Great Happenings in the East Grand School District the week of Oct. 11.
• The District Accountability Committee is reviewing handbooks at each school and making sure they align with policy. DAC meets on the first Monday of each month from 5:30-7 p.m. and we would love to have some parents and community members join us. Please contact the district office if you would like be a part of our DAC.
• The MPHS Pep Band will be playing for the home volleyball game on Oct. 15 and also for the final two home football games Oct. 25 and Oct. 31.
• Park rangers are coming to visit fourth grade this week. All fourth grade students learn and earn a free pass to the national parks.
• Twelve of our district transportation personnel, including Transportation Director Mike Thompson, spent time in between their bus routes on Tuesday and Wednesday this week to attend Crisis Prevention & Intervention (CPI) Non-Violent Crisis Intervention training. New Middle Park High School Assistant Principal Nicole Elliott has been a certified CPI trainer for the past four years and is now able to provide that training to district staff in EGSD.
According to CPI’s website, Non-violent Crisis Intervention training “is considered the global standard for crisis prevention and intervention training. With a core philosophy of providing for the Care, Welfare, Safety, and Security of everyone involved in a crisis situation, the program’s proven strategies give human service providers and educators the skills to safely respond to various levels of risk behavior while balancing the responsibilities of care.”
According to Elliott, the main focus of the training is to develop skills that can help staff prevent and/or de-escalate situations where behaviors could impact the safety of students or staff. This however was a first for her in providing this training to bus drivers, as their setting is unique and different than being in a building/classroom. To address this difference, participants split the training between classwork and actual time in one of the district buses to simulate situations in the environment that the drivers would be in. Feedback from all of the participants was positive, with statements like, “I feel considerably more able to communicate and relate to my bus riders” and “I feel much more prepared for situations that might arise.” Elliott will continue to provide similar trainings in the district, including to fellow administrator, para-educators, and teachers as necessary. In addition to Elliott, NW BOCES also has CPI trainers that have provided training to staff in the past and will continue to do so as needed.
• On Sept. 27, 13 MPHS 10th-graders had the option to participate in Adventure Education’s Sophomore River Trip. To start the day, they learned about the history of the Upper Colorado River from local homesteader, rancher, and historian, Jim Yust. After learning about historic place-names, former dam plans, and railroad history, they rafted a portion of the Colorado River from Pumphouse to Radium. Along the way they stopped to partner with the BLM to clean up a heavily used campsite above the Warm Springs on this section of river. For their participation in the day students received community service hours that count toward their graduation requirement of 40 hours. A great day was had by all and can be summed up by 10th-grader Leah Cormican: “Cleaning up natures makes my soul feel good.”
• Mrs. Devore’s kindergarten class is participating in an alphabet exchange with 25 other schools across the United States. Our class was in charge of making the letter C, and we chose to have it shaped like a caterpillar. We have received 20 different letters so far; it has been so much fun learning about all of the different places other kindergarteners live in our country. When we receive mail, we chart where our letter came from on a big map in our classroom, and then take a virtual tour via Google Earth. We can’t wait to have our entire alphabet complete!
• EGMS football ended last week. We had a very successful season with the total team record of 9-8-1. We had a total of 40 players out this year. The eighth grade group really came together this year and will be exciting to watch as they move into the high school next year.
• Eighth-graders are working on a service-learning project for first semester. Their question this time is, “How can we improve the quality of our educational experience in the East Grand School District?” Classes had to brainstorm ideas, and they are currently gathering data and doing research. Next steps will be turning their proposals into presentations. The final step will be (hopefully) the implementation of their ideas. Stay tuned about their progress. These kids have big ideas and lofty aspirations.
• The MPHS Boy’s soccer team is 8-1 and ranked No. 7 in Class 3A. Their final regular season home games are next week. The games are at 4:30 p.m. Monday, 4 p.m. Oct. 18 and 11 a.m. Oct. 19. The team hopes you can come out and enjoy some quality high school soccer.