Sarah Vaughn- New Counselor

We enjoyed working with Michele Bishop this year at Lopez!  Michele decided to reduce her contract and just stay at one school next year, so we said goodbye and know she will do a great job serving the students and families at Bacon Elementary.

Sarah Vaughn will be our new counselor next year.  We are pleased to welcome her to Lopez Elementary!  Sarah will be at Lopez 50% working every Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as alternate Thursdays.

Sarah Vaughn

Professionally, I have been a school social worker for the past six years in Thompson School District in Loveland.  I received both my undergraduate and graduate degrees from Colorado State University.

Personally, I love spending time with my family and being a mom to my 11-month old baby boy.  I enjoy spending time outdoors running, hiking, boating, and skiing.

I am looking forward to joining the Lopez community this year!

New Staff Member- Shawn Radis, 5th grade

We said goodbye to longtime 5th grade teacher, Corey Kuhne at the end of this school year. Corey retired from Lopez but plans to continue working at Jax Mercantile and Outdoor Gear on N. College. Best wishes Corey!

I am very pleased to introduce Shawn Radis who is moving his family across country from New Jersey this summer to join us as a 5th grade teacher. Shawn will be specializing in social studies and science instruction.

Educational and Professional Background:

My name is Shawn Radis and I am very excited to be teaching at Lopez Elementary this upcoming academic year. Before Lopez, I previously taught 5th and 6th grades in Delaware and Pennsylvania. I grew up in Northern Idaho and have always loved the mountains. My family and I are so excited to be moving to Colorado and have the opportunity to move back to the Rocky Mountains. I have lived out East for the past 20 years due to the military, college and professional obligations that I had. I can’t wait to be a Colorado resident!

I spent over 3 years on active duty in the U.S. Army as an Infantryman at Fort Campbell, Kentucky and Camp Hovey, South Korea. I then received my Bachelor’s degree in law and justice from Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ. Finally, I received my Master’s degree in education from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. I hope to receive my Doctorate in Education in the very near future.

I have been teaching for 11 years and coaching baseball for 6 years. I spent 6 years teaching 6th grade Mathematics, Science and Social Studies in Delaware and 5 years teaching 5th grade Mathematics, Science and Social Studies in Pennsylvania.

My family consists of my wife Tara who is an emergency room nurse manager and my 3 children. My oldest son Hunter will be entering 5th grade and the twins, Abigail and Jake, will be entering 3rd grade. Then, there is Roxanne my 5 yr. old yellow lab and the two cats Parsley and Pork Chop. Our favorite activities are cheerleading, softball, baseball, swimming, waterskiing, hiking, camping, fishing and hunting. We are chomping at the bit to experience the outdoors of Colorado.

I am looking forward to having a fun and productive year as a 5th grade teacher at Lopez Elementary. GO LASERS!!!

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New Staff- Jinnie Laturnus, PE teacher

This spring we said goodbye to longtime Lopez PE teacher, Barry Sabas.  Even though Barry retired from teaching, he will continue to coach basketball for Rocky Mountain High School.  Enjoy your retirement Mr. Sabas!

We are lucky to welcome Jinnie Laturnus to Lopez as our PE teacher.  She will work with all students in grades K-5.  She brings many years of experience to the position.

Hi my name is Jinnie Laturnus, I am so excited to start teaching Physical Education at Lopez Elementary!

I am coming from Cache La Poudre Elementary, and before CLPE I was at Preston Junior High.  I absolutely love my job! Teaching P.E is pure fun and a passion of mine.  I thoroughly enjoy children and teaching them about Physical Education!

On a personal note, my husband and I have 4 children.  We met at C.S.U and decided to stay in Fort Collins. We love the outdoors and really enjoy spending time with our entire family.

I am looking forward to meeting you and your children. 

Our Journey to Lighthouse Status

As many of you know, Lopez Elementary became the first school in Colorado to be awarded with Lighthouse status.  So, what does Lighthouse status mean, how do you get it, and what is the significance of it?

What is Lighthouse status?

Lighthouse status is a level of recognition for schools who have demonstrated nine benchmarks of implementation with the Leader in Me.  The Leader in Me is based on the principles from Dr. Stephen Covey's famous book, the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  As an educational model, our students learn the personal habits that produce results.  They develop habits such as problem-solving, goal setting, personal responsibility, and other 21st century skills that support the mindset of growth and success.  Children also learn to discover their unique gifts and how their leadership can contribute to the larger community.   

How does a school receive Lighthouse status?

Lopez Elementary’s journey began in 2011 when the staff and community selected the Leader in Me for the school.  The staff then developed a book study on the Leader in Me to have a shared understanding of the work.  In year one, the teachers participated in several levels of training and certification to fully develop a vision for a student leadership culture.  Over the course of two years, we completed Vision training, 7 Habits training, Implementation training, Empowerment training, and Achieving School-Wide goals training.  A small group of staff and parents, called the Lighthouse team, also became certified trainers of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and 7 Habits of Successful Families.  We held our first family training in January 2013.

In August 2013, we set a goal to raise our level of implementation of the Leader in Me to a high level.  The indicator of a high degree of implementation is spelled out as "Lighthouse" status.  

On April 17, 2014, we held our Lighthouse review where a review group from Franklin Covey,

the Leader in Me organization, spent an entire day with our students, staff, and some parents.  Students led many aspects of the review, including school tours, sharing their leadership notebooks, and other highlights of our unique leadership culture.  For Lighthouse status, we had to demonstrate accomplishments in nine categories:  Lighthouse team, Leadership Environment, Integrated Curriculum and Instruction, Staff Collaboration, Student Leadership, Parent & Community Engagement, Leadership Events, Goal Tracking, and Measurable Results.  In the months leading up to the review, we created a digital portfolio that consisted of over 250 artifacts for the reviewers.  Throughout the review, we did our best to demonstrate all that the school and students had become, while still maintaining our identity as a strong neighborhood school.  On May 2, we revealed at our Leadership Day that we had been designated a Lighthouse school!

What is the significance of Lighthouse status?

We decided to pursue Lighthouse status as a way to push ourselves to continue to grow and improve our leadership culture.  First and foremost, we wanted the feedback as an organization about what we were doing well for kids and where we could improve.  Pursuing Lighthouse status helped us to do that.  Additionally, Lighthouse schools serve as a model of leadership and mentor other schools.  This gives us an opportunity to connect with other schools and share our practices as well as learn from their successes.  Worldwide, there are nearly 1700 schools involved with the Leader in Me, and ninety-four are designated as Lighthouse schools. 

  

Lopez’s journey toward Lighthouse status reflects a commitment to empowering children to be self-disciplined in achieving their personal and academic goals.  This award reflects our school's mission to develop leaders today, so they can be leaders tomorrow.  Our vision is for children to develop a strong self-concept and awareness of their valuable contributions. We strive to recognize the worth and potential in every child, so clearly that they see it in themselves!

The Leader in Me

It has been a while since I've posted on the blog. It is hard to believe that the 1st quarter of school has come to an end.  While I started the blog as a means to update the community about summer construction, I've decided to continue it to share more happenings at Lopez.

As many of you know, Lopez Elementary began its' journey to becoming a Leader in Me school in 2011. After discussions and research by the staff, families, and administration, this focus was selected because it maintained all the best of the school and added an important piece- student leadership.
This year, we are on the path to become Colorado's first Lighthouse school. This designation is reserved for schools who undergo a rigorous process to accomplish three levels within nine categories. Lopez would join only 58 other schools worldwide who have achieved Lighthouse status.

Our school Lighthouse team identified three action areas to focus on this year: Leadership Environment & Culture, Student Leadership, and Displaying School-Wide Goals (WIGs).

Within Leadership Environment & Culture, we've begun plans to add the 7 Habits and other messaging to our Flex Room.  PSD is helping us to develop a design plan.  Additionally, we will continue to create leadership displays throughout the school.

For Student Leadership, we have expanded our Student Lighthouse team into three branches:

• Education/Assembly Leaders
• Service and Philanthropy Leaders
• Leader in Me Ambassadors

 The first two branches consist of 4th and 5th graders who have applied to be part of the groups. The last group has representation from each classroom, K-5.

The Assembly/Education branch creates and performs skits about the 7 Habits at our monthly assemblies.

The Service and Philanthropy branch identifies and coordinates service projects for our school to participate in. They most recently completed a food drive for the Larimer County Food Bank and built a sculpture at "Canstruction" on the CSU campus on 10/9/13.

The final branch of the Student Lighthouse team is the Leadership Ambassador group. These are students K-5 who were chosen from each classroom by their teacher based upon their daily use of the 7 Habits. This group will lead their classrooms in leadership meetings, school-wide events, and advisory about our implementation of the Habits.

Parent involvement is a huge part of our success as a Leader in Me school. Access the Leader in Me parent guide if you haven't had the opportunity yet at www.leaderinmeorg. This week, your child participated in student led conferences. Please give us feedback about the conferences and how we can continue to communicate about our goals with the Leader in Me!

Traci Gile

Welcome to August and Class Placement Information!

Happy August Lopez families!

I am excited to be back to school and writing this from my office.  As you may know, Lopez has been closed for construction since the day after school was released.  We just started to move back in early this week!!!  I think you will be impressed with the changes.  Thank you PSD community for supporting our school improvements.  If you haven't had a chance to check the progress over the summer, I have been posting pictures on a blog at http://drgile.blogspot.com

Lopez is a wonderful school, and I am proud to be part of it.  You are all part of its' success.  Last year, we made several strides toward becoming Colorado's first Lighthouse School recognized by the Leader in Me organization.  Our leadership assemblies, leadership notebooks, student-led conferences, student leadership roles, philanthropy projects, and 7 Habits of Successful Families Event have been hallmarks to our school transformation as a leadership culture.  Look for more information and opportunities throughout the school year.

To build on our school-wide Leader in Me focus, we are bringing in an after-school program from Lego Robotics.  This will be a way to support our students who want to further develop their leadership in science, technology, engineering, teamwork, and communications.

I look forward to connecting with everyone at the Ice Cream Social on Monday, August 19 from 4:00 - 5:30 PM.  Teachers will need every minute to set up their classrooms, so please wait until 4:00 to arrive.  Children can bring their school supplies that afternoon.  School starts the next morning at 8:25 AM.  Students will line up outside of their pod or classroom doors to enter the building.

On August 12th, you will receive an email from me indicating your child's class placement for the school year.  In the event that we have an incorrect email address or do not have that information on file, class lists will be posted before the ice cream social on Monday, August 19.

If any families are new to the Lopez community, they can come by the school to register anytime after August 6 between 7:30 - 4:30.

All other back to school information, such as supply lists, are posted on the main Lopez website.  As always, feel free to call or email me if you have any questions.

Dr. Traci Gile,  Principal
tgile@psdschools.org
970-488-8800 

Lopez Construction Update #5

It is amazing how things start to come together! Little by little, we have seen some big projects completed this week. We are still on track for all of our before school events and to welcome students and families back to the Ice Cream Social on Monday, August 20 from 4:00 - 5:30 PM. Christy and I both moved back to Lopez this week. She and I shared my new office for a few days, but now the new office is ready. The office is much larger and more student and family friendly. I think it will be a welcoming and secure entrance once the final pieces have come together. Thank you PSD community for the transformation that is taking shape at Lopez.  I'll post pictures of the office next week when it is nearly complete!

Who knew all those channels and tubes were above our heads!

Most of the classrooms in the blue pod have returned to normal, with just a few touches left to go!

Still some wires and tiles to place in the front computer lab.

All the new duct work is in place!