Dear MTUESD Community,
I’ll date myself a little bit here, but my brother and I were reflecting on his childhood friend who lived the craziest life ever. Hells Angel, probably did some not so cool things, held hostage by a South American Cartel resulting in a History Channel documentary (no kidding), turned into a heck of a business man, martial arts guru, author, celebrity, and battled and battled AND BATTLED serious cancer for 8 years and he’s coming towards his final time. The anthem “Ride Like the Wind” just embodied his spirit of never surrender/never give up. The reason I tell you the story is when I’m walking into classrooms all over the district I get a whole bunch of people that are Riding Like the Wind. The staff are doing incredible instruction for your kids. Your kids are responding to some of these new techniques. Our classified staff are out there and present, not as authoritarians but rather making connections with students. As the lyrics in the song say, we still have a long way to go, but we’re riding hard to the border and BEYOND of highly increased achievement.
This week was a busy one.
We had two high-level state visitors yesterday. Mary Nicely, Deputy Superintendent of the California Department of Education, made her second visit to the site this year, joined by Sara Pietroski, who is with the California Association of School Boards as their Chief Governmental Relations Office. Part of my job is to tell the story of rural schools and when you can get such high-level folks out to invest and show them what we really do it creates understanding and context. Good stuff. Board President Chrisy Miro joined us along with Catherine Eastburn, and our principals. Your kids stood up and STAND OUT for this state visit. What we do with so little compared to neighboring well funded districts just speaks the truth about our grit and belief.
In other news this week, thank you to so many of our Spanish-speaking families who attended the ELAC meeting. I appreciate the staff members that also joined us. This is a great opportunity to talk in a small group about the students and programming.
I am delighted that we will be partnering with WeDeliver Wheels and the Angels Murphy Rotary Club again in the Spring to distribute brand new bicycles. If you have a student that needs a bike in order to get to school or for recreation, please email me at lsimson@mtwain.k12.ca.us. We are most grateful for this partnership.
I also have to shout out Vine and Branch for their partnership on the Blessing Tree. Students have been recommended for this program and the church is coordinating the gifts. The Toys for Tots program and the Lake Tulloch Lion’s Club have been a blessing for so many years that Copperopolis Elementary coordinates gifts and we are grateful as well. This isn’t about religion or politics. This is about TAKING CARE OF KIDS AND FAMILIES. WE ARE GRATEFUL.
Speaking of being an integral powerhouse in the community, I just want to thank Young’s IGA market again for their incredible generosity in supporting Copperopolis Elementary to stage the Steak and Shrimp event. Businesses like this don’t exist anymore outside of the rural realm, because it’s all about profits and shareholders but these LOCAL folks really really care and we are so very thankful. SHOW THEM YOUR LOVE. UNBELIEVABLE WHAT THEY DO.
Upcoming, we have the Badger Games on TOMORROW NIGHT. If you haven’t gone to one of those, it’s a HOOT and the kids and the families have a terrific time. Huge kudos to the staff that make this happen on their own time. We really appreciate it and it’s a lot of fun.
Those Trunks or Treats are not to be missed too. Mark your dates for MT on October 24 and COPPER on October 26. HOW COOL IS THIS? THAT’S WHY YOU LIVE HERE RIGHT?
We want to invite anyone that would like to come in to share our professional development speaker on November 7 to attend at 1:45 in the Mark Twain Gym. Chris is a unique speaker who has had a lifelong disability, and I found him to be very inspiring about playing the challenging hand he was dealt. Children should not attend, but if your kid is in ELOP or you can make other arrangements, I think it’s a great opportunity to join our staff.
In other news, we will be doing some suicide awareness work with our county office for our upper grades only. A permission slip will be sent home. It’s important for all students to know the resources in case a friend is in crisis. I know this is a scary topic for families, but it’s better that we talk about it now before it becomes a very tragic situation. If you have any questions about the program which will be presented in one of the elective periods and small groups, please reach out to Miss Tuthill or me.
On a celebratory note. I’m delighted that Chelsie McDaniel and the AMA team are allowing us to celebrate the service of Jenny Eltringham during the November 8 AMA finals game. There will be a special time of recognition for Jenny's decades of service to the Board. The time is to be determined and we will keep you posted, but please take a minute out of your day to honor somebody that did something so magical for YOUR kids. We wouldn’t have that gym without her hard work on the bond so long ago.
I hope you have a safe and happy weekend ahead and we thank you for being along on this ride with us. Ride like the wind. Your kids deserve it…
Sincerely yours,
Louise Simson
Superintendent
650-996-3290