I am Dayna Talamante-Montoya, the middle school principal. This is my third year as principal at the middle school. We are in our fifth week of school for this 2022-23 school year and are so excited to see students back in the building and in classes. It has been a bit of an adjustment to the four-day school week, but it appears that students are adapting. Classes begin at the middle school at 7:50 a.m., students must be in class by 7:50 a.m. and the day ends at 4:05 p.m. Students should not be dropped off before 7:30 a.m. in the morning.
We are slowly returning to a “normal” school day and getting students involved with extracurricular activities. Our football team has grown this year and we are seeing some great improvements.
Our football coaches are head coach, Lawrence Toledo and his assistants are, Michael Toledo and Beau Moore. Our football team plays games on Thursday afternoons with football championships slated for Saturday, Oct. 8. Volleyball is having a great year again. Returning coaches are head coach, Jennifer Seibel, B team coach, Maria Rivera and new to the coaching staff this year is C team coach Ms. Archuleta. Volleyball plays on Tuesdays and Thursdays and league championship will be Saturday, Oct. 8 and Ignacio will be hosting the league tournament. The B teams will play in the auxiliary gym at the high school and A team will play in the middle school gym. Cross Country has returning coaches, Mr. Cone and Ms. Celeste. We have had enough students to have a team and our boys team took second place at our home cross country meet. Cross country runs on either Friday or Saturday.
We have a new Knowledge Bowl sponsor this year, Gina Schulz. Knowledge Bowl meets on Tuesday and Wednesdays at the middle school from 4:30 – 6 p.m. and is a trivia type competition that allows our students to compete and challenge themselves academically. There will be a Knowledge Bowl meet next Monday, Sept. 26. We also have the Student Council up and running this year and sponsored by Ms. Burkhart, our new seventh and eighth grade social studies teacher.
I know many times students in middle school are intimidated to play or join a team but being part of a team really helps students to develop skills necessary to work with others, helps them feel connected in a bigger picture and allows students to have another connection with a coach.
Boys basketball will begin Oct. 10 and will run until Dec. 10. Girls basketball will begin Dec. 12 and wrestling will be Jan. 23. Knowledge Bowl leagues will be Jan. 23, with our home meet Janu. 18. Track and Soccer will begin in March.
There are many opportunities for students to be a part of a team, whether it is through sports or academics. If your student has interest, contact the school for more information and we will get you connected with the right person.
A new addition to our programming is Friday Academy. We are working hard to keep students engaged and learning, but there are times where students fall behind and may be failing classes. We have instituted Friday Academy, which coincides with the district’s Activity Friday. If a student is failing any class, they are required to attend Friday Academy so that they can get support and have an opportunity to bring up their failing grades. Our hope with Friday Academy is to help students not get overwhelmed and get work turned in, especially if they are in any extracurricular sports or activities as eligibility must be met to participate. Ms. Searle is our coordinator for Friday Academy and Activity Friday.
Have you wanted to be a part of the school and work toward our school’s mission statement, “Together will engage, empower, and prepare all of our learners for the future” by supporting through the Building Accountability Committee (BAC)?
The BAC will be responsible for making recommendations to the principal on the school priorities for spending school monies, including federal funds, where applicable. We will meet once a month throughout the school year to discuss whether school leadership, personnel, and infrastructure are advancing or impeding implementation of the school’s performance, improvement, priority improvement, or turnaround plan, whichever is most applicable, while addressing other progress pertinent to the school’s accreditation contract.
Agendas are available and if you would like more information, please contact me at dtalamantemontoya@ignacioschools.org. As always, please feel free to contact me or the front office if you have any questions or concerns, together we are a team working to support all students!
Upcoming events/activities
Sept. 23 Morning PT conferences from 7:30-11:30am
Sept. 26 Knowledge Bowl in Dove Creek 4-6pm
Sept. 28 BAC meeting 5-6pm
Sept. 29 Cowboy Poet gathering
Oct. 13 School Board Meeting
Oct. 3 – 8 Homecoming Week
Upcoming athletic events
Sept. 27 MS Volleyball vs Cortez, HS C team vs PV
Sept. 28 Volleyball vs Cortez 4:30pm
Sept. 29 Football playoffs, Volleybal at Miller 4-6pm
Sept. 30 IHS Cross Country, VBall in Ridgeway, FB in Trinidad
Oct. 1 Cross Country in Mancos, IMS/IHS