Chinese Immersion teachers!

Junior Achievement – We are grateful to all who have signed up to volunteer with the Junior Achievement program! The orientation meeting is today at 2:45 pm in the school library. Come sign a waiver, pick up your classroom kit and ask any questions of our JA representative Melanie Harker.

Dad Help Before School – The Alpine Elementary PTA is helping us round up some dad helpers (or grandfathers, uncles, or other dudes!) to help monitor outside the school while kids are out waiting to be let inside. We are looking for dads/dudes who can help monitor outside the school on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8:45 to 9:15 am, starting tomorrow! Please sign up on this Google doc to help.

Chinese Lantern Festival – The PTA is hosting the school’s third annual Chinese Lantern Festival the week of February 7 – 11! Your student(s) should have brought home a flyer in the next day or so that explains the rules for creating a lantern. Lanterns are due back to your student’s homeroom by February 3. in time for the evening Chinese Lantern Festival Arts Night taking place February 7 from 6 to 8 pm. That night, 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! Also, we are looking for some extra help in classrooms that evening, and there are some one-hour shifts available (one shift from 6 to 7 pm and another from 7 to 8 pm). If you have an hour that night, we would greatly appreciate your help! Sign up here.

Note about COVID – Just a quick note about COVID. The evening celebration is an optional activity – feel free to come only if you are comfortable. We do suggest wearing masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. We will also continue to follow COVID safety protocols outlined by Alpine School District. If you have any concerns regarding these PTA-sponsored activities, please contact Suzanne Campbell, Alpine Elementary PTA President, at [email protected].

Kindergarten parents interested in applying to the first grade Chinese Immersion Program can go to the Alpine Elementary website and find both the application and an orientation video that replaces the orientation meeting we have had in previous years. Applications are due January 31.

Aaron Arkell-3rd grade, Mrs. Kaczmarek

Kennedy Burgess-Kindergarten, Mrs. Aitchison

Brynlee Cann-3rd grade, Mrs. Chen

Liam Casey-4th grade, Mrs. Vipperman

Lyla Ence-6th grade, Mrs. Hill

Livie Frazier-3rd grade, Mrs. Chen

Jonah Goodfellow-Kindergarten, Mrs. Aitchison

Mackenzie Jones-3rd grade, Mrs. Kaczmarek

Charlie Lind-4th grade, Ms. Moore

Timmy Lyon-5th grade, Mrs. Menssen

Sage Nielsen-1st grade, Ms. Johnson

Tristan Pontarelli-1st grade, Mrs. Faux

Benson Reynolds-1st grade, Mrs. Bailey

Ellie Slesk-6th grade, Ms. Kuo

Abe Woodman-5th grade, Mr. Horan

My wife is watching grandchildren in Oregon for 10 days while their parents are on a Caribbean cruise, so I am batching it at home. Fortunately, there were some very exciting NFL football games to watch on Saturday and Sunday. If you are an NFL fan, the four divisional games over the weekend were the best that I can ever remember. Hope your favorite team will be playing on Sunday for a chance to go to the Super Bowl.

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

The Alpine School District went to online learning days on January 14 and 18 because of the increasing number of students and staff who have tested positive for COVID or the Omicron Variant. Since all of the schools in the ASD are experiencing staff illnesses the teacher substitute system has not been able to keep up with the number of jobs that need to be filled. As I write this, we know of three teachers who will not be at work tomorrow and no substitutes have picked up their jobs. Consequently, we need to have Teacher Aides cover classes, or when we can’t find a Teacher Aide, we combine classes, creating some large class sizes for one teacher. We are hopeful that this recent surge of COVID positive cases will abate, allowing our faculty and students to return to their normal health.

Needless to say, we are in desperate need of substitute teachers! If parents are interested in being a substitute teacher in our school or just in their child’s classroom, go to: ess.com/alpine/.

The COVID health and safety protocols for the Alpine School District have not changed. The ASD has ongoing communication with the Utah County Health Department, and to date, more restrictive protocols have not been implemented. And though masks are not required, parents can choose to have their children wear a mask at school.

We are in need of a 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.

 https://www.lonepeakpolice.com/employment

Applications for the 2022 – 23 first grade Chinese Immersion Program are due January 31. You can find the application and orientation video about our Dual Language Immersion Program on the Alpine Elementary website.

Even though I have been vaccinated and have had the COVID booster, I was notified on January 10 that I had tested positive for COVID. I had no symptoms and the only reason I took the COVID test is because I had an elective surgical procedure scheduled on January 13. I needed to isolate at home for five days, and over that time I did experience some coldlike symptoms: headache, runny nose, slight cough. Those symptoms would not have prompted me to get a COVID test if not for the elective surgery. I would have thought just another annoying winter cold. The symptoms are gone and I am back to work, wearing a mask. This virus seems to be random in who contracts COVID, even after vaccination and booster shots. Fortunately, my wife has remained symptom and virus free, which we hope continues, as she is scheduled to fly to Oregon on Thursday and watch three of our grandchildren for 10 days. I had hoped that in my final year of work before retiring, I would be off the COVID-19 rollercoaster. No such luck!

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

There has been a recent resurgence in the number of students and adults who are contracting the COVID-19 virus or the Omicron variant. Alpine Elementary follows all state and local pandemic prevention guidelines. The Alpine School District works closely with the Utah County Health Department to determine how to ensure a safe learning environment for students and safe working conditions for faculty. There are currently no changes in Alpine Elementary safety protocols, but you will be informed if more rigorous protocols are deemed necessary by the State of Utah, the Utah County Health Department and the ASD.

We are in need of a 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.

 https://www.lonepeakpolice.com/employment

Spirit Night Thursday, January 13th at FIIZ – This Thursday, ALL DAY, stop by FIIZ in Highland for a drink! FIIZ will donate 10% of the entire day’s total to our PTA! So tell your friends/family to stop by FIIZ in Highland this Thursday!

Kindergarten parents interested in applying to the first grade Chinese Immersion Program can go to the Alpine Elementary website and find both the application and an orientation video that replaces the orientation meeting we have had in previous years. Applications are due January 31.

Preschool registration is approaching January 19th at 10:00am.  Attached are the fliers for Preschool Open Enrollment.

Benson Anderson-3rd grade, Ms. Elder

Banks Anderson-2nd grade, Mrs. Orgill

Jaxton Bennett-6th grade, Mrs. Hill

Hudson Bruce-Kindergarten, Mrs. Aitchison

Jamison Bruce-5th grade, Ms. Dale

Ivy Christensen-Kindergarten, Mrs. Aitchison

Carter Clegg-2nd grade, Mrs. Orgill

Lily Goodwin-6th grade, Mrs. Monson

Clark Greer-1st grade, Mrs. Bailey

Millie Johnson-5th grade, Mrs. Chang

Daisy McConnon-1st grade, Mrs Bailey

Vaughn Nash-4th grade, Mrs. Keller

Annabelle Rodman-1st grade, Mrs. Faux

Miles Taylor-4th grade, Ms. Moore

It is basketball season in our family. Three grandsons, ages 8 – 14, had games on Saturday, and then Laura and I completed the day by going to the Marriott Center and watching the BYU men’s basketball team prevail over St. Mary’s. And the sunny though cold weather permitted a morning bike ride.

Speaking of basketball, did you see the video that went viral over the Holiday Break?

Kathleen Fitzpatrick, otherwise known as Ms. Fitz, decided to make a deal with her third-grade class at Holy Trinity School in Washington D.C. The deal was if she made a full-court shot on the school’s basketball court, she would reward the class with a hot chocolate party. Receiving the ball from a student in a lion costume and hitting a half-court shot, followed by the reaction of Ms. Fitz’s students. Is there anything better than spontaneous student joy?

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

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.

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.

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.

 https://www.lonepeakpolice.com/employment

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:

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!”

As we enter our final week of school in 2021, I want to wish the entire Alpine Elementary Community the happiest of holiday seasons. May your greatest gift be the quality time you spend with family and friends!

Our students will be performing for parents in our annual Christmas Sing at 9:30 am on Thursday, December 16. All grade levels will sing two songs on the gym stage stairs, starting with preschoolers at 9:30 am and finishing with our sixth graders.

December 17 is a Minimal Day and students will be dismissed at 12:45 pm. Students wanting a school lunch will be served lunch at the following times and will return to their classrooms to eat. There will be no lunch recess on the Minimal Day.

1^st Grade—11:50

2^nd Grade—11:55

3^rd Grade—12:00

4^th Grade—12:05

5^th Grade—12:10

6^th Grade—12:15

The snowfall last week was an early Christmas gift for our state that is experiencing depleted water levels. And a welcome sight for the winter sports enthusiasts!  On snowy roads, please allow extra driving time and be cautious while driving your students to school.

Our Lost and Found is overflowing! Students walk by the Lost and Found daily, but not very many items are being reclaimed. All parents are welcome to come to the school and look for your students’ missing items in the Lost and Found. Or if you are planning on coming to the Christmas Sing, you can check the Lost and Found for any missing items your student might have.

As we told you during our Candlelight School Coin Drive, the money raised is used to feed children at the school. Fred and Alice Afwai, the founders of the school, send us receipts for the purchased food. We recently received receipts for 50 bags of beans purchased for 300,000 shillings = $2688.33, and 100 bags of maize (corn meal) for 250,000 shillings = $2223.61. We are so grateful that the Alpine Elementary contribution is feeding hungry children in Nairobi, Kenya!

Parents of current kindergartners can apply for admission to the first grade Chinese Immersion Program at Alpine Elementary, December 15 – January 31. Here is the link to the Alpine School District Dual Language Immersion application site.

Students participating in Battle of the Books and who have read at least three books will have a pizza party in the library on the following days:

5^th Grade—Monday, December 13

6^th Grade—Tuesday, December 14

At the party, students will eat lunch in the library and are assigned to teams. They also get a cool t-shirt and will start collaborating and strategizing as a team.

A huge thank you to Danny and Chelsea Hertig of Riley’s Carpet Cleaning for sponsoring our Battle of the Books program this year! And another huge thank you to Stewart Goodwin of Goodwin Media for the awesome t-shirt design!

The following students were recognized as Students of the Week on Friday, December 10. 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!

Jane Adams-6th grade, Ms. Kuo

Piper Ainge-4th grade, Mrs. Vipperman

Rockwell Alexander-6th grade, Mrs. Reyes

Harrison Barrett-2nd grade, Ms. Andersen

Jacob Buchanan-5th grade, Mrs. Menssen

Sarah Buchanan-3rd grade, Mrs. Chen

Lacey Frazier-1st grade, Mrs. Faux

Elizabeth Hymas-Kindergarten, Mrs. Malone

Anders Lind-5th grade, Mrs. Chang

Helena Mercado-Kindergarten, Mrs. Malone

Landon Reynolds-6th grade, Mrs. Hill

Daxton Reynolds-1st grade, Mrs. Faux

Michael Reynolds-1st grade, Ms. Johnson

Liv Reynolds-4th grade, Mrs. Vipperman

Ava Scoville-6th grade, Ms. Kuo

Most of you know my primary hobby and form of exercise is pedaling a road bike or the Peloton in our basement. Because I am ultra-competitive, and at my current stage of life, I only compete against myself. Consequently, I use an app called Strava to track all of my rides. I am always interested in how far I have ridden, how long I’m on the bike, my average miles per hours, and the average watts generated on each ride. I recently wanted to know how many miles I had ridden in 2021. I was surprised to learn that I have pedaled a bike 3,339 miles for the calendar year to date. By my calculations, that distance would be the equivalent of biking from my home in Cedar Hills to New York City, and I would currently be in Omaha, Nebraska on my homeward bound trip. Amazing how the little milestones in life over time add up to significant accomplishments!

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

With some late donations, we increased out total contribution level to $20,000, an all-time high, for the Candlelight School in Nairobi, Kenya! We are so grateful to the entire Alpine Elementary Community for the generous donations that will help feed children in Nairobi, Kenya. I received the following message from Fred Afwai, who cofounded the school with his wife Alice:

Dear Mr. Perdue

Much greetings from us here in Kenya. On behalf of Candlelight Schools I wish to take this moment to thank you and the Alpine School Community for all the support you’ve shown us throughout the years we have partnered with your school.

You’ve always been people I could call our “biggest supporters.” What it means the most to us is that you take extra miles to ensure our children are well taken care of. We always appreciate your continued generosity towards us and always feel loved.

May our Loving Heavenly Father bless you all

Fred Afwai

Congratulations to the Alpine Eagle Choir for their outstanding performances for staff, students and parents last week! We are sad the choir won’t get to perform at the same venues as previous years, but pandemic after effects rear their ugly head. And a huge shout out to Music Teacher and Choir Director, Melinda Hunt, for the passion and love of music that she shares with our choir students.

December PTA Swag Giveaway! – Just a reminder that TODAY is our final day for our Swag Giveaway! All you have to do to enter the Giveaway is follow @alpineelementarypta (one word) on Instagram or Alpine Elementary PTA on Facebook and tag one Alpine Elementary friend per comment! The more tags you have, the more chances to win! The Giveaway is open until TONIGHT at 10 pm and then we’ll announce the winners. Winners receive FREE long-sleeve Alpine Elementary shirts for ALL the elementary kids in your household, as well as FREE Chick-fil-A meals for your family! A second-place winner will get a family Chick-fil-A pack too!

Spirit Store Open for Orders Until Dec. 8th – Our new Alpine Elementary Spirit Store is open online for orders until Dec. 8th! This includes newly-designed long-sleeve and short-sleeve shirts, sweatshirts, and blankets. You can choose colors and create spirit wear that your kids will love. Get your order in for Christmas now!

Our School Community Council will be meeting 9:30 – 10:30 am on Thursday, December 9 in our Conference Room. Any parent is welcome to attend.

Students participating in Battle of the Books and who have read at least three books will have a pizza party in the library on the following days:

4^th Grade—Thursday, December 9

3^rd Grade—Friday, December 10

5^th Grade—Monday, December 13

6^th Grade—Tuesday, December 14

At the party, students will eat lunch in the library and are assigned to teams. They also get a cool t-shirt and will start collaborating and strategizing as a team.

A huge thank you to Danny and Chelsea Hertig of Riley’s Carpet Cleaning for sponsoring our Battle of the Books program this year! And another huge thank you to Stewart Goodwin of Goodwin Media for the awesome t-shirt design!

The following students were recognized as Students of the Week on Friday, December 3. 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!

Brigham Adams-4th grade, Mrs. Keller

Levi Andersen-3rd grade, Ms. Elder

Kenzie Bennett-3rd grade, Mrs. Kaczmarek

Ethan Chi-3rd grade, Mrs. Chen

Oscar Clarke-5th grade, Ms. Dale

Anna Rose Cox-3rd grade, Mrs. Chen

Jude Crump-1st grade, Mrs. Bailey

Olivia Heath-4th grade, Ms. Moore

Hattie Jones-5th grade, Mr. Horan

Eliza Merrell-Kindergarten, Mrs. Aitchison

Elliot Nash-Kindergarten, Mrs. Aitchison

MaryKate Smith-1st grade, Mrs. Bailey

Grace Verzello-2nd grade, Ms. Andersen

Lila Woodbury-1st grade, Ms. Johnson

I promise I will not give you a weekly update of my weekend BYU sports viewing experiences, but the BYU women’s soccer team’s incredible semifinal win over Santa Clara Friday night actually has an Alpine Elementary connection. After two scoreless 45-minute halves and two ten-minute overtimes, the game was decided by penalty kicks. Alternating kicks by each team, and the team who scores the most goals after five kicks wins the game, unless more kicks are needed. Take seven minutes out of your life and watch this. So incredibly nerve wracking and exciting in real time!

The goal keeper for BYU, Cassidy Smith, is a former Alpine Elementary student. She is a triplet and has seven sisters. The youngest Smith sister is a second grader at our school. And who taught Cassidy in sixth grade? Our own Mrs. Monson!

If you are interested, BYU plays Florida State for the National Championship at 6:00 pm on Monday evening, and the game can be viewed on ESPNU.

What if we celebrated academic growth, student achievement, and individual light bulb moments at Alpine Elementary like these other BYU athletic teams rejoiced in the women’s soccer team’s victory?

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