Wrapping up the week, SSES 6th Grade Strings and Band Concert was awesome. It was evident the students and the teachers put great effort into their songs. I thoroughly enjoyed it. We are enjoying our last day of December, wearing hats and ugly sweaters! There are a ton of goodies being passed around, which I am sure is going to add to my waist line. I am very thankful for all my gifts from families and staff. I feel so spoiled getting all of these wonderful gifts.

The 5th grade boys are wrapping up their fund raiser. They raised over $600 for the Red Cross for the victims of the Caughlin Fire. Congratulations Boys. A lesson well learned. You boys gave the gift of giving and helping our community. I hope you continue with that kind of spirit throughout your life.

Happy Holidays everyone! ;0)

Our 6th grade Choir class gave an excellent performance this morning. The students sang and danced wonderfully, and our fabulous music teacher picked excellent music for the program. She chose from Christmas songs, to Hanukkah songs, to Kwanzaa songs, teaching our children about all the different cultures that have celebrations during the month of December. We are lucky to have Mrs. McKinnon, and I am lucky that you all share your wonderful children with us. Happy Holidays.

I had the pleasure of having lunch with two fabulous 5th grade girls yesterday. One of them earned a 100 Otter Shells. When you earn 100, you get to have lunch with the administration! These girls were so sweet. We talked about how they have never been in the Principal's office before! It is fun for me to spend time with such sweet girls. One of them is an aspiring pianist, and the other rides horses. I so enjoy spending time with students especially the ones that I would not normally see because they are so quiet and so well behaved. They made my week!

I have some more good news! My Assistant Principal was asked to write a request for a grant from the Jack Sickle Foundation. They offer grants for schools looking to improve their technology. Here is a blurb from the letter:

"Spanish Springs Elementary school is striving to meet 21^st century goals by merging technology and academics.  Our school district has recently adopted The MILE Guide (Milestones for Improving Learning and Education).  The MILE Guide vision promotes:  A partnership [that] encourages schools, districts and states to advocate for the infusion of 21^st century skills into education and provides tools and resources to help facilitate and drive change.

In order to meet this goal and prepare our students for the 21^st century, we believe our mobile Ipads will allow every teacher the opportunity to integrate education and technology into their curriculum.  Ipad education applications would be used across the core curriculum from math, reading, writing to art and may include:  MathBlaster, Alphabet Freezetag, Dancing Animals for Kids and story book apps." 

I am happy to announce that we received the grant! We will be getting $10,000 to fund buying Ipads for education, another great way to engage and motivate the 21st Century student. We are very excited and look forward to getting these tools into our students hands. I am very thankful for my innovative and hard working Assistant Principal!

Happy Holidays to my SSES Families and Community. Spread the Joy!

I also want to brag about our PTO Board Members! Renee, Rhonda, Melissa, Jeannie, and Heather. Nice job on the Santa's Workshop the last couple of weeks. I know that all of you spent many hours here raising money for our PTO. I also know that the workshop is only one of many things all of you do for our school. That money goes towards our PE Teacher, supplies, field trips, and school events. Thank you so much for all your support and efforts to make our students and school successful.

Christmas News at SSES

From Dawne Rice, counselor

Sparks Rotary – Woo hoo!!!

Their members helped us out tremendously last year, by taking lots of leftover Angels from our tree. This year, they took ALL of our Angels to their first membership meeting in December and passed them out. There are still members who don’t have an Angel, so I am still calling them as the need arises. I believe they may be buying a few gift cards for new referrals or to supplement a family’s Christmas. A special thank you goes out to Club member, Brenda, who coordinates the giving!

Kiwanis Club of Downtown Sparks – Wow!!!

I have been working with this dedicated group, in order to get bicycles for some of our students. The Kiwanis Club has refurbished over 500 bicycles this year. We have 5 students who will be sized for a bicycle and then allowed to pick out the one they want. They will also pick out a helmet. This group has been contributing to our community for many years!

Angels in the Community – Kudos!!!

We have a parent, who has formed this non-profit group, and they have adopted a family from SSES. Many thanks to these folks!

We also have a SSES parent who, along with her family, has adopted a family for Christmas. Thank you  to you and your family!

Lastly, we have a teacher here at SSES who, along with her husband and 4 other couples, have adopted a family for Christmas AND beyond!

Adrienne is still down at Stanford.

Adrienne’s father called me this morning. He wanted me to let everyone know how much Adrienne has appreciated the cards and pictures that were sent from Mrs. Charles class. She has many hanging on her walls, so they bring her joy each day. He also wanted us to know that the monetary assistance has been very helpful. I believe he is in awe at the graciousness of people. I told him that they are part of our SSES family. One day soon, he hopes to switch Adrienne’s dialysis schedule, so that she can come home for a visit. She definitely wants to come by and say hi to her class.

Holiday Spirits Alive

Great news from our little oasis in the desert. Our 5th graders continue to earn more and more money for Red Cross by selling Santa Grams and tshirts. Keep up the great work boys! Our counselors are helping our students and staff celebrate Inclusion Week. Inclusion Week is about making sure that ALL students feel included at SSES. Students are making snowflakes (every snowflake is different and beautiful) and on those snowflakes, students are writing about how they feel included at SSES.

I also want to boast about how wonderful my job is...The hugs and smiles I have seen today by all of your beautiful children warm my heart. Each day those hugs and smiles remind me why I have to push my teachers, push my parents, and most importantly, push me to be the best advocate for them.
One particular student stood out for me on Tuesday. Last year this 1st grader would never say hi to me as he rushed by to get to class. This year, as he rushes by me to get to class, he is yelling and waving, "Hi, Ms. Walters!" He is a student with a disability, but he is growing and learning so quickly! He just makes me smile. I am so proud of him, his parents, and my staff for working so hard with him.

I have another great story this week. A student, that usually does not get into trouble, got two referrals in two weeks. I brought her into my office and chatted with her about what was going on. She is a fourth grader, yet I thought I was talking to an adult. It was refreshing how she took responsibility for her actions, told me how she was going to fix the problem, and then proceeded to tell me that she did not want her dad involved because it is time for her to solve her own problems. Of course I called her father and shared with him our conversation. These are the reasons I come to work with a smile on my face.

Good things are happening at Spanish Springs ES. Catch the spirit! The place you OTTER BE!