2016 Holiday Message

As we enter the last week of school before the holiday break and close out the end of another year, I begin to reflect on life and the purpose of the holidays.  To me, the holiday season is about believing. Historically, the holidays began this time of year due to the Winter Solstice.  The Winter Solstice is the time of the year when the Earth turns and light begins to enter back into our Hemisphere.  This enlightenment is the reason that many religions hold their holidays this time of the year.  The light entering into the world is symbolic.  I think of this light as a symbol of hope for better things to come in the new year.   

As you come together with the people closet to you in these last few days of 2016, enjoy the relationships that you have and think about the better things to come.  Far too often, we are so busy in our everyday lives that we forget about our relationships with each other and how important they can be.  Nothing demonstrates that fun-loving caring relationship at SIS more than this year’s holiday video.  Here again is the video:

As we enter 2017, I ask that you continue with your commitment towards the success of our students.  I believe that Shelton has always been a community that cares for each other.  I believe we will come together in the ideals of respect, responsibility and safety.  As our school motto states, I believe that through Leadership and Teamwork, we can ensure our Focus will remain in making SIS a safe and caring learning environment for all. 

Best wishes for a wonderful, relaxing and safe holiday season,

Ken

It's time to reflect, be thankful and start fresh!

Dear Friends of SIS,

As we bring closure to the first quarter and begin a new one, I would like to thank all the members of the Shelton Community for making our first marking period such a success. Within the first marking period, students and staff bonded together in many ways. Our Dean’s Cup competition has gotten off to an amazing start, and I love to see those SIS vocabulary selfies.  Congratulations to Team Inspiration who currently leads in points for the Dean’s Cup at the end of the 1^st quarter. 

There were many activities and events that students and staff participated in during the 1^st quarter.  No month displayed this togetherness best than the month of October.   We began the month initiating our 7th graders as part of the SIS family at Nature's Classroom

and participated in Bullying Prevention Month. Activities were planned each week and announcements regarding positive behaviors were shared daily through WSIS.  We dressed “Blue”

to demonstrate our stand against bullying and “orange”

to show our unity.  The month came to a close when we transitioned to “Pink” as our school worked together to support the community efforts in the battle against cancer during "Valley Goes Pink". 

November continued with great learning opportunities and community events with a historical Presidential election and our Veterans Day celebration.  Both events demonstrated how we need to continue to appreciate each other and our world around us. We work together to make a positive influence on the community and lead by example through our Viking Values of respect, responsibility and safety. 

Of course the first quarter also involved our responsibilities of teaching and learning. During these past few weeks, the staff and I developed the building’s School Improvement Plan (SIP).Click here to view the SIS School Improvement Plan (SIP) The SIP is created from an analysis by the staff of current data about our students. This data then determines our focus areas for improvement. With this document, our school’s goals are established for the year. Each teacher and I set our personal and professional goals related to the SIP as we work towards the education of our students. By having this common plan, we work together in improving teaching and learning for all students.

In order for us to reach our school’s SIP goal, we will need the continued cooperation and support from home. As we set our goals for improvement, I encourage families to share their goals and expectations of the school year with each other. Working together as a team, we provide our students with a focus and instill in them the concepts of purpose and awareness. As a learning community, we need to make great strides in our educational growth in a short period of time. Student focus is paramount in making this possible.

As I reflect upon this first marking period, I could not be prouder to be the Headmaster of this incredible learning community. What the students and staff of SIS have accomplished in the first few months of this school year solidifies why SIS is a great part of the Shelton community.

For us to continue working towards improvement, we need to work as a community. Next week, our first round of parent/teacher conferences will take place. Our conferences are a time in which the key components of the school/family/relationship (the parent, the teacher and the student) come together. I hope you find this time productive. It is important that parents gain important information about their child’s current progress in school. It is my expectation that conferences provide strategies to help our students be successful in school.

I look forward to meeting parents through informal open dialogues and discussions regarding our students and the school's improvement plan.  As I have shared, our school's motto is "Leadership, Teamwork and Focus".  Together we can make your child's educational experience a success.

I would like to take this time to extend my wishes for a happy and relaxing Thanksgiving holiday for each of you.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  The focus is a great meal with the people closest to you.  There are no gifts or holiday pressures.  The holiday has always been a day of great memories and laughs.  I continue to be so thankful for my health, family and SIS.  As the Headmaster of SIS, I am very thankful to lead this community.

Professionally Yours,

Ken Saranich

Headmaster

Opening the Year with a Different Look; Performing with Same Success!

 

Congratulations to everyone on a successful first week of school.  I believe that this year’s opening went exceptionally smooth.  Our students look excited, happy, and ready to learn.  I attribute this successful opening as a sign of our SIS community embracing our motto of Leadership, Teamwork, and Focus.  Due to an illness, my personal focus was down during our Opening Week, but as a team we worked together, and all of you stepped into that leadership role necessary to make the start of the school year a success. 

From our daily opening procedures to some unexpected events, we welcomed our students, prepared them to learn, and made them feel safe.  I want to thank everyone for making last week such a success and working together as a team. Through the efforts of all of our team members (staff, students, and parents), we achieved an awesome opening week leading us to another prosperous school year.

I thoroughly enjoy having the “family” back together again.  During our first staff meeting of the year I shared, “Although we may have a different look, we are still the same.” We proved that statement together in our successful first week of school.  As we continue to transition into a new year, it is my intent to inspire you and share our vision of how we will continue making SIS a better learning environment for everyone.  As we continue to welcome  our new students and parents, know that they are joining our SIS community and are now a part of our school’s success.  Let's take the time to get to know each other and share your passion for learning.  Together, I firmly believe that we will have another successful, productive, and fun year.  We will face the challenges and triumphs that await us together.  I know that the SIS staff will present seamless, high-quality, rigorous instruction for our students, and together we will build a learning environment where all students and staff are happy and safe.