Principal Micah Oldham reported that students will be attending school on June 7. This had originally been a day off, but the number of days lost to winter weather necessitated changing the day to one of attendance, he said.

In a related matter, Oldham reported that the kindergarten class had won the April award for attendance with a 97.8% record. “It was tight. Five classes had more than 97% attendance,” he said. “The kindergarten students have told me that they are not going to miss any more days until the end of the year.”

Caldwell noted that the attendance competition has resolved an issue that the state Education Department had indicated was a problem in Ripley, that of chronic absenteeism. “The kids are enjoying it, but it is also resolving a problem the state had with us,” he said.

Oldham also said that the district would host an end-of-the-year picnic for its families on June 20. The school will be set up like a museum to showcase student work, he said.

Oldham recognized the work done by several teachers who make up the Instructional Leadership Team at Ripley. The team is responsible for the vision and mission of the school, he said. “We put this back into the hands of the teachers.

Noted for their work were: Michelle Waters, Shannon Rowe, Wendy Graham, Karen Kondrick, Lizzie Lodinsky, Brad Rowe, Emily Golinitz and Ashley Querrieo. The team plans and leads professional development events and is working on planning the August faculty retreat, he said.

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