Message from Mr. Milner

January 7, 2012

Happy New Year Crater Parents!

I hope you all had a nice holiday with your children and families.  If you are like my wife and I, I am sure you are anxious to get your child back to school and a regular routine.

When we left for Winter Break in December, citizens and school's across our country were grieving a horrible tragedy in Connecticut.  During the last school week in December, we made some changes to enhance our school's security, as we stepped back to evaluate our procedures and practices.  These changes will stay in place as we continue on with the school year.   All exterior doors to our school will be locked during the school day.  We will have a walkie-talkie in place outside of the front door to contact the office.  You can also call the main office using your cell phone (503-554-4650).

For dismissal, we have made some adjustments to increase our supervision.  At the dismissal bell, students will be escorted to these dismissal points:

    Parent Pick-Up (By Foot)- Front Entry (not in the back by the playground as posted in December)
    Parent Pick-Up (By Car) - Cafeteria
    Bus Riders- Gym
    Bike Riders and Walkers- Exit by the Playground

On January 15th, at our next PTO meeting, I will be visiting with parents and discussing other suggestions to improve upon our school's safety.  Our meeting starts at 6:00 PM and is in the school library.  I look forward to seeing you there.

The staff had a great day today working to improve upon our instructional practices in math and reading.  We are excited to see our students tomorrow and get back to business, preparing them for their future.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Thank you for the support you provide our school and students.

December 20, 2012

Happy Holidays Crater Parents and Families:

We will be finishing up 2012 tomorrow and I wanted to connect with parents to let them know of school happenings and changes before we start Winter Break.
As I shared with you earlier in the week, we have been spending a great deal of time reflecting upon and analyzing our school safety procedures.  As a result, all of our school doors will be locked during the school day.  This includes the front door to the school.  If you need to come into the school, please use the call button on the desk, or call the school office at 503-554-4650 and someone will come to let you into the school.  I realize that this is an inconvenience, but our office staff felt that we would have more control over who was entering the building.
Starting in January 2013, we will be making some slight adjustments to our dismissal procedures.  Students who walk home will be leaving the school out the back doors by the playground.  If you walk home with your child, parents will need to pick them up at this location.  We would also like all students who are walking to use the crosswalk at Main and Foothills.  If our walkers walk down to Crater Lane, they will need to use this crosswalk and walk on the opposite side of Foothills Dr.  In this way, our students can cross  with a crosswalk crew in place to help them walk safely across Foothills Dr.  We made this change because there were too many close calls as students crossed at the Crater Ln. crosswalk.  We will teach students these new routines in January and put a sign up to remind parents of this change.
At our January 15th PTO meeting, I'll be sharing with parents a bit more about school safety and gathering input about things we can we can make any additional revisions to our plans and procedures.

Finally, I'll end my last message of 2012 with something positive- our Holiday Sharing Tree.  If you check out the image above, you can see that our Holiday Sharing Tree was the biggest success ever.  Our Crater parents, students and local businesses really came through and the generous donations of food will go out to support some of our Crater families.  Thank you for your generosity.  It is a great way to finish up 2012.

We will start up the 2013 part of the school year on January 8th.  Until then,  I wish all of you a relaxing and wonderful holiday season.

Kevin Milner ~ AC Principal

December 17, 2012

Dear Crater Parents and Families:

The events of last week both in our local area and in our nation were tragic and impacted us all in some way.  We are all deeply saddened by these tragic events.   People often seek information about what they can do to support their children and to better understand the procedures in place to keep their children safe at school.  This is a normal and appropriate reaction in a situation such as this.

The District has worked diligently over the years on our safety protocols, including partnering with local law enforcement. Our buildings are equipped with updated security features, our schools conduct regular drills and our staff is trained in lockdown procedures.

We have a close partnership with the Newberg Police Department.  Our district has been in contact with the Chief of Police and he is committed to maintaining visibility and presence of officers in and around our schools.

Staff will continue to approach any adult not wearing a staff or visitor badge who is on our campus.  Please help us by checking in at the main office and wearing a visitor’s badge every time you enter our buildings.

I spoke to many parents Friday and today who have questions about our safety plans and protocols.  Our school, and district, are committed to making sure your child is safe as school.

Over the weekend, and over Winter Break, I’ll be spending time looking closer at our plans, talking with staff, and making any revisions as needed.  At our January parent meeting (PTO), we will be talking about school safety and addressing any questions or concerns that parents may have.

I wanted to make sure that parents were aware that ensuring your child’s safety is a top priority.   If you have any immediate questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at 503-554-4654.

Thank you.

Kevin Milner ~ Antonia Crater Principal