Welcome to the 2023-2024 School Year!

I hope all of you had a very relaxing, fun and rejuvenating summer break. This is the time of year that puts a smile on everyone's faces. From our students to our staff, as well as our parents, it is great to see and feel all of the positive energy. What an exciting time of the year, full of joy and optimism. It was great seeing our Comet students as they arrived to school on August 23rd to begin our new school year. It was especially moving as I watched one particular teacher as she saw an elementary student she works closely with getting off the bus with a huge smile, waving his arms so excited to see her and to be at school. Her tear filled eyes greeted him and off they went, headed into the school to get reacquainted. I'm confident that teacher is going to have a positive impact on that student again this school year!

As we head into the new year, I want to encourage all of our parents/guardians to partner with our staff this year for the success of our students. The education of our children and learning outcomes are greatly enhanced when we work together. Thank you in advance for assisting us in helping your child to have an awesome school year!

While summer is a time for relaxation, our staff have been busy learning as they have participated in DLT (District Leadership Team) meetings, BLT (Building Leadership Team) meetings, in state and out of state conferences, trainings for new teachers, mentor/mentee meetings, ESL and dual-language trainings, curriculum development, and much more. It has been great to see our staff members continue to grow as professionals. I believe we have some of the most highly qualified teachers and exceptional staff in the state.

This is the first of our monthly district newsletters. One of the the goals we have been working on over the past year is to improve our communication. Last year we created a district-wide Communications Committee and this year we will continue to develop and grow the work of the committee. One of the the first items you will notice is an added Instagram account linked to the West Liberty CSD information feeds. Also, we are working to enhance our web pages, and we will be continuing to positively promote our school district by highlighting many of our outstanding students and staff! If you have suggestions for improving our communication, please contact the central office.

Have a great school year!

GO COMETS!!

Shaun Kruger

Superintendent

After several months of construction, the new ELC (Early Learning Center) and the Elementary remodel were recently completed. Both projects turned out great and were ready for staff and students just in time for the start of the new school year.

Our 4-year-old preschool students are housed in the new ELC building, while our kindergarten students are housed in the remodeled wing of the Elementary school. It has been an enjoyable process to see the construction of both facilities, and it is great to see the buildings come to life with students and staff.

Also, in the back of the new ELC is a brand-new playground area with some pretty awesome equipment, including sensory-sensitive and handicap-accessible play areas! This was made possible by grants we received thanks to our nurse, Kayla Morrison, who applied for them last school year.

While there are still a few finishing touches that will need to be completed, we are happy to start the new school year in our new location!

ELC/Remodel Open House: Join us in celebrating the new ELC and Kindergarten remodel on October 23rd, at 6:00 pm.

Hopefully you have enjoyed the Friday Flyovers with our new drone, compliments of Brian Rance, our Technology Director. It has been great watching the fields develop and take shape over the past few months.

The turf soccer and football field has been installed, and next they will be moving over to the softball and baseball fields. The ticket booth is standing, and the concession stand is halfway complete. The bleachers will be done at the end of the month, and the base layer of the track should be cured enough to have the final layer of synthetic rubber applied by the end of the month.

While we had been optimistic that we would be playing football on the new field this fall, there is still a lot of work that needs to be completed prior to hosting an event. Thank you for your patience as the project work is completed. We want this project finished in a timely manner, and we also want to ensure that our students and community have an outstanding, high quality facility for many years to come.

Congratulations to Principal Brenda Arthur-Miller! This summer Brenda Arthur-Miller was awarded administrator of the year for the Ag division of Career and Technical Education at the Iowa Ag Teachers Conference! Most recently, she is the Iowa Career and Technical Education Administrator of the Year representing all CTE Areas. She is now a National Finalist for Administrator of the Year! Thank you Brenda for your support for Agricultural Education/FFA, Family Consumer Science/FCCLA, and Business/FBLA.

Mark your calendars for these upcoming events: