Silver Creek Community Members,

             As an update to a previous communication on school start times, I would like to inform you that we are still investigating  later start times for Silver Creek in 2015-2016.   There are multiple factors impacting this change as ongoing discussion and collaboration with several groups are underway.  I will continue to communicate directly to you regarding any changes that may occur.  Thank you for your thoughtful conversation and input regarding this concept. 

            Congratulations to Kaari Von Bernuth as she has been selected as a Boettcher Scholarship Finalist.  Congratulations to 2014 graduate Katherine Padrnos for her recognition as a National Merit Finalist.  Fittingly Katherine earned the requisite credits to graduate a year early.  Hats off to our All-Musicians as they are representing Silver Creek at the annual State Music Festivals.  

            I would like to personally invite you to two upcoming marquee events.  Please be our guest on February 21 at the second annual Mardi Gras fundraiser hosted by the Silver Creek Education Foundation.  This event is sure to impress with talent, tastings and a terrific auction.  For more information, tickets and online auction please visit http://schsedfoundation.org

            Please also join us as we welcome in the Chinese New Year on February 28 at Silver Creek High School.  You’ll be met with fantastic performances including the Lion Dance, Taiko Drummers, Kung Fu demonstrations, activity booths and authentic foods.  This event is free and open to the public.  Please visit http://cny.stvrain.k12.co.us for further information. 

            The teacher IPAD rollout occurred this past week. We are busy preparing for the upcoming school year and the distribution of IPADs to all students.  Our teachers are engaging in professional development related to instructional technologies.  At all of our professional learning opportunities, new technologies are demonstrated for teacher and classroom use.  Some examples of these include Google Classroom, Padlet, Notability, Cel.ly, Socrative, Plickers and many more.  We look forward to additional staff trainings at upcoming conferences and employing these efforts next year to insure a successful IPAD rollout.  Many thanks to Altona staff as they joined us last week for a debrief on topics including IPAD management, Instructional Apps, Teacher Learning Communities and the distribution process. 

            Silver Creek has many other exciting things occurring including our Unified Sports Team, who recently packed the gym in their basketball game against Brighton.  Come on out and join us for the spring performing arts concert series. Help us make a splash at state and support our Conference Champion Girls’ Swim Team!  Help us pack the gym as we take on Longmont in a Girls/Boys doubleheader on 2/19.  Save the date on May 11 for our annual evening of excellence as our students present their Senior Capstone Projects as part of SCLA. 

            Thank you to all for continuing to make Silver Creek a wonderful place to learn and to lead.

My Best,

Erick Finnestead

Principal, Silver Creek High School