Congratulations to Mr. Hird and his 1A Boys Basketball State Champions! It was absolutely wonderful to see all of the support from our community throughout the state run. Although I was home with the family it was very impressive to be able to see some of our own student body on the TV…although some you couldn’t recognize because of all the paint they had on their faces! Every time they went to our crowd I scanned to see some of our familiar faces. Again it is a great accomplishment for our district and our community. It will be a memory that all of those involved will cherish. Go Storm!!!
On that same note I would like to add that Coach Hird’s boys are not only successful on the court but off as well. Pure and simple…They are great kids! Not only did you have All-State basketball players on the floor but you had many valedictorian candidates as well!!! One of the players comes in to our building to mentor one of our younger students. I am sure many the teachers remember having those boys in class and how well mannered and hard working they were...I remember when I looked down on Joel!!! (Okay so even in sixth grade I was probably looking up at him) I think that says a lot about the type of students we have in our district coming in and out of our classrooms. I am so proud of them! Again Congratulations!! |
Welcome back to school and to a new decade!!
Although it’s a new year it was wonderful to see the same familiar faces re-enter our building this week. I hope that the holiday break was restful and enjoyable for all. I would like to thank the staff members, parents and students for a wonderful first semester! I am very pleased with what our school community has become and am sure that feeling will not fade during our new semester! As always our school will face new challenges and successes as we move along. It is very important that as a community we work together in order to make Catlin School District more successful than ever. One of our major challenges will be the financial situation we will face in the near future. As time moves on and money becomes more of an issue, it will become harder and harder for schools to maintain their ability to keep afloat. There will be choices in the near future that we, as a community, will have to make that will have a direct effect on our schools. Although the outlook looks dim, rest assure that our school and our staff will continue their efforts to provide the best educational opportunities for our students. It has been my experience that educators are a part of the most “adaptable” profession, in that we are able to do more with less in many different situations. We will continue down our path of improving our school and our focus on student achievement. I have said this before and I will continue to say it. I am proud to be the principal at Catlin Grade School and I am very proud of the staff members and students that make it such a successful and wonderful place. Here’s to a New Year! |
THE WEATHER IS CHANGING AND WINTER IS HERE! IT'S COLD! PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THE SCHOOL DOORS OPEN AT 7:50 AM. STUDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE BUILDING UNTIL THIS TIME. TO AVOID STANDING OUT IN THE COLD, PLEASE REMEMBER THIS WHEN SENDING YOUR CHILD(REN) TO SCHOOL EACH MORNING. PLEASE DRESS ACCORDINGLY! THANK YOU! |
I cannot believe we are near our Thanksgiving Break! The school year has moved very quickly. Since Thanksgiving is just a few days away, I wanted to take the opportunity to state that I am very thankful for the wonderful students and staff members at Catlin Grade School. The students are working hard in their classrooms and the teachers are doing an excellent job motivating and working with our students. I can't say enough positives about our school and those who make it that way!
I hope that you all have a safe and happy Thanksgiving and that you get to spend time with those you love most. I hope the students relax and enjoy their extended weekend. I wish the parents and staff members a restful, stress-free holiday. Enjoy! |
As we end our first quarter here at Catlin Grade School, I would like to invite all parents to speak with your child's teacher about their progress in the classroom. We will be conducting Parent-Teacher Conferences on Thursday, October 22nd 5-8 PM, as well as Friday, October 23rd 8-Noon. Please call our grade school office to schedule an appointment (427-2146). If you are unable to schedule an appointment I encourage you to contact the teacher and speak to them about your child's development.
Although we schedule these conferences on specific dates, please feel free to contact the school at anytime to talk about your child's efforts and progress at school. Parent-Teacher Conferences do not only have to happen on these dates, they can occur throughout the school year! Again I encourage you to contact myself or the teacher if you have any questions, concerns, or praises! The collaboraton among parents and educators can only enhance a student's academic experience both at the school and at home. We look foward to talking to you! |
I wanted to take the opportunity to comment about the upcoming flu season. Please know that, as a school, we are doing all that we can to combat the illness that has or will present itself this school year. We have been in direct contact with the health department in order to recieve guidance and information in relation to the flu season. I have stressed to the teachers the importance of telling students the proper way to take care throughout the school day, i.e. hand washing, coughing, etc. In my opinion, the custodial staff is doing an excellent job. We are constantly disinfecting the common areas of the school such as the bathrooms, door handles, water fountains, etc. At night we are hitting individual classrooms and disinfecting the desks, chairs. etc. We also have installed hand sanitizer containers on the walls in different areas of the school where students congregate. We are trying to be preventative as possible. It is very important that if a student is ill that he or she stay home! Again please know that we are doing all that we can to prevent our students from becoming ill. We can’t do our jobs without them!! Thank you! |
8th Grade Parents:
After our informational meeting last night I have contacted Scholastica Travel Inc. and have a tentative date set for our 8th grade class trip. The trip to Washington D.C. has tentatively been set for the following dates: Wednesday, April 28th-Sunday, May 2nd. With these dates in mind, I would like to know by Wednesday September 9, 2009 if your child would like to participate in this trip. I know this is a short amount of time allowed but we need to know a set number of students that are willing to participate in this trip. This will allow us to get a more accurate quote on how much the trip will cost an individual. Of course, if students are not interested on going to Washington D.C. on these dates, alternatives may be used as discussed in the meeting. If there are any questions please contact me through the office at (217) 427-5421. I would also like to remind you about the many different fundraising activities you can benefit from throughout the year as stated earlier in the letter and at the parent meeting. Please remember: If your child has decided to go on the trip than it will be necessary for him or her to fundraise money for the expenses of the trip. If you missed the parent meeting and would still like the information please stop by the office and pick it up. Thank you for your help and cooperation. |
I just wanted to make a quick comment that soon 8th grade students and parents will be receiving letters in the mail regarding the 8th grade trip. We will need to be moving foward soon in order to plan and fundraise for this trip. If you have any questions or concerns please let me know.
In addition I have included the letter in my Parent Letter section of the website. |
It was a wonderful first day at Catlin Grade School!
You could sense the excitement on many of the students' faces as they entered the buidling this morning. As I visited the classrooms, I was very pleased to see and recieve the smiles and greetings the students gave as I spoke with them. Speaking with staff members, it was also evident that they too, were excited and happy to be back in their classrooms. The students spent roughly an hour in the classrooms today doing various activities and then at 10:00 we had a school wide assembly that was fun and a great kick off to the year. Overall I am very proud to say that it was a positive day for all of us to start off the school year. Thank you to the students, parents, and staff members that made the first day a success! |
Good Morning!
I wanted to take some time and update you on what is happening at Catlin Grade School. If you haven’t yet, you should be receiving a letter making you aware of registration dates as well as some recent changes made at Catlin Grade School. Some of the changes that you should be aware of are the new parking lot addition at the front of the school, our new security doors, and the new morning entry procedure for students. Please read the letter and call if you have any concerns or questions. The building looks great! Our custodial staff has done an excellent job of making sure our school looks its best when students arrive on the 20th. Thank you Matt, Marsha and Claire for all of the work that you have done for our school! Remember that registration is Thursday, August 13th, Noon-5:00 PM and 6:00-8:00 PM. I know that it doesn’t seem possible but in only about a week our students will be entering our classrooms! I hope that they are as excited as I am! |