Welcome to the 2017/18 school year. I hope that you had a chance to relax and enjoy quality time with family and friends this summer. I want to share how thankful I am to enter my second year as principal at Presidents Elementary. I’m very fortunate to work in a building with such quality people, wonderful students and friendly parents.
I have many fond memories of the Arlington community from my childhood. Although I grew up in Snohomish, I have relatives who were dairy farmers here and my grandparents lived on the Stillaguamish River off of Jordan Road, so I spent many memorable days in this region growing up. Additionally, my mother and grandfather were Arlington Eagles, graduating in 1956 and 1925 respectively.
Presidents Elementary added new staff members over the summer. Danene Severson was hired as our 5th grade teacher, replacing Mr. Barci who was hired as the Assistant Principal with Eagle Creek. Mr. Estes is our new Health & Fitness rotating specialist. He joins us from the Granite Falls School District. He will teach the 2nd quarter of the year at Presidents Elementary. Additional new staff members include:
- Kaylee Ingraham, Speech & Language Pathologist (SLP),
- Jessie Paradis, Occupational Therapist, and
- Brian McArthur, ASSIST Parapro
Hiring quality professionals with huge hearts for kids is the main ingredient in paving the way to success for students, and these new staff members will fit right in at Presidents!
I believe this job is a true gift! With each passing school year, I continue to count my blessings that I spend my days with motivated and wide-eyed students excited for what lies ahead each day. Presidents Elementary will continue to tap into this vibrant and youthful energy with The Leader in Me program by developing our students into young leaders. We will strive to Grow Outstanding Leaders Daily…and Go for the GOLD!
Here’s to a fantastic 2017/18 school year.
Respectfully!
Derek Larsen