New staff members for 2013-14

Please help me welcome four new staff members to Lopez Elementary.  These outstanding people were selected by various teams from Lopez to join our school.

Michele Bishop, Counselor:  Michele will be at Lopez on Tuesday and Thursday and at Bacon on M, W, F.  Michele most recently has been the counselor at O’Dea Elementary and previously worked at the Mountain Schools.  

Hollie Johnson, 4th grade:  Hollie will be joining the 4th grade team this year.  Mrs. Delehoy is taking a year off to raise her daughter due in August and young son.  Hollie is currently a K-5 Instructional Math Coach in Xenia, Ohio.  She has held this position for the last three years.  Prior to this role, she worked in North Carolina as a 3^rd, 5^th , and 6th grade teacher.  She has been a Math Teacher Leader, PTA Liaison, PBiS team co-chair, and School Improvement Plan Committee Chair.

Heather Kholif, 2^nd grade:  Heather most recently worked as an English teacher in Egypt, teaching 2^nd-HS students.  Prior to that, she was an instructional coach, second, and first grade teacher in Thompson School District.  She has been on the Leadership Team, PBiS committee, Reading and Writing Task Force, and Collaboration Negotiations team.

Karrie Rolwes, 1^st grade:  Karrie is currently a kindergarten teacher at Zach Elementary.  Prior to this position, she was a primary teacher and Title 1 teacher in both Greeley and Loveland school districts.  Additionally, Karrie has been on the PBiS committee, E2T2 iPad grant recipient, Wal-Mart iPod grant recipient, and District Technology Coach.

Construction Update #2

On Tuesday, June 18, I attended the weekly construction update at Lopez.  Wow!  They made a lot of progress in just two weeks.  All of the new lunch tables are in, and they look great.  There are little keys that go in each table to release them from the wall.  The biggest changes have been in the office, hallways, and classrooms.  Everything is covered in either paper or plastic, except for the ceiling.  All of the ceilings have disappeared.  They have started pulling the old duct work out to make way for the new HVAC components which will help to regulate our interior temperatures a bit. 
Sitting in on the construction meetings is very interesting.  They go through what projects have been accomplished for the week, what issues they may have encountered, and how to resolve them.  A big thank you to the Fort Collins community for investing in their public schools!
 

The office demo begins!  The first thing out is the ceiling...

 

Hard hats only now.  Mrs. Gilmour would sure need one if she were working at her desk!

 

Everything in the library is covered in plastic to protect books from dust and debris.

 

Guess this classroom?  When the old vents were removed, it looks like the outline of a fireplace on the wall.

 

Demo starts in the yellow hallways.

 

Guess this classroom?  Only two walls left untouched in this room.

Lopez summer construction begins!

When Lopez students left on Friday afternoon, the construction trucks pulled in right after the school buses sped away.  Teachers and staff spent all afternoon and through the weekend packing boxes and moving furniture to make way for our school improvements.  By Monday afternoon, the first changes had already begun.  By Thursday morning, it was too hazardous for Mrs. Farnell and I to stay in the building.  They packed us up and deposited our few belongings at McGraw Elementary, where we will have a temporary office until the construction is finished.

I'll try to keep you updated throughout the summer as I can.  I will have limited access to the building as well, but will try to get a few pictures as construction moves along!

Look what is behind all of the lunch tables!

Wow!  Where did everything go from Mrs. DiOrio's classroom?

The blue commons looks a little different these days...

Making way for all new lunch tables in the flex room.

Dr. Gile, Mrs. Farnell, and Mrs. Gilmour have left the building!