Welcome back Vikings!

Welcome to John Campbell Primary!

Bienvenidos a la escuela John Campbell Primaria!

We've been looking forward to the start of this school year ever since students left for summer vacation. Last year we had a lot of amazing student successes and can't wait to build on them this year. 

We have a few areas of focus at JCP that we would love for you to discuss and support at home:

1. We believe that going to college, or at least graduating from high school with vast career options, begins in our building. Please talk with students about your career and/or collegiate experiences. They'll be hearing about it from us on a weekly basis. JCP students are preparing to change the world.

2. We love and celebrate mistakes! We believe that mistakes are stepping stone to success. We celebrate them and learn from them and hope that our school is such a trusting and supportive environment that all students are willing to try and not be hampered by the fear of failure. 

3. We believe in equity, not equality. A doctor would never give every patient the same treatment and we believe that the classroom is the same way. Our teachers are skilled at providing each individual student with exactly what they need, to help them reach the grade-level expectations, and to push them beyond their current limits. You will see classrooms that look busy, kids everywhere, with very few working on the same thing. That is the sign of a powerful learning environment.

4. Lastly, we need children reading at least 60 minutes a day for them to be successful. We will provide them with as much guided instructional reading time and free read time in class as possible, but, in lieu of homework, we require every student to read 15-20 minutes (minimum) every night. For our youngest readers, this may mean they sit with you and you read to them, pointing to the words as you read so they can start connecting sounds with letters.

I strive to have an open-door policy (se habla espanol) so don't hesitate to stop by if you have questions, want to chat about education, or want to know how you can help. If I'm not available, any one of our secretaries have access to my calendar and can set up a time for us to chat.

This is more exciting than opening day for the Mariners!

Cheers!

Dr. Rob Darling

To know more about me, and our administration staff, see our personal pages on this website. or Click Here

Final Weekly Announcement of 2016-17

June 12th Announcement :( from Rob Darling on Vimeo.

May Reading competition winners

May is oftentimes a tough month to keep student excited. So we did a little reading challenge. The top class from each grade level who read the most minute in May got to either shave my head (Ms. Siekawitch, Kinder, 8,180 minutes), duct tape me to a pole (Mrs. Tullis 2nd grade, 9,840) or throw 100 water balloons at me (Ms. Smeback, 1st grade, 10, 641 after-school minutes read in May!!)

We also included the second place winners and they joined in the fun.

Here, watch this...

June 5th announcement from Rob Darling on Vimeo.

May 15 morning announcement video....Dancing teachers

May 15 announcements from Rob Darling on Vimeo.

Award-winning film screening at Selah School District

Beginning last spring a group of teachers representing each building in the district, called the District Advisory Council, has been meeting with Superintendent Shane Backlund to discuss innovative ways to help meet the needs of the 21st Century learner.  The foundation for the group’s discussions has come from their book study of the text titled, Most Likely to Succeed.  The book is a call to action for educators and communities to reimagine public education to help meet the needs of today’s learner.  The book is also an award winning documentary film that has been shown in schools all over the country.  On May 31 at 6:30 PM, the District Advisory Council will be hosting a screening of this film for the entire Selah educational community.  The purpose of this event is to foster meaningful discussion among educators, administrators, parents, and students about how current obstacles can be overcome and steps toward change can be taken on a local level.  The hope is that these discussions will continue into next year and turn into partnerships, ideas and meaningful change to help our students be more prepared for their future.

The screening and brief discussion will take place at Selah Middle School in the VPAC on Wednesday, May 31 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM and childcare will be provided.  If you’re interested in attending and being a part of the conversation please RSVP here.

If you have questions please contact Crystal West at 698-8001. We look forward to seeing you there!

Final Reading Challenge for JCP

Here is our final reading challenge of the 2016-17 school year: Record all of the minutes you read after school during the month of May. The class from each grade level with the most minutes read will be selected.

These three classes will do one of the following:
1. One class will duct tape Dr. Darling to a pole.

2. The next class will pelt Dr. Darling with water balloons

3. The final class will shave Dr. Darling's head.

Teachers aren't the only ones who cry...

This is hanging in my office. The sticky note reads, "...or this office!!" but no one listens. I have teachers and parents crying in my office quite often. But as principals, we encounter things that really get to us. Sometimes, they are heartbreaking issues or events we are forced to deal with. But occasionally we have heartwarming ones that make the tears flow as well.

A short time ago, I had a little guy who was besides himself when his mom dropped him off for school that morning. He did not want to be here. He was throwing a tantrum, flailing about, causing quite a scene. I managed to get him into my office where he proceeded to kick the walls, push over chairs, all the while becoming more and more adamant that he didn't want to be here. After about 15 minutes (and some applesauce, crackers and juice) I was able to get him seated in a chair and we talked for a few minutes. I told him how lucky he was to have Mrs. X as his teacher, how much she loves him and cares about him and how much she misses him when he's not there. I told him that I'd walk with him to class when he was ready, but was still a bit worried that he'd try to run out the front door once we left my office. A walk that would normally take 2 minutes to get to his room took about 8, with pausing, stopping, and even moving backwards a few times. But eventually we made it to his classroom.

His teacher had absolutely no idea what his morning had been like. She had no idea what sort of struggles we had, and how long it took to finally get him to the point of actually entering the classroom. Even now, I really don't know what transpired with his morning, though I do know a good deal about his homelife and needless to say, school is his safe place.

But when we opened that door, I saw his classmates and teacher seated on the carpet. His teacher immediately turned towards him and said, "Oh Johnny! (not his real name) I am so glad you are here. We miss you so much when you're not here and we were worried you weren't here today. We are so happy to see you."

The shoulders that had been drooping were not raised. The eyes that had been staring at shoes were now fixed on the loving, smiling face of his teachers. Without hesitation or even a look back at me, he walked over to the carpet and joined his class.

I had a tough time finding my way back to the office because of the stinging and blurred vision that comes with pushing back tears. But I couldn't hold them back. She had no idea how badly he needed to hear that. We never have any idea how badly our students (staff, parents, children...) need to hear that. And we may not always believe it, but as the great Rita Pearson said, "You can never let them know that."

Greet every students as though they are the most precious, important, capable person in the world. When you do, watch their reaction, and even greater, watch their academic and behavioral growth. When students believe that you believe in them, they'll move mountains.