Hi, from Ignacio Elementary School. My name is Dana Stanley, and I am the Vice Principal of Ignacio Elementary School. This is my second year in the district, and I enjoy coming to work more and more every day. I have met many of the parents at IES, but I would like to share more about myself. My husband and I moved to this area five years ago and took over my parents’ ranch. I spent much time in Ignacio growing up because my father was raised here and graduated from Ignacio High School. When not working at the school, you can find me riding horses, working on the ranch, and spending time with my family.  

I worked for 25 years in New Mexico before coming to IES, where I taught and then was a principal for 13 years. I have a very strong background in English Language Arts and that has been my focus the last two years at IES. We are working very hard to help students with their reading skills. We must create strong readers in their elementary years. We also want kids to love to read. We have set up rewards for students when they accomplish reading goals, and we are always finding ways to make reading fun. This year, the schools as a whole have read 23,293,392 words. 

This year, our focus in reading has been on how you talk about reading. Our goal is that students can talk about what they read then they have better comprehension, and it improves how they write. Just before spring break we had a Writers Celebration where many of our students showcased their writing. Each grade level was able to pick eight-12 students to showcase their work. The writing pieces spanned from informational writing to short stories and poems.  

We are gearing up for CMAS testing from April 7 – 17. We are encouraging the students to BEAT CMAS this year by doing their best. Some things students and families can do to help prepare are getting a good night’s sleep the night before testing days, eating a balanced breakfast on testing days, and being on time to school.  

 

Here are some upcoming events: 

 

• Calling all Future Kindergarteners for next year! Do you have a child who will be five years old on or before August 1, 2025? If you do, they are ready for kindergarten! Please join us for our annual Kindergarten transition dinner and tour of the school on Wednesday, April 16, from 5:15 – 6:15 p.m. Fun for the whole family! We will be serving dinner and future kindergartners and families can meet with the current Kindergarten teachers and tour the school and classrooms. Next school year Kindergarten registration will be open on April 17 after the transition dinner.  

• The 5th grade continuation ceremony will be on Tuesday, May 20 at 5:30 p.m. in the cafeteria.  

• Kindergarten graduation will be on Wednesday, May 21, at 10 a.m. at the high school.  

• The last day of school for all students, including kindergarten and 5th grade, is May 22.  

 

Thanks for all you do for your kiddos … together We Can Do Great Things!