The school year has started and everyone is settling into a routine of going to class, doing homework and spending time with friends.
Drivers find that they must be aware of flashing lights in school zones and on buses in order to keep children safe.
We anticipate the autumnal equinox on Thursday, Sept. 22. In some regions, leaves are already starting to turn bright colors and fall from the trees.
Although plants begin to become dormant at this time, students and parents do not. There is much to be done in the next nine months.
Denver Public Schools had the largest graduating class in DPS history last year with over 500 more seniors than in 2015. More than 4,300 seniors graduated in the spring and are ready to progress to college, career and the next steps in their lives. Congratulations, seniors!
In July of this year, DPS was recognized for increasing access and performance, particularly for underserved minority students, at the 2016 Advanced Placement (AP) Annual Conference held in Anaheim, California.
DPS was named a College Board Advanced Placement District of the Year for being the national leader among large school districts, defined as having 50,000 or more students, by expanding access to AP courses while simultaneously improving AP exam performance. DPS was one of 425 school districts across the U.S. and Canada that achieved placement on the sixth annual AP District Honor Roll.
Emily Griffith Technical College (EGTC), 1860 Lincoln St., turns 100 next month and is still providing extensive hands-on career training that puts thousands of people to work each year. EGTC is training people for industries that are rapidly hiring to fill jobs. The College now has three new state-of-the-art campuses with flexible schedules, day and evening classes and multiple start dates. Most graduates finish in less than a year. The Student Success Center offers free tutoring and extensive career guidance and placement support.
Bromwell Elementary, 2500 E. Fourth Ave., welcomes Amy Green as their new interim principal. Ms. Green was the principal at Barrett Elementary for the last ten years. She is excited about the opportunities for students, teachers and families at Bromwell.
At Teller Elemetary, 1150 Garfield St., Teller's Backpack Friends is still going strong under the new management of Amy Morawa and team members Cynthia Godoy and Shannon Mennell.
Through the generous support of the Teller community, Backpack Friends helps families feed themselves and their children so that no student goes hungry on the weekends or when school is out. Volunteers are needed every Friday at 1p.m. to distribute food to go home for the weekend. Won't you please consider volunteering? Contact Amy Morawa directly: amymorawa@gmail.com or signupgenius.com/go/10c094daca92da31-friday.
As for happenings, Teller wants you to save the date. Teller families and the entire Congress Park Neighborhood are invited to a Shells and Sauce Give-Back Night on Sept. 23, 2016, 3-10p.m. 20 percent of all proceeds will go straight to the Backpack Friends Program. Come help support this worthy cause!
Teller’s Green Team Initiative, started last year by school librarian Timothy Hernandez and parent Ian Teller, was a fantastic success. Teller's Student Green Team will continue raising awareness around composting and recycling. Their efforts to make Teller a more sustainable community committed to reducing the amount of trash produced, has resulted in a dramatic reduction in landfill waste collected at lunch and in classrooms.
Containers placed outside the cafeteria to collect juice pouches were shipped to TerraCycle, who upcycles them into backpacks, pencil pouches and messenger bags or pelletizes them into other usable products like planters, watering cans and waste bins.
Two shipments have been sent and Teller is waiting for a check for all their efforts. Future plans for the year include plastic bags that will be recycled separately through TREX and two nationwide competitions: The Plastic Film Recycling Challenge beginning November 15 and the PepsiCo Recycle Rally. For the PepsiCo event, each team's goal is to increase the diversion rate from 70 to 90 percent or more.
Teller is very proud of the success of these endeavors and seeks to take the program to new heights this year.
Lan Spengler, Meghan Hughes and Jennifer Baptist, who head up the Teller Garden Team, are pleased to announce that their hard work is paying off. Soon Teller students will begin harvesting, weighing and measuring their bounty of tomatoes, basil, peppers and cucumbers. All the produce grown in the Teller Garden is brought to the cafeteria and served for lunch.
If anyone has or would like to donate a small garden shed, please contact: meghanehughes@netscape.net.
St. Elizabeth’s K-8 Episcopal School, 2350 Gaylord St., has some very exciting news to share:
“This summer, we received notification from the Association of Colorado Independent Schools (ACIS) that St. Elizabeth’s has gained full accreditation status with ACIS!
“We have been on this accreditation path since the summer of 2012, and through the hard work of our teachers, staff, parents and the board, SES has shown that we have successfully complied with a rigorous and comprehensive list of membership standards and have established ourselves as a high-quality and successful independent school right here in northeast Denver.
“These years of self study, combined with input from a highly qualified team of ACIS educators and school administrators, have both validated and helped to clarify our mission of maintaining an intentionally inclusive educational environment for students of any socioeconomic level, race, ethnicity, faith and culture.”
There are many activities scheduled at East High, 1600 City Park Esplanade, starting with Back to School Night on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 6-8p.m. This event is for East parents and guardians and will allow them a chance to follow an abbreviated version of their student’s schedule and hear classroom expectations. The ACT test will be given on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016 at 7:30a.m. at East.
On Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016, the East Alumni Heritage Hall Induction will take place at the Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14 Ave. Pkwy, at 6:30p.m.
“The East Angel Friends and Alumni Foundation will host the fourth induction celebration of the East Alumni Heritage Hall. Sixteen notable East graduates will be added to the Hall of distinguished graduates who represent over 130 years of outstanding accomplishments.”
This program includes dinner. For tickets: eastangelfriends.org.
East’s varsity homecoming game against Hinkley will be Friday, Sept. 23, 4p.m., at All City Field, 1500 S. Franklin St.
There are many wonderful things happening in our schools. As community members, parents and taxpayers, the more we can support our children and their schools, the better it is for all of us. Contact your neighborhood schools to see how you can help by donating your time or expertise.
