St. Ignatius Elementary focusing on basics

Two critical elements of education have been on my mind lately: attendance and behavior. Both of these in action form can be positive or negative. Both of these can have immediate positive or negative consequences. In looking at long-term outcomes for students, the positive and negative are both amplified and increase in distance from each other for choices in attendance and behavior.

Positive behavior naturally leads to positive interactions and growth. Likewise, positive attendance at school leads to positive learning. These two elements are so essential to successful outcomes for students that it is worthy of emphasis.

In getting “back to the basics” in education, it helps to think of our school as a team or even a basketball team and we are the players. We learn the basics first and practice them until we master them. I’m reminded of the classic movie Hoosiers with the at first unlikable coach, Norman Dale, who tells his players that they will be learning only the fundamentals first. They even practice without a basketball for the first few days just to work on the basics. Even though this may not have been exactly how the 1954 Indiana state champions from the small school of Milan were coached, the principle of learning the basics and laying a solid foundation to build upon is a recognizable truth in all disciplines.

Positive behavior and good attendance are two of our basics at St. Ignatius Elementary. Please help our school deliver the best education possible by preparing students to be at school and with good behavior. Parents and Guardians have a great influence on our students and can make the difference in student attendance and in promoting positive behavior. We support these two basic principles of education and look forward to increasing both student attendance and positive behaviors at St. Ignatius Elementary.

The attendance at our PT conferences in November was sky high! We want to thank all our parents and guardians who came in and were available for fall conferencing. Over 97% of our students’ parents and guardians were able to conference!

Congratulations to Keithetta Quequesah for her prize-winning entry in the Thanksgiving Coloring Contest at Western Montana Clinic. Her colorful entry may be seen at Now Care Western Montana Clinic Southgate Mall, where it is on display along with all the contestants’ entries. Way to go, Keithetta.

– Taylor Arlint is the Elementary Principal at St. Ignatius Schools