Happy New Year and welcome to 2010! The beginning of a new year is always exciting as we reflect on the good times, lessons learned, and struggles overcome in the past year and then make goals, prioritize, and look forward with hope to the year which is coming. This year, however, is even more unique because it closes one decade and ushers in another.
For me, personally, it is remarkable to think that I am completing my 14th year in Alpine School District-as a teacher, an assistant principal, and now as principal. My five years here at Lindon Elementary have been fantastically rewarding because of my asssociation with the parents, students, and staff here. Thank you for your friendship and support.
Over the Christmas Break (in between eating, sledding, ipening presents, shoveling snow, and visiting with friends and family) I did reflect on the school year so far and what we could do better in the future. Several items came to mind, but one in particular stood out. Maybe it was because we had just completed it, or maybe it was because I was listening to Christmas carols all break long, but I kept thinking that our Christmas Sing could have been even better if we had been able to provide comfortable, unobstructed accommodations for all of our guests.
Drovers of wonderful patrons eagerly came to support us that afternoon, but many were unable to fully enjoy the festive performances because they had to park two blocks away only to be suck in a hallway, stand on tiptoes, or mash into a hot, crowded corner. Regrettablly, this led to some disappointmentand discomfort and I apologize. One idea is to split up the performances so that K-3rd students perform from 1:30-2:20 and then 4th-6th students perfomr from 2:40-3:30. This would reduce some of the congestion and provide better seating and views. However, this would mean that some siblings would not be able to see each other perfoem and it wuld also mean that parents with both lower-grade and upper-grade studetns would have a longer afternoon. It would also create a parking nightmare because we would have many parents leaving and arriving at the same time. Plus, we would not be able to sing the beloved "Merry Christmas, Lindon Elementary" song without all of the students present at the same time.
Therefore, what I propose is that next year we do the Christmas Sing twice- once on Monday, December 20th for all families that have last names A-M and agian on Tuesday, December 21st for all families that have last names N-Z. Obviously, if a grandparent, father,or some family member could make it on the assigned day they would be welcome to come the other day. But, if most visitors came on their assinged day, we would be able to provide better seating and a decent view for all, reduce traffic issues, allow siblings to see one another perform, and still keep the beloved "Merry Christmas, Lindon Elementary" song intact. The only drawback is that we would lose an additional 1.5 hours of instruction, but given the time of the year, and the great memories made, I think this is worth the time. Here's looking hopefully forward to the 2010 Christmas Sing!
Important Handouts (PDF's)
Safeguarding Kids Online
Limiting Internet Access
Writing is a Life Skill
The Rewards for Reading
School Calendar 2009 - 2010
School Calendar 2010 - 2011
This is a picture
