Students did pixel art on fences around Wellington Elementary, taking a small drawing and developing it so it could be seen by everyone. Here Justin Perez, Tadd Nielsen, Braylee Ring and Logan Evans stand in front of the display they developed.
Carbon School District Press Release
Paulie Vogrinec may be new to being a principal this year, but her experience as a teacher shows through in the way she and her staff have been providing educational insights to students during a very tough time.
“We began the year with advancing our Second Steps program,” said Vogrinec. “Our school counselor (Cassie Bailey) has been going into the classes and teaching students about being a respectful listener and a respectful learner.”
Second Steps is a program that concentrates on the social, emotional and mental health development of students.
“We have tied it into our behavior program and students earn tokens based on a rubric about the things being taught,” she said. “We have a theme for each month (October is bullying prevention) and then at the end of the month, we have our Warrior award assembly (the first one of the year being virtual) to showcase students who have gone above and beyond with learning and practicing those skills.”
Another area of concentration has been art.
“As you come onto the school grounds, the fences are lined with the students’ artwork,” explained Vogrinec. “Mrs. Scow, our art specialist, worked with the older kids to do pixel art. They had to graph out what they were going to display on paper through a small drawing and then they had to transfer that art onto the school fences.”
With some of the lower grades, the art specialist is using a theme of “Make Your Mark” this year. Students have done chalk art on the sidewalk as well as self-portraits of themselves.
Vogrinec also explained that the leveled reading program is going well and they are using the same procedure as was used last year where when students raise their reading a level. Students bring a paper to her office where they get a gumball out of the gumball machine and a get to add a sticker to gumball machines in the hallway.
“The school really didn’t get to finish that last year and so we decided to continue it this year,” she said.
The school is also having movie nights for families and the first one was held on Oct. 8. The program is a PTA function and it is being done safely with social distancing and masks.
“The PTA worked it out with the health department, including getting food handlers permits to provide an evening meal for those who come to the event,” she stated. “They taped off areas for families to sit together and socially distance from others.”
Vogrinec said that as a new principal, she has been happy to see the way school started so smoothly despite the conditions everyone is under.
“The students have been really good about wearing their masks,” she said. “And many students whose parents had initially decided to have their kids stay home and do things virtually have now sent their students back to us.”