May 30, 2019
Hello Garland Community,
We have reached the end of the school year. It has been fun and exciting. I sincerely hope that it has been a good year for your child.
I know that our teachers and staff have worked very hard to make it a good one. I also want to acknowledge all of the contributions of our PTA. They have been amazing and are definitely the best PTA I have ever been associated with. They provided meals for teachers, lots of fun activities for the students and field trips through their fundraiser. I also really appreciate the many parent volunteers who have helped us with: reading, baggy books, parties, field trips and so on. You have really made a difference.
We just finished all of our DIBELS testing and I wanted to share that information with you. See the chart below:
Thank you for everything you have done this year. I hope you enjoy your summer and we look forward to seeing you in August
Mark Johnson, Principal Garland Elementary 450 S. 100 W. Garland, UT 84312
April 30, 2019
Hello Garland Community!
I hope you have been enjoying the springtime weather! It has been so nice here at school the past few weeks. The students seem happy and energetic. I can't believe that it is already May. This school year has flown by.
I am very excited about the things we have accomplished this year. We are in the middle of our DIBELS testing right now and we are waiting anxiously to see how our students will do. So far, we know that our kindergarten students have done incredibly well. 95% of them have scored at or above benchmark. That is up from 84% last year. That is amazing. Our teachers have done an incredible job. I also want to thank you parents for the way you support the teachers. You have been great. Thank you as well for reading with your children at home. That helps them so much.
When we get the scores for our other grades, I will share them with you.
May will be a fun month. We have lots of fun activities coming up that I'm sure the students will enjoy.
Thanks for everything! I love being part of this community.
Mark Johnson
Principal
Garland Elementary
450 S. 100 W.
Garland, UT 84312
February 28, 2019
Garland Parents,
I have some exciting news for all of you. Garland Elementary just recently completed its mid-year DIBELS reading assessments. All students have now been tested and we have all of our results.
The scores that will be listed show the total percentage of students at each grade level who are reading at or above grade level. It also shows the percentage of students who are reading below grade level. I have included our beginning of year scores so you can see how much progress we have made so far.
The students will be tested again at about the end of April. We are excited to see how we do at the end of the year, but our middle of the year scores are a cause for celebration! The students, teachers, instructional coaches and reading aides have all been working very hard. Reading well is the most important skill we develop here in elementary school. I am so impressed with what has been accomplished so far!
Making progress on reading is definitely a team effort. So, I want to thank all of you as well. Keep having your students read at home. They really benefit from the extra practice.
If you see a teacher or reading aide, tell them thank you for their hard work. The staff here at Garland has done some amazing work.
Mark Johnson, Principal Garland Elementary 450 S. 100 W. Garland, UT 84312
February 2, 2019
Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up! They will be on February 20-22. Please make sure you sign up for a time using the link on the parent-teacher conference page (under the Parents tab). We hope to see you all there.
Mark Johnson, Principal
Garland Elementary
450 S. 100 W.
Garland, UT 84312
January 7, 2019
Hello Garland Community!
Things are going well here at school! I am so proud of the hard work of our students. I really feel like we will be able to reach our end of year goals. The teachers have been working very hard as well. If you get a chance, please tell a teacher how much you appreciate them.
We have our mid-year DIBELS assessments coming up. They will be on January 28th and 29th. This should give us a good idea about the progress our students are making. I will be sure to post the results from this assessment when I have them.
I also want to remind you all about the importance of regular attendance. We have been setting a monthly goal for student attendance. Our goal for December was 94% and we reached it!
Thank you for everything you do as parents. This is a wonderful community and we are grateful to be a part of it.
Mark Johnson, Principal
Garland Elementary
450 S. 100 W.
Garland, UT 84312
October 9, 2018
Hello Garland Community!
Well, we have completed our first month of school and things are going well. Our DIBELS testing is complete now and we have lots of valuable information about our students. The DIBELS results tell us where our students are on some key reading skills. We can then formulate a plan and try to help out our struggling readers. Within the next couple of days, we will post our DIBELS goals for the year here on the website.
If you have questions about your child and how they are doing with their reading, parent teacher conference will be an excellent opportunity to find out. Be sure to sign up for an appointment.
Also, if you want to help your child improve their reading skills and have some fun at the same time, read aloud to them!
Mark Johnson, Principal Garland Elementary 450 S. 100 W. Garland, UT 84312
April 26, 2018
Hello Garland Community,
I would like to introduce myself to you all. My name is Mark Johnson and I will be the new principal at Garland Elementary next year.
I have been the principal at Lake View Elementary for the past seven years. I have really enjoyed my time at Lake View. Lake View has accomplished some great things and I have made many great friends while I have been here. It will be hard to say goodbye to them.
Another friend of mine is Mrs. Ekins. I have known her now for two years and I think she’s great. I have spoken with Mrs. Ekins about Garland Elementary quite a bit. She really loves your school!
I have heard lots of great things about the Garland community. From what I understand, the community is very supportive of the school and parents do a great job raising their children. I have also hear that Garland Elementary has many wonderful teachers and staff members. I am looking forward to meeting them and working with them.
Now to tell you a little bit more about myself. I began my career in education as a special education teacher. I taught all of the academic subjects and worked with kids who needed some extra help. I loved teaching those students. I then became an assistant principal and was in that position for three years before becoming a principal. I have been the principal at three different schools, including Lake View.
On a more personal note, I love sports, I love to hike and bike and I love to read. I also like to watch movies. I am a major Star Wars fan. I have been very happily married for 26 years now. My wife is the best part of my life. We have five children who range in age from 21 to 10. I am very proud of each of them. My oldest son is studying computer science at Utah State and my ten year old daughter is in fourth grade. She loves to read.
I personally believe that reading well is the most important skill a student can acquire while in elementary school. Students who read well, do most other things well. Typically, the best readers are the best writers. Good readers do well in school when they move on to intermediate and middle school and so on. Regardless of your interests and career path, being a good reader will open the door to many opportunities.
I also want you to know that I believe in our public school teachers. Teachers are often under-appreciated. Our teachers are very well-educated and tremendously skilled. They also care deeply about children. I consider it a privilege to work with people like that.
I have already visited Garland and I plan to be back soon. I am trying to learn all that I can about the school. I want to do the very best job I can there as principal and I look forward to meeting all of you.
Sincerely, Mark Johnson
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