Dear Fireside Elementary Families,
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| Sierra and I on the Brooklyn Bridge |
Welcome to the 2016-2017 school year! As I enter my twenty-third year in education and think back on my profession as a teacher, professional developer, administrator and working overseas in an international system, I couldn’t be more blessed to have chosen this profession and serve the Fireside community. I look forward to the year ahead and partnering with all of you to ensure the very best education for all of our children. Fireside truly is an exceptional place to learn, grow, and discover- we are fortunate to have such a strong, trusting community who care about every child.
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| Founder of Code.org |
I hope all of you had a summer filled with special family memories and kids are charged and ready to start the school year! As for my summer, I took my 15 year old daughter, Sierra, on a trip to the Big Apple, spent a week stretching my brain alongside a team from Fireside at the International Technology conference in Denver (ISTE), and spent 8 tech free days with my family in a remote part of Mexico. For me, summer is a time to create lasting family memories and engage in my own learning and development to ensure I stay current in the field of education.
As we look ahead, once more I’ve selected a book to kick off the school year, which I’ll share with staff and read to every classroom. This is a tradition I started my first as a principal as I believe good children’s literature delivers a strong moral message to spark discussions, raise questions and ignite curiosity. This summer I had the good fortune of meeting the author’s, Paul and Peter Reynolds, from last year’s book, Going Places, at the ISTE conference. This year’s selection revolves around the idea of innovation. I”m keeping the text announcement a surprise...so stay tuned!
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| Mrs. Keppler with the Reynolds twins |
Other announcements for the coming year…
Fireside Staff:
We’ve hired exceptional staff, adding to our highly qualified community:
Alexis Diamond, Full-day Kindergarten
Graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a Bachelor’s in Psychology and received a Masters in Elementary Education at CU. She’s been teaching first and second grade for the last 10 years in Mapleton Public Schools. She lives in Lafayette with her husband and 2 wonderful children. When she’s not teaching, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, as well as baking, traveling, being outside, and skiing.Teaching is her passion and she’s excited to be teaching kindergarten this year at Fireside.
Kristina Catt, .5 AM Kindergarten
Recently moved to Colorado from Springfield, Missouri. She graduated from Missouri State University and has taught kindergarten and pre-kindergarten for ten years. She has two amazing daughters and a few scruff mcguff fur babies. She always finds herself in the wonderful company of kids and pets. She loves to spend her free time taking long dog walks, biking and being on the water. She is incredibly excited for her new Colorado adventure and to be called part of the Fireside Elementary Family.
Kathryn Wolf- Registrar/School Support Asst.
She is excited to join the Fireside team and has spent the last 3 1/2 years at Whittier International in Boulder as a Para and Registrar/School Support Assistant. She has also been a parent volunteer at Fireside for 8 years as her 2 children attended Fireside (1 currently in 5th). She has spent the first 15 years of my life in Ithaca, NY, 15 in TX, and the rest in Boulder and Louisville. With a hotel management degree, she has a long history in the hospitality industry, as well as a few years in human resources.
Ms. Devan Haas won’t be joining us until about 3 months into the school year as she was involved in an accident this summer which will require rehabilitation of her leg and ankle. Wishing her a speedy recovery- she has a strong circle of support. We are currently in the process of finding a replacement to start the year.
Ms. Erin Reivich is also recovering from a hip surgery. While she will start the school year with students, it will be on a shared basis for the first week with Ms. Theresa Watson until she’s fully ambulatory. Ms. Reivich will plan to send communication to her families following the class lists announcements.
Master Schedule
Some of you may have already heard that we’ll be moving to a new Master Schedule for the coming school year. Last year the staff engaged in rich discussions to support a schedule that would allow for better instructional blocks for teaching and learning, common planning time for grade level teachers, and more equitable specials time to support art, music and PE. As a result, we’re excited to share with our community a new schedule for the coming school year. Please note that all classes in grades 1-5 will now have one daily 50 minute block for Art, Music and PE and we’ve developed an A, B, C rotating schedule. Half-day Kindergarten will have 30 minute specials 3 times a week. The rotation schedule will be shared following class list announcements on August 12th.
Please make note of the following dates and information:
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Back to School Dates and Information:
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Class lists will be made available for families on August 12th by accessing the parent portal account in Infinite Campus.
Aug. 16, 5-6pm Kindergarten Information Presentation (parents only please).
Aug. 17, 2:30-3:30pm PTO Ice Cream Social
Thursday, August 18, 8am First Day of School for Grades 1-5
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Aug. 17, 2:30-3:30 PTO Ice Cream Social
A few helpful reminders for Drop Off/Pick-up/Parking Lot to ensure a safe start:
The circle bus lane is for buses only. This is not a parking area or “drive through” area.
Please use the “Hug and Go” lane on Dahlia for drop off/pick up as well as the parking lot “Hug and Go” lane. Cars should not be parked or left unattended on Dahlia Street.
If you choose to walk your child to their classroom, please park your car in the parking lot.
Please use the two crosswalks in front of the school. We want to set a good, safe example for our children.
Thank you for being mindful of school safety and our parking lot procedures. It is an honor and privilege to serve the Fireside community. I look forward to seeing all of you at our Ice Cream Social and getting the school year started!
Your partner in education,
Christa Keppler, Principal
Our staff is embracing an "Innovator's Mindset" as they start the school year bringing new ideas, a continued commitment, and a true passion for teaching and learning to best serve our students. We truly are an amazing community. Our welcoming sidewalk chalk says it all...
