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Zion School District 6 > Supt.'s Blog
Superintendent's Blog

2/17/2010

Way to Go WeeBees!

What a joy it is for all of us who work out of Lakeview School to witness the true miracle of progress that happens in regards to child development.  The Pre-Kindergarten and Early Childhood programs that are housed at Lakeview service approximately 200 three and four year olds, and there is no question that the early instruction that these little ones experience huge benefits in the long run.

 

It seems like just yesterday that the new class of WeeBees was entering Lakeview.  Many of them were a bit scared, and all were not so  sure this is where they really wanted to be spending their respective morning or afternoons.  Many of the school’s procedures and expectations were foreign to them, and the simplest of tasks needed to be worked on numerous times before they were mastered by our little ones.  Ultimately, we want to make sure these students have schooling experiences prior to kindergarten to provide for a true readiness to learn when they enter our elementary schools in a year or two. 

 

Well, when I look at them now, they are a whole new squad.  There faces show excitement not fear as they enter each morning, they seem to have developed a whole new set of social skills, and they have mastered processes and disciplines that will certainly allow them to hit the ground running when Kindergarten comes upon them.

 

I appreciate so much the patience and persistence that our Lakeview staff has for our youngest students.  The relationships they have formed with our little ones are trusting and caring, and they know each student’s personality so well that they artists at communicating to each child in a manner special for that child.  It really allows me to see how that necessary transition from a day at home with their caretakers to a day at school should evolve.  The students truly see Lakeview as a second family, and this is a great credit to our committed and caring staff.  Way to Go WeeBees!

Posted at 11:46 AM by John Ahlgrim | Permalink | Email this Post

1/25/2010

LETTING OUR STARS SHINE!

A special thanks to our own Zion Education Association for hosting the annual District 6 Spelling Bee again this year.  Fifteen of our best spellers (three from each elementary building) came together at Zion Central Middle School on January 20th for this friendly competition.  Approximately 100 family members and friends came out to cheer on the students, and every student did a fantastic job and made their class and school proud!

 

Also, congratulations to Ms. Marshall and her ZCMS Drama Club students for two wonderful nights of production of Squad Room.  The cast and crew have worked hard over the last several months to get the set and performance ready for production on the ZCMS stage, and it showed!  I am amazed by the ability actors have at not only learning acts and lines, but the ability to improvise when need be to keep the scene moving.  Our young actors and actresses at ZCMS put on a great show.  Watch out Hollywood!

 

It is truly special when our students get an opportunity to “show off” in areas in which they love and excel.  Their dedication to endeavors often happens because parents, friends, teachers, even strangers, let them know they have a talent and they should pursue it, somehow…someway.  Sometimes these endeavors happen in a classroom, but also happen on a stage, or in an ensemble, or on the court. 

 

I love looking at shining stars!

Posted at 10:10 PM by John Ahlgrim | Permalink | Email this Post

11/10/2009

PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCE POWER

 

 

Thanks so much to all of our families for your great participation in Parent-Teacher conferences at the end of first quarter at all of our District 6 schools. We had tremendous turnouts and the conference sessions were certainly a great opportunity for us to explicitly team with parents in an effort to best support the growth of our students.

 

The concept of Parent Teacher conferences is critical to our work with children.  It is only in our ability to provide students with a common and consistent direction and support that we maximize their learning potential.  The conferences allow parents to learn about their child’s observed strengths and areas for necessary growth in the classroom, and parents can reinforce the specific skill development at home.  Teachers get a chance to find out some more details regarding how the student appears to be working at home and possibly some insights into the character and personal motivation of the children.  This two-way communication is so valuable in creating a common perspective of where the child has been, is currently, and is going in the future.

 

Parent-Teacher Conferencing is not intended to happen just twice a year!  While we dedicate some dates in November and February to ensure we have dedicated some time for this great process, P-T conferencing should occur all through the school year.  Whether it be in person, over the phone or via the exchange of e-mails, our goal should be to establish open and ongoing lines of communication so whenever particular questions arise and/or adjustments are necessary at school or at home, teachers and families connect to get on the same page.

 

With this in mind, I encourage all of you to continue the spirit of PT conferences throughout this school year.  Let’s all be guilty of “over-communicating” when it comes to issues that may have an impact on the education and future of our kids!

Posted at 8:06 PM by John Ahlgrim | Permalink | Email this Post

10/14/2009

GREAT FACILITY…GREAT FITNESS…GREAT FUN

For those of you who have not yet seen the NEW Sports Arena and Fitness Studio at the Zion Park District Leisure Center (2400 Dowie Memorial Drive), it is worth the trip to see this great new venue.  Thanks to the generosity of the Park District, District 6 had the opportunity to host our fall Staff Wellness Afternoon in the new facility… it was truly impressive.  The enormous and well-equipped fitness studio, running track, and multiple top-quality gymnasiums and fitness spaces really speak highly of the Park District’s commitment to the overall fitness and health of the community.

 

For our staff, the Wellness Afternoon represents a number of key elements.  First, we all must commit some time and energy for our individual health and well-being.  Our staff members come to work each day and commit incredible levels of time and energy to our young people.  We need to be reminded at times that in order for us to be prepared to do this over time, we need to be physically well and energized to do so!

 

Second, one of the important aspects of group exercise is the FUN that accompanies hard work when groups work out together.  There is a special comradery and motivation that occurs when we combine friendship with wellness activities.  The relationships that our staff share with each other in District 6 are certainly special, and our Wellness Afternoons provide a bit of time for such a focus.

 

Finally, the understanding and appreciation for Wellness in our lives is certainly a value that we need to explicitly teach to our youngsters, as well as model regularly!  We have an obligation to help create a younger generation of active and healthy individuals.  We also know that “So What I Do” has much more power than “Do What I Say”, and educators modeling regular exercise and fitness go a long way to encourage our young people to do the same.

 

For all these reasons and more, KUDOS to the Zion Park District for their great new facility, and even more for their commitment to the well-being of us all!

Posted at 2:03 PM by John Ahlgrim | Permalink | Email this Post

8/18/2009

HERE WE GO!!

Bring on the 2009-2010 school year!  We are very excited to begin this year for a few very important reasons.

 

Zion Elementary District 6 is proud to have a mission of Excellence without Exception. This reflects the school community’s high standards and passion for each and every child’s successful future. This year Excellence without Exception also reflects our formal implementation of Response to Intervention (RtI) at each of our schools.  RtI is a process of implementing high quality teaching to students, monitoring student progress, and adjusting instruction and providing interventions as needed based on student success.  While these practices have informally been part of District 6 in the past, RtI is a way to help us formalize our approaches for the success of our students.

 

We are also very excited to be initiating many new initiatives at Central; now “Zion Central Middle School”.  Our community, staff and students spent a great deal of time and energy last year in a strategic planning process; most of the recommended initiatives to improve the Middle School experience of our District 6 students will be initiated this year at Zion Central.  The name change is reflective of our desire to be sure Zion is represented in our name, our pride in the many, many years of great tradition established at “Central”, and our desire educationally to always look at student growth from a holistic perspective associated with the middle school concept, and highlighted by our team approach to supporting our students.

 

As the school year takes off, our request to families is to invest enough time in your child with their education to help them be successful.  It may as simple as checking that their assignments are complete, it may be just 20 minutes of reading with your child at home, it may be checking in with your child’s teacher to ensure all seems to be going well, or making every effort to attend the Open House and Parent Teacher conferences at your child’s school. Whatever efforts you can make to show your child you are committed to their success at home certainly goes a long way in their working to do their best!

 

 

 

Posted at 5:40 PM by John Ahlgrim | Permalink | Email this Post
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