It takes a village...

The education of our students is never ending.  I sincerely appreciate the willingness of businesses and community members to take the time to work with our students and provide another component to their education.  To educate the whole child, we need to look for outside resources and professionals that can supplement the hard work our staff do in their classrooms.

Over the past few weeks, we have had visitors in our schools, as well as field trips in town and out of town.  FEM Electric made a stop to visit our third and fifth grade students to teach them about what cooperatives are, electricity, as well as farm safety.  Their presentation was done in the classroom, as well as in the lunchroom and gym.  In the pictures you can see the display used to show farm safety, and not pictured was a demonstration of electrical equipment that is commonly used. Dr. Bode, from Animal Health Center here in Faulkton, also made a stop by the fifth grade classroom.  Animal cells was the topic of discussion.  Students were able to see cells on the Promethean Board through the microscope.  It is great to have Dr. Bode share his expertise with this group of students.

Our students have also been very fortunate to have been able to take some field trips as well. Our kindergarten has taken a cross-town hike to the fire department and sheriff's office. The fourth grade took a trip to NSU for the Northern Prairie Water Festival, the seniors and juniors attended the NSU Business Symposium, and Mr. Ulrich took a group of students to Augustana University for Science Day.  I know there are probably others not mentioned as well.

The Faulkton Area Schools District thanks our community and surrounding area for giving us the ability to experience so many exciting opportunities for learning. Our staff works hard to provide new and innovative ways to educate our children. Education is ever changing, and I can't thank our staff and community enough for the hard work they put in to make learning meaningful for our students. It takes a village...

Respectfully,

Derek Barrios
Superintendent/Elementary Principal

FEM Electric

FEM Electric

Dr. John Bode with microscope set-up for students to see

Kindergarten visiting with Faulk County Sheriff Department

Kindergarten visiting the Faulkton Volunteer Fire Department

4th Grade at Water Festival

Excitement and Engagement

The excitement and engagement of our students is amazing. I was reminded of this the other day when observing in the first grade classroom for a bit. Cheers so loud for spelling "hip" correctly it made you smile. There is not a day that goes by in this building without hearing the shouts of joy from a class as they celebrate something new that they have learned. Even the encouragement that they give one another while in class is great. Our students are eager to learn and just as eager to help others learn. These are attributes that are learned. Attributes that are taught and modeled to them by our parents and staff.  This is what makes Faulkton Area such a great place to be a learner.

The classrooms that our students are in everyday are full of collaboration and teamwork. Teamwork is something that has been a part of my life for a long time. Growing up with a father who was a college football coach, I was on the sidelines of many football games and at many practices.  It was evident to me then how important teamwork was. I could see those who were leaders, those who were great team players, and those who were not great team players.  Walking through the halls of our buildings and observing in classrooms gives a great picture of what teamwork is. Students helping students, teachers helping students, teachers helping teachers, and students helping teachers. This type of teamwork is what takes a school district to the next level.

I am excited to help support the great amount of collaboration and teamwork that is taking place in our buildings. I am also looking forward to continuing to improve our collaboration and teamwork with our community. The entire community plays an important role in the success of our schools and our children. The ceiling of our continued success is limitless, and involving all of our district community members, business owners, parents, staff and students is vital.

If you reside in our school district, or have children attending our schools, please take this survey by clicking on this link: http://bit.ly/2dJ5oVm
Also, if you are on Twitter. Connect with me! @MrBeRos

Respectfully,

Derek Barrios
Superintendent/Elementary Principal

Here we go...

Welcome!

I have been putting this off for some time now, so I have finally decided to take the plunge and begin a blog for myself as superintendent. The mission and vision of my blog is “To engage and communicate effectively with members of our district”.  This will be a learning experience for me, so hang with me. I want to provide an area that allows all the members of our school district to see the school district from my point of view.  My blog posts will provide a look into our schools throughout the year. I plan to share the amazing things that our talented teachers are doing in their classrooms, the projects and activities that our students are doing, occasional education updates that are important to share, and the experiences I am gaining as a superintendent.

I am very excited to begin my first year as Superintendent with the Faulkton Area Schools District. We are a couple months into the school year now, and have been working hard to become acquainted with the community of Faulkton and Faulk County. Our district is nearly 1,000 sq. miles, while I will not claim to have driven the many roads of the district, I can say that I have driven the many miles of our bus routes to become better aware of the area that we serve.  I have also spent some time at all three of the Colony Schools that are in our district. I am looking forward to working with those individual schools and communities.

We are very fortunate to have such amazing staff in our school buildings. I have enjoyed seeing their hard work and determination with our students to get the school year started right.  Their excitement and enthusiasm is infectious, and I cannot wait to see the many great things that we can accomplish together.

The Faulkton Area Schools District has a great tradition of success and support in this community.  I will work hard to recognize and honor that while keeping our school district moving forward and progressing with the ever changing educational landscape.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have. I would be happy to sit down and talk with you. I look forward to a great rest of the school year.

Respectfully,

Derek Barrios – Superintendent/Elementary Principal