Dear Cottonwood Families,
The end is near! At the end of the month we will be saying good-bye to a great group of students and some wonderful teachers. I hope you agree that this has been a great year at Cottonwood! Our year has been full of learning and growth for your children. We truly appreciate your partnership in education.
I want to give a huge shout out to our amazing PTA for a wonderful Teacher/Staff Appreciation week last month. Our PTA and parent volunteers truly went above and beyond, and we are so grateful! Thank you to all of our parents for sending in sweet “favorite” gifts to all of us as well as your wonderful and kind notes and cards. I was truly touched by your kindness and generosity!
With each new year comes change—and that’s not a bad thing. Today I came across a quote that really resonated with me: “Change is not something to fear, but an opportunity to grow—embrace it with hope and a smile.”
I invite each of you to welcome the changes ahead with a positive outlook. We have some staffing updates for next year that we’re excited to share, along with a few other changes that will help us move forward together.
So, I too am embracing the change—with hope, with purpose, and yes, with a smile—knowing that things have a way of working out when we move forward together.
We will have some changes to some of our teachers. I’ll start by sharing the good-bye’s first. I would like to start off and wish Mrs. Carolyn Pixton, one of our fun and energetic 3rd grade teachers, the best as she moves into retirement. Thank you for all of your years of service. You will never be forgotten! We want to wish Mrs. Britney Hillier, one of our amazing 4th grade teachers, the best as she moves into the wonderful world of motherhood. We are so excited for her and her sweet new baby, Jack! We also want to send our well wishes to Mrs. Joni Larson, our fabulous literacy coach. She is with us half-time and half-time with Driggs. She will now be full time at Driggs. They are lucky to get her. Finally, we want to wish Mrs. Sheryl Larson the best as she moves to the junior high level at the new Brockbank STEM school. She will have the amazing opportunity to help develop the arts program at this new school. We can’t thank Sheryl enough for helping to instill the love of visual arts to many, many students over the years.
We are excited to welcome Mrs. Jennifer Koloc to Cottonwood! She comes to us with outstanding recommendations from her current school and principal, and we are thrilled to have her join our Cottonwood family. We are also pleased to welcome Mrs. Jennifer Brewer as our new literacy coach. She brings many years of experience in literacy instruction, and I am confident our teachers and students will benefit greatly from her expertise.
We are still awaiting confirmation from the district regarding our additional classroom teacher and visual arts teacher. I know how supportive the Cottonwood community is and am certain they will be warmly welcomed.
We all feel that these are all wonderful changes and each individual teacher will bring so much positive change to the new grade levels they will be teaching. We are excited for the 25-26 school year and look to embrace these changes with hopes and smiles with you!
We are excited to let you know who is tentatively assigned to teach which grade levels next year.
Kindergarten: Mrs. Bench & Mrs. Hyland
First Grade: Mrs. Bricker & Mrs. Gleave
Second Grade: Miss Blackham & ______
Third Grade: Ms. Butler & Mrs. Koloc
Fourth Grade: Miss Gilchrist & Mrs. Holmes
Fifth Grade: Mrs. Alamo & Miss Williams
While we are on the topic of next year, please watch your emails this summer for important information. All students, new and returning, must register. Registration will take place through your online Focus account and teacher placements will be made available after the registration process is completed. The first day of school is scheduled for Wednesday, August 12th, for all grades.
As you’re making plans for next year, please check the district calendar found on the district website. A copy of the calendar is attached to this newsletter. Our school calendar will be updated periodically throughout the summer as new information/changes are made. We are hoping to continue to boost our attendance next year and continue to lower the number of tardies. It is so important for your child’s academic and social well-being to be in school and on-time to school! Thank you for helping us out and creating an “education first” focus in your homes.
I hope you all have a great last month of school and wish you a wonderful summer vacation!
Love,
Principal Cooper
