Welcome to Appleby Elementary School!

Mrs. Shelley Warnow Elementary Principal

It is an honor and privilege to serve as the principal of Appleby Elementary School. The Marathon Central School District has played a large role in my life since childhood. My husband, Don and I spent our grade and high school careers in Marathon. Our four children are also Marathon graduates.

When I interviewed for this position, I mentioned that I believe that it takes a whole school to educate each child. In the short time that I have been at Appleby this belief has been strongly reinforced. I see strong, capable teachers working with our students. Our teachers are dedicated to helping each child succeed in school and work hard to ensure that students receive the help they need in times of struggle. The support staff at Appleby does an amazing job each day. They are actively involved with our children, working with small classroom groups, supervising at recess or offering extra help to children. Our cafeteria ladies provide our students with two good meals each and every day. Our custodial/cleaning crew works hard to keep our building safe and clean. Mrs. Light and Mrs. Hill keep everything running smoothly in the office. We are also blessed to have a fine medical office staff that takes good care of the children and oversee the health of the school. Our transportation staff is the best! Appleby Elementary is also very fortunate to have an active and very supportive PTO.

I am pleased to share that the daily discipline issues that I deal with are basically due to children being children. Children learn from their mistakes and most work hard not to make the same mistake twice. A few students are “frequent flyers” because they sometimes continue to make the same poor choices. I believe the backbone of any good school is a firm but fair discipline system. The students at Appleby understand the need for logical consequences and for taking responsibility for their behavior. I believe in listening to students when they come to me and trying to get to the root cause of the poor choices. Many times it has nothing to do with what is happening in the classroom, rather what is happening at recess or at lunch.

Bus issues tend to happen in the afternoon after the children have had a busy day. Most of the time, troubles begin because students forget to keep their hands to themselves and to take care of their own business. I remind students that the driver has a tremendous responsibility to all of the students on the bus and must keep his/her eyes on the road. I take all behavioral and bus referrals very seriously.

Since the beginning of school the entire staff at Appleby has worked hard to encourage students to adopt our anti-bullying motto. TKN stands for:

• Is what you are saying to or about a person TRUE?
• Is what you are saying to or about a person KIND?
• Is what you are saying to or about a person NECESSARY?

Chances are if the student can answer no to any of the above, then it can be considered bullying. Many students feel that if they were “just joking around” then it isn’t considered bullying. However, if the person receiving the “joking” feels that it isn’t kind or necessary, then it is bullying.

The staff at Appleby is working to make this a Bully Free Zone. We encourage children to come forward if they feel they are being bullied. All of the adults at Appleby understand the importance of listening to a child who feels they are being bullied and will refer the child to my office so that the issue can be dealt with quickly. Many times the “bully” isn’t aware that his/her behavior can be considered bullying. Once this is pointed out and the child is able to identify bullying behaviors, the bullying tends to stop quickly.

Some people are of the opinion that “teasing and picking” is just a normal part of growing up. Others suggest that children need to learn how to deal with bullying issues on their own. There is also a mindset that children should just ignore students who may be bullying them. However, we have learned that children who are bullied repeatedly may begin to dislike school. Children who are bullied may become withdrawn and may make excuses to stay home from school. Sometimes children who are bullied will intentionally forget their homework so that they don’t have to participate in recess. To the child who is being bullied, “teasing and picking” is not a normal or acceptable part of growing up. These are some the reasons why we are dedicated to making Appleby a Bully Free school.

I encourage parents to call or stop in if they have questions or concerns. I believe in working together to provide the best education for all children.

I am blessed to return to my educational roots. I am very proud to lead an extraordinary group of adults and children. Each day, as I enter the building, I smile and say – “I love my job!”

Shelley Warnow
Principal
(607) 849-3281