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MMES: Principal Wilkinson welcomes Falcons back

Posted 8/4/22

McDowell Mountain Elementary School principal Kevin Wilkinson is ready for back-to-school events. The Times reached out to each school principal for a statement ahead of the new school year. …

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MMES: Principal Wilkinson welcomes Falcons back

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McDowell Mountain Elementary School principal Kevin Wilkinson is ready for back-to-school events. The Times reached out to each school principal for a statement ahead of the new school year. Following are Wilkinson’s thoughts.

Hello Falcon Families! I want to officially welcome you to the 2022-23 school year at McDowell Mountain Elementary School.

I am extremely excited to begin my first full school year in FHUSD. I know we have faced various challenges the past few years, but I am confident that we will get MMES back to where it was before the pandemic began. Below are my goals for the upcoming school year, as well as how we plan to bring back the trust and success our community wants from their elementary school.

The top priority of MMES will always be the safety, security and well-being of our students and staff. To accomplish this, we have a few different initiatives in place this year.

First, we recently posted a security guard position for MMES. Second, we have partnered with the Boys & Girls Club to help support recess supervision. Currently our plan is to have a minimum of four adults on the playground supervising during the lunch recess times. Finally, we have two school counselors (Mike Neumann, Juanita Smart) and a dean of students (Nicole Latona) to help support students with behavior and social/emotional issues.

This year, MMES is focusing on placing high expectations on all stakeholders – teachers, students, staff and parents. From communication to behavior to customer service, we will expect everyone to provide their very best, day in and day out, so students see exemplary modeling from everyone at MMES. Students will also be expected to do their best each day with regard to attendance, behavior and academic performance.

MMES will provide consistent and reliable communication to its families in 2022-23. Each week, I will provide my own, “Falcon Focus,” to families with important information, fun facts and pictures of all the great things we are doing here. Teachers will also be communicating with families on a weekly basis to help keep parents informed on their student’s progress, behavior and fun activities taking place.

This year, MMES will provide events to its families to attend outside of normal business hours to help build the relationship between our school and the community. Some of these events include “Back to School Night,” “Math Night,” hosted by Mathnasium, and “Donuts with Dads.” I am also working with PTO on a fundraiser idea that would include a parent/student basketball game. MMES will also be encouraging parents to volunteer in the classroom again, so anyone interested can contact the main office to begin completing the necessary paperwork.

As you can see, we have a plan for success at MMES in 2022-23. It will take time, but I am confident we will realize all of our goals this school year with the help of our families and community. Falcon Fest will be Monday, Aug. 8. The building will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with the exception of lunch from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

Students will receive their schedules and meet teachers at Falcon Fest. We will also have local organizations set up in the gym for parents to get more information regarding PTO, Boys & Girls Club and Mathnasium. I look forward to an exciting school year with all of our MMES staff, students and families.