Center of Focus

January 29, 2023

Focus on the Fabulous

Per usual, there are a lot of amazing things going on in the district. It really is challenging to keep up with everything but that’s not a bad problem to have!

Something pretty amazing to celebrate is a man who is proving to be #VikingStrong! Abel Martinez dropped by the office last week to say hello! We were thrilled to see him and how well he is doing after his heart transplant! It truly is miraculous to think about all he has gone through since the beginning of the school year. We are all so thankful that he is up and about.. and we can't wait until we get to see him in the halls again on a daily basis.

Fabulous Folks

First things first, let’s celebrate our fabulous folks! Arazeliz Garcia, CHS Junior, competed in the National History Day on Saturday, January 28th at Adams State and earned a 2nd place finish in the senior division. This year’s theme was Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas.

Congratulations Arazeliz! You are an amazing Viking!

We also want to recognize Richie Barela as the first recipient of our True Blue Viking Award. Richie is a Center Graduate and has continued to be a faithful supporter of our district and our students. Richie’s commitment to the district is evidenced in the time and energy he puts toward supporting the district. He served on the school board for 8 years and just completed his second term in 2019. You can see Richie in the stands, supporting our student-athletes, at every game! He cheers on all of our Viking athletes, rain or shine. Richie also volunteers his time to cook up some of his delicious dishes to serve during fundraisers, for concessions, and for our hospitality rooms. You won’t find anyone more loyal to the district. He is definitely a True Blue Viking.

Rewind

Last week was a busy week. We celebrated Winter Fest and students and staff had fun dressing up throughout the week. It all led up to our big Hawaiian night basketball game on Thursday night. Our Lady Vikings were triumphant in defeating the Sargent Farmers in an exciting game. The final score was 37-30! Alicia Rios, Ximena Miranda, and Alexia Badachi are putting up the most points per game. The boys’ team played hard but came up a little short. Alan Gonzalez, Joaquin Moreno, and Cruz Reyes continue to lead the team with points, rebounds, and FG%. The atmosphere was festive.. with hula skirts, coconuts, leis, and the limbo!

Friday and Saturday wrestling took over! CCSD hosted the annual Valley Classic with over 30 schools attending. Our boys wrestled well and came in 7th as a team, beating five teams that are ranked ahead of us.

Overall, Center is ranked 11th in 2A. Here are the individual wrestlers performance and stats:

Jordan Duran (30-6) 5th place at Valley Classic

Francisco Villa (18-13) 6th place @ VC

Chayse Bouet (17-16) 6th place @ VC

Aaron Valadez (25-7) 6th place

Andre Meraz (21-14) 4th place

Martin Palma (19-6) 2nd place

Jesus Valadez (25-7) 5th place

This event is a huge undertaking. Thanks to everybody who pitched in to make the tournament a success. There were so many positive accolades throughout the tournament about how well it was run and all the special touches our Viking team adds to make it a great event. Great job to our head coach Rodney Mondragon. He does an amazing job coaching our boys and getting things in place so everything runs smoothly. Thanks to the assistant coaches, Tito Chavez, Allen Rael, and Martin Chrisman, for taking good care of our boys and giving them the discipline and encouragement they need to perform well. Thanks to our AD, Linda Donaldson, for all her hard work organizing and coordinating. Thanks to Charlie Kuhns for running the system and John Noriega for announcing. Thanks to our amazing tech team- Julio Paez, Ascencion Najera, and Teddy Garcia, for getting everything set up ahead of time so that all the technology, tvs, and sound systems were working! Thanks to Rich, Mike, Panta, and their crew for staying on top of things and pitching in when needed. Thanks to everybody who helped out behind the scenes, worked in the concessions, or cheered from the bleachers. It was another successful two days of wrestling.

A special shout out to Susan Banning and all she does to make the hospitality room the best one around. Susan coordinates every detail of the meals for the two days and the visiting teams are treated to exceptional service. The coaches, refs, and workers always say that this is the best food they’ve had at a wrestling tournament.. or any athletic event for that matter. Susan definitely goes the extra mile.. and then some … to make sure that things are done the Center Way! Thanks to everybody who cooked and those who helped with preparations, serving, and clean up! We couldn’t do it without everybody’s help.

Like I said... I got a little behind with all of the great things going on. On Friday, February 20th, we had a great day of professional development. Stephanie Hensley, our Director of Instruction, is in charge of setting up all the professional development throughout the year. This PD highlighted the expertise of our staff, with all of the breakout sessions being instructed by Center teachers and staff. It was a great day of learning for all. Adams State University provided lunch for our staff. Thanks to Adele Alfson for coordinating that and for making delicious chocolate chip cookies for everyone to enjoy!

Our monthly Board meeting was held on Tuesday, January 24th. The Board approved the Final Budget for the year that evening. Dianna Valenzuela, our Food Services Director, presented to the Board about her program. She does a great job of keeping up with all of the changes in regulations at the state level, leading her team, and fixing fantastic food for students and staff.

Mimi Dolan also presented to the Board on the mentor program that we are implementing in the district. She and Anna Bishop wrote and received funding for this program that provides mentorship, cognitive coaching, and support for our teachers that are new to the profession and/or the district.

We have so many people taking on additional roles and responsibilities to make Center the amazing district that it is. Thanks to you all and your commitment ot excellence in all you do, every day!

Fast Forward

Upcoming dates to get on calendars

Monday, January 30th- Colorado School Information System, IC Conference, Denver

Tuesday, January 31st- Colorado School Information System, IC Conference, Denver; Opportunity Coalition Meeting

Wednesday, February 1st- Rural Alliance Meeting, Midyear Evaluations, Weekly Superintendent PLC, CEI Strategy Call,

Thursday, February 2nd- Groundhog Day

Friday, February 3rd- CHS Basketball @ South Park

Saturday, February 4th - CHS Wrestling @ Crowley County, CHS Basketball vs. Monte Vista