November is a month when people focus on all the things for which they are grateful. DPS schools are surely grateful to Denver voters for passing the bond and mill levy funding measures on November’s ballot. To find out more about how the money will be used, go to bond.dpsk12.org. Voters can get involved by serving on the community oversight committee or joining the groups that will weigh in on spending in their schools.
Continuing in the gratitude vein, from Oct. 3 through 8, nearly 1,600 DPS students from 20 different elementary schools received clothing, books and dental health kits thanks to Operation School Bell. Operation School Bell began over 50 years ago as a one-woman-effort to provide clothing for disadvantaged children and is “the signature philanthropic program” of the Assistance League. Operation School Bell partnered with Kmart to serve the needs of students, and over 5,000 books were distributed during the week. Special $80 gift cards were also given to families to purchase school uniforms, shoes and books.
Next up: nearly 2,000 DPS students, families, school leaders and educators attended the 2016 Great Schools Expo on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
The event, which kicked off the research portion of the 2017-18 SchoolChoice process, gave families a one-stop shopping experience with representatives from DPS elementary, middle and high schools. The DPS Office of Choice and Enrollment Services held information sessions on the SchoolChoice process for families. Denver families will now begin the challenge of narrowing their lists of potential school choices. Resources such as the DPS Great Schools Enrollment Guide will be available soon in schools and online. Families are encouraged to start their search at their own neighborhood school and to begin scheduling individual school visits.
The SchoolChoice application process runs from Thursday, Jan. 5 through Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, when students and families will rank their top five school preferences on the SchoolChoice form. The form will be available online via the DPS Parent Portal and at all DPS schools. For more information, call 720-423-3493, email schoolchoice@dpsk12.org or visit schoolchoice.dpsk12.org.
What to do after a school is chosen and graduated from is also important, of course. On Nov. 2, more than 3,500 eighth-grade students met with representatives from approximately 150 companies and colleges in the Rocky Mountain region at the annual DPS 8th Grade Career Fair. This annual fair is always a wonderful opportunity for 8th grade students as they make plans for high school and beyond.
And, speaking of post-high school plans, Emily Griffith Technical College (EGTC), 1860 Lincoln St., participated in National Apprenticeship Week Nov. 14-20. There are more than 3,700 students enrolled in Emily Griffith programs and many will graduate debt-free because a union, contractor or trade association pays most of the cost of tuition and fees. In addition, apprentices get paid while receiving on-the-job training.
On November 16, EGTC participated in the City and County of Denver’s observing of National General Information Services (GIS) Day. GIS integrates computerized geographic information, satellite images, digital maps and global positioning in decision support systems. GIS job growth is expected to increase by 20 percent between 2012 and 2022.
As always, there are many activities at East High, 1600 City Park Esplanade in December. On Friday, Dec. 2, 10:00a.m.-8:00p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 3, 8:00a.m.-8:00p.m., East will be sponsoring the Mile High Speech and Debate Tournament at the University of Denver. This is an opportunity to see some of the nation’s best young debaters! Admission is free.
Two East musical performances will take place in December. On Tuesday, Dec. 6, all of East’s choirs will be participating in the East Holiday Music Concert, v7-9:00p.m. at the Central Presbyterian Church, 1660 Sherman St. Admission is $10.
On Wednesday, Dec. 7 from 6-8:00p.m., three East choirs—Honors, Seraphim and Angelaires—will perform at Denver Zoo Lights, 2300 Steele St. The performance is free with a Zoo Lights admission.
Prospective 8th grade students and their parents who were unable to sign up for a East shadowing appointment are invited to attend an Open House on Thursday, Dec. 8. The open house will include a school tour and information sessions. This begins at 9:00a.m. in the East Auditorium.
The 5th Grade Expo at Morey Middle, 840 E. 14th Ave., will be held Thursday, Dec, 1, 6-8:00p.m. Families interested in learning more about how Morey will meet their child’s academic and social and emotional needs should attend. Teachers and current students will lead prospective students on a tour and in Morey-style learning activities. At the same time, parents will learn more about Morey from the administration. Take a tour and participate in a question and answer session.
Morey will offer the Winter Band Concert Tuesday, Dec. 6, 6-7:00p.m. Please come and celebrate the sounds of the school’s various student ensembles!
In order to support Morey student’s future plans as they explore higher educational opportunities, Morey is hosting a High School Choice Night Thursday, Dec. 8. This is open to all who wish to understand the programs that local high schools have to offer.
Bromwell Elementary, 2500 E. 4th Ave., needs a new leader or two for the Bromwell Garden to help teach students learn about veggies, how to grow food for the cafeteria and run the ever-popular Pumpkin Sale. No green thumb is required. The current garden leaders will lend a hand this next Spring to get new leaders up to speed. Please contact bromwell.dpsk12.org for more information,
Teller Elementary, 1150 Garfield St., reports that its Math Olympiad team is in its fifth year and is still going strong. This year, the club attracted 21 students in third through fifth grades who love to tackle challenging math problems. Club members will participate in five math contests throughout the year, and there will be a year-end face-to-face competition at Westerly Creek. Students walk away with stronger skills, a deeper understanding of math, fantastic problem-solving skills and pride and joy in excelling at mathematics.
The Teller Garden is under the new management of Jen Baptiste. Jen is mom to preschooler Paige and fourth grader Connor. Meghan Hughes (mom to preschooler Abby and first grader Elisa) will be joining Baptiste to continue the Teller Garden legacy. Thus far, the garden team has harvested roughly 175 pounds of delicious produce which both the Teller staff and students have enjoyed thanks to Teller's own cafeteria manager, Catrina Jones.
Save the dates! On Monday, Dec. 19, at 6:00p.m., the Tiger Band, Tiger Strings and Tiger Voices will be performing in the Teller auditorium. The Tiger Voices will also be performing and spreading cheer at Higgins Plaza retirement community on Friday, Dec. 16 at 4:00p.m. Come and enjoy the fruits of their hard work.
On Nov. 5, Teller's ninth annual wine tasting and silent auction fundraiser took place at Capitol Heights Presbyterian Church. For the last four years, Teller parents Karen Ryan and Bess Scully have been in charge of organizing this grand event. They were pleased to hand it all off to a new team of parents: Kelly Bruen, Leah Boucher, Dianne Christopher, Adrian Graham, Sarah Haney, Cassidy Modanlou and Batya Sepelman. This new team devoted countless hours to make it yet another great success. 117 people attended, and, to date, a running total of $18,950 has been raised. More is expected thanks to the online auction which ended on Nov. 19. Final numbers were not available at presstime. Please contact Kelly Bruen at kellybruen1@gmail.com for more information.
Auction items included class projects made by students, teacher-sponsored experiences, gift certificates from local businesses, vacation stays donated by Teller families, spa and salon services and so much more. The event was catered by Teller parent Phil Gutensohn of Gute & Sons Catering. Other sponsors included Marczyk Fine Wine & Spirits, Colorado Commercial Services, Nothing but Bundt Cakes, Humble Pie, Bonnie Brae Flowers, Lisa Santos/Cherry Creek Remax & RFE Investments. A huge thanks to all who donated and contributed to help raise money for Teller.
For the last three years, Teller's Backpack Friends Program has been providing Teller students who may otherwise go hungry over the weekend and holidays with a backpack full of nutritional food every Friday. The donations of this food come from the Food Bank of the Rockies, the Congress Park Community and Teller Parent contributions. This year, Backpack Friends is currently helping 50 people per weekend. Check in with the Teller office for their contact information if you want to help with this program. If you don’t have time but would still like to help, donate fresh fruit and vegetables on Friday mornings. Items can be dropped at the front desk. Teller also accepts cash and check donations made out to the Teller PTA with Backpack Friends in the memo line. There is a bin outside of the gym where people can drop off donations of nonperishable food items that are lightweight and easy to carry for the elementary students hauling these home.
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of family, friends and lots of wonderful food!
