Nest Notes For A Brand New Year: 2024-2025!
Summer Sun Morphs Into A School Year Of Fun
Greetings Oriole Family and Community!
I wanted to introduce myself to you and give you a glimpse ahead to our bright shiny new school year ahead.
As your new CES Principal, I am totally stoked to have the privilege to be part of the rich traditions that I am finding make up the Concordia Schools and this community.
I come to you from Jefferson City where I served as the DIrector of Human Resources the last three years. Prior to that, I've spent 32 years in Missouri education, 18 as a teacher and the rest in administration, primarily as a PreK-6th grade, so the chance to be part of Concordia Elementary School is a perfect fit! I enjoyed my role in Human Resources, but began to increasingly miss being able to work with teachers, students, and parents everyday.....so here I am!
I knew from my freshman year at Poplar Bluff High School that I wanted to be in education. I went to SEMO State University on a teaching scholarship and received my BS in Secondary Education with a major in Speech Communication and Theatre. I taught in the Kansas City area for several years before returning to the Bootheel. I eventually received my Masters and Education Specialist Degrees in Administration and have been a building principal, college division chair/Associate Professor of Education, and college adjunct instructor at several colleges.
I have two grown children, Mariah and Joshua. Mariah is a philanthropic advisor with the Greater Kansas City Foundation and Joshua works with the Chamber of Commerce Visitor and Tourism Bureau in Cape Giradeau, MO. Mariah and her husband have given me two amazing granddaughters, Cecilia and Penelope. They are all my pride and joy.
My focus as a principal is to create a climate that is a warm, inviting, engaging environment that honors the culture the community and District embodies. I believe in setting high expectations for myself, the staff I lead, and the students that we care for. I believe in working hard and celebrating accomplishments, even small ones until we have the work ethic to move mountains. I know the importance of test data and preparing students for the state testing, but I will always encourage teachers to also teach to the whole child and give them amazing experiences that they will remember. I am sure we can all relate to the Johnny Appleseed Days, hatching chicks or butterflies in the classroom, recreating famous Missourians, nature walks, learning about Native American Indians and all the other experiential moments of school when we were young. So many things like that are being "tested", so schools tend to avoid the time to do them, but I hope our staff will always work to give our kiddos those special memories.
I am a reading focused principal and you will see me issue reading challenges every semester. I will do whatever goofy thing I need to do to get kids to want and love to read. I believe in service learning, so I am excited about Concordia's Oriole Strong initiative and how that both unifies and teaches service to community and to each other. All the years I drove up and down I-70 and either passed Concordia or stopped at the old Biffles BBQ, I never knew what a hidden treasure Concordia was. Now I get to help guide the Oriole nest at CES! I am more than excited and honored!
Please stop in and introduce yourself. Get involved in our schools....that is what makes us stronger and able to send the very best out into the world at large.
I'll leave you with my favorite quote from statesman William Penn, "I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness or abilities that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.' This is my goal as I go about life as an educator.
Here's to a successful new school year! 
Tim Thompson, Principal
Concordia Elementary School