With second quarter coming to its end, it’s a nice time to sit back and reflect on what a great second quarter it was. Mt Hall and Naples were especially busy.

We enjoyed our Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks, as well as all of the excitement that goes into the holiday season. We also were able to enjoy Mother Nature’s bountiful gift of snow this year.

As per Mrs. Cheryl Economu’s request, the students at Mt Hall are able to sled down a small hill on our playground. It’s fun to watch. Ms. Kelli Ripatti and Mrs. Economu are enjoying this new tradition with students.

Naples students had just as much fun with the snow. Ms. Chloe Cavender took them outside and taught them to cross country ski. It was a whole school effort. The 5th graders were especially sweet, and helped the kindergarteners during their cross country ski time.

With January 16th being MLK Day, the student councils at Mt Hall and Naples had a food drive this past week to celebrate Dr. King and his message of service to others. All proceeds will be donated to their local food banks. To up the ante, both schools decided to make it a competition between the classes to see which class could donate the most items. Regardless of the outcome, the real winners are our food banks.

In specific school related news, please keep your calendars open in February. The famous Mt Hall Auction has been scheduled for February 17th, and donations are starting to roll in. In other exciting Mt Hall news, we welcomed a new custodian to our building. Mr. Chris Hutchinson, or better known to the kids as Mr. Hutch, joined our staff right before Christmas break. He’s a welcomed addition, and he’s already appreciated by the staff and students.

Naples is into their first week of their second HATS session. This session the students are focusing on Arts, Science, and Technology. Mr. Michael Wold and Mrs. Cavender teamed up to teach the students how to code. Miss Molly and Mr. Murray are guiding the students through the elements of art. Mrs. Macdonald and Ms. Knelsen are challenging our older kids and teaching a science course. All of the teachers and students enjoy HATS. The students enjoy the different course offerings, and the teachers enjoy getting to know the other students.

There’s a lot going on district wide too. This week the schools are sending their top spellers to a district-wide spelling bee. A big thank you to our district coordinator, Mrs. Dottie Gray, and Mrs. Nishek from Mt Hall and Mrs. Cavender from Naples for organizing this at their schools. Since this is a levy year, the district would like to hold meetings for the public to come and receive information and be able to ask questions before it’s time to vote. The first Maintenance & Operation Levy presentation will be at Mt Hall Elementary on Monday, January 30, 2017. The presentation will start at 6 p.m. We hope to see you there.

I’m sure next month will be here before I know it. Thank you for all your support of our students and schools. Until next time, Go Wildcats! And Go Wolverines!

Respectfully yours,

Lisa Iverson, Principal