STAFF MEMBERS

Bulldog Bulletin

* Skyler Brill V O L U ME

1,

I S S UE

9

FEB R U AR Y

1 5,

201 8

*Nolan Hankins

*Branson Smith

Advisors:

*Luke Anliker

*Annie Stiasny

Something To Know About 4th Grade Do you want to know something? “The fourth grade class rocks!!!” We have made huge gains from August to January and it really shows. Our teacher couldn’t be more proud of us. Right now, we are learning how to write, not only how to write a paragraph, but we are learning how to put some voice and excitement into our writing. We love our iPads, so we are using them to research a topic we are passionate about, and then we will use our voice to show that passion in writing. We have been learning how to organize and write multi-paragraph essays and WOW are we writing some wonderful things. Our Math skills are also improving. We use Reflex Math every day and our morning games are the best. Just ask any of us what our favorite part of Math is and we will tell you, “The game we play with the flash cards.” We also have something new called Splash Math on the iPads. It helps us with skills learned in class and gives us more practice. One last but equally exciting thing about fourth grade is we are getting ready for our field trip. We will be riding the Durango Narrow Gauge Train to Cascade Canyon and back. The train fits so well in our Colorado History as we learn all about the early settlers of Colorado. As a school group, we get a special price and our parents can ride for a special price too. We will be going in April, so we hope that the weather for us is warm. There are so many other things that are happening in fourth grade, but there is not enough room here to write them all. Let’s just finish the way we started, “We rock in fourth grade!”

School Board Discusses College Trips, Rico School Being the first meeting of the new year, the school board room was full of people waiting to report on what they have been doing this year. One of the first things presented was Eric Stiasny going through the agenda on this years biannual college and career readiness trip. This is a five day trip exclusively for freshmen and sophomores to travel across Colorado to different colleges and businesses. The purpose of this trip is to inspire the students to discover what they are interested in and perhaps make a clear path on what they want to do post high school. Stiasny explained some stops on the agenda including: Adams State University, Hammond Candy Factory, Denver International Airport, Colorado School of Mines, Anadarko Petroleum, a local fire station in Grand Junction, and even Spyderco Knife Company. “The first time we took this trip was a bigger success than we could have even guessed. The students had a blast, we received several comments on how well they behaved, and we even had some decide on colleges they wanted to attend based on the places we visited. Stiasny said, “the bar is set high this year and the other sponsors and I are excited”. The trip will take place from March 5th- March 9th and students must be eligible to attend. Moving forward, Kristina Garcher reported on all the things they are doing in Kindergarten, Garver spoke about the new Math structure they are providing in the MS/HS, and Prenteal Coker gave her first ever board report. “I’m learning a lot as I go and definitely getting my feet wet in the process” she stated. Crystal Proffitt spoke about this year in ESS, and Shane Baughman reported on Athletics and his Physical Education classes. “We are doing some updating with the weightroom this year and a few other projects that will help our athletics out a lot,” he said. Finally, after a lot of careful consideration, the board moved forward with the plan of closing the Rico school. It seemed to be a tough and heartfelt decision for the board, but one that they knew they would eventually have to make. Linda Yellowman explained that the Rico community was well aware of the decision and had several discussions as a town on the issue before this meeting. The future use of the building is unclear at this time, however the board has been discussing plans with the Telluride School District so that it does not sit empty. The Newsletter Staff would like to say thank you to the board of education for all that they do for the district and the community. It is so often a thankless and forgotten position and we are extremely grateful for all the time and effort you put into making our school great. Thank you!

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK We want to hear from you! Your feedback is very important to us, so whether you'd like to compliment an outstanding teacher or provide feedback about improving our school, your questions are welcome. The editor will be responding to these letters in the following newsletter. Please note: while we appreciate all feedback, we may be unable to respond to every submission. Send your feedback to [email protected].