Parent Post – 9.17.15

Posted September 17, 2015

Principal Update

Are you a parent who wants to volunteer, but don’t have time during the day? Have we got some opportunities for you!

Superintendent Forum Parent Representative- We are in need of one to two parent representatives to attend the Superintendent Forums hosted by DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg. Responsibilities include gathering information from the forum and reporting it (either via email or in person) to our CSC. DPS’ first Superintendent Parent Forum of the year is next Thursday, Sept. 24 (you can choose to go from 9:15-11:15AM or 6:15-8:15PM session) at the National Western Complex. Open to all members of our community, join us to learn about our new Vision of a DPS Classroom and Vision of a DPS Graduate (outlined in Steps to Success, our Academic Strategic Plan). These forums are great opportunities for families to receive more information from the superintendent about key district initiatives. For more information, visit the FACE website. Please contact me (Jennifer) if you can volunteer to be our Cory Representative(s). jennifer_harris@dpsk12.org.

Collaborative School Committee (CSC) Parent Representative– We are in need of one more Parent Representative for our Collaborative School Committee. Responsibilities would include attending our monthly CSC Meeting (typically the first Thursdays from 4-6) and giving input on school decisions around academics, budget, safety and staffing. If you are interested, please email Sam Sturhahn (CSC Co-Chair, scsturhahn@gmail.com) or Dana Kang (CSC Co-Chair, dana.kang@gmail.com) to express interest.

Friendly Reminders

Arrival- Please remember that our classrooms open at 8:30. If your child arrives anytime before 8:30, there is no supervision for them.
Dismissal- School dismisses at 3:30. We kindly request that all students are picked up at that time. Students that are not picked up by 3:40 are brought to the office to wait. Please contact us in the office if you are running late so we can get the message to your child and ensure they are supervised and safe.

Quick Updates

Curriculum Shifts- As many of you have noticed, we have had the opportunity to bring on new and exciting curriculum to Cory! We know there are many questions with a change of this nature and we are crafting a resource page to explain the new curriculum as well as list resources for you as a parent. The entire district went through this curriculum change over the summer. Many classrooms have already begun to communicate these changes to all of you over the past month. Thank you for your patience as we craft one place for you to receive all of this information with just a click of a button. In addition, we will be having an Academic Standards Night on Thursday, November 5 in which we will dive a little deeper into the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and how our new curriculum aligns with the standards and expectations. Mark your calendars to attend (more information will be forthcoming).

Thank you for sharing your children with us!

Jennifer Harris, Principal

Friends of Cory (FOC)

Our annual FOC campaign has officially begun! Click here so you don’t miss out on your opportunity to give to a great cause!

Cory Carnival

Sunday, September 27th, 12:00-3:00pm

Here are some ways you can help.

Volunteers: There are two ways you can help – choose one or sign up for both! The first sign-up is for volunteer shifts – CLICK HERE to sign up. The second is for donated items – CLICK HERE to sign up to bring something.

Do you have a former Cory Elementary student who wants to help with the carnival? Please use the volunteer shift sign up link. Tell them to invite their friends – we will give them all a free lunch and ask they only work in 1.5 hour shifts. Parents are also welcome to sign up for shifts!

We also need coolers and shade tents for the day of so let us know if you have one to lend!

Food donations: We are looking for cupcakes and cookies for the cake walk and we would also love any donations for lunch served that day (along with serving pizza, we plan to grill hot dogs and would love any donations to help with that, as well as chips and/or drinks). See the donated item sign up sheet. As in the past, we will also need some help with the actual grilling (including borrowing some grills).

Cash donations: Always a big help! There will be a drop box in the office.

Wristband sales: CLICK HERE TO PRINT your ticket order form and DPS Waiver. Students can bring their completed form & check to their teacher or you can drop them off in the school office.

Please email Christina Imamura or Michelle Hoskins at corycarnival@gmail.com with how you would like to get involved!

Join Cory’s PTA!

We hope everyone is getting into the swing of the new school year and able to start sorting through all of the Back-to-School night and Friday Folder papers.

We want to remind you to look for the PTA membership form and fill it out today! By joining the PTA, you are showing support for our school and the work that we do. We have 69 members, which is about 20% of our families. We would love to see that number rise to 50% participation or 175 families.

Even if you are unable to attend meetings or volunteer (which we would love to have you do), don’t let that stop you from joining the PTA and supporting our school. Membership forms and the $10 fee can be turned into the PTA mailbox in the front office or you can go to the Cory homepage and click under Parent Involvement and then PTA to pay your dues. We thank you in advance for your support!!

Don’t forget about Box Tops

CLICK HERE for all the ways you can help Cory in your every-day travels. Everyday giving includes bringing BoxTops to school, getting a Grocery Card, getting a REDcard, and going to our Cory Dines Out evenings.

Library News

During library/technology time, I have been discussing ways to be appropriate, and safe, on the internet with 4th and 5th graders. I recently came across this very timely article that I thought would be informative to parents. The article is about the dangers of the social media site “Snapchat”. The students were involved in a great discussion about Snapchat, and the idea of how everything we do on the internet leaves a “digital footprint”. Enjoy!

Dawn Miller – Teacher Librarian/Technology Teacher

Music News

Has your child come home from school wanting to research the mysterious Composer of the Month from music class but can’t quite remember the clues? Ms. Polete has updated her class website so the revealed clues are easily accessible to the Cory Community! Check back regularly to see what new clues have been added, then do some research to see what you can find! If you think you’ve figured out the Composer of the Month, find a good time to quietly whisper your guess in Ms. Polete’s ear and she’ll tell you if you’re correct! After each month’s big reveal, check back to the page to experience different links and song collections related to that month’s composer!

Thank you! Amy Polete Cory Music Website – Check it out!

DPS Gifted and Talented (GT) Survey

The DPS GT Department is gathering data on GT Programming and also is looking for interested parents to participate in focus groups. The following survey was sent out via parent portal and we have also provided the link here.

Rebecca McKinney (Director, GT Department) welcomes parental input and support. 720-423-2067 rebecca_mckinney@dpsk12.org

Farm to School News

On Tuesday, Sept. 29, during lunch, Cory Elementary School students will celebrate Colorado Proud School Meal Day with a cooking demonstration by Denver Public Schools (DPS) Chef Adam Fisher.

Chef Adam will be preparing a tomato cucumber salad using tomatoes and cucumbers grown and harvested by students in the Cory garden!

The purpose of Colorado Proud School Meal Day is to celebrate Colorado agriculture and to educate schoolchildren on the importance of healthy eating. Parents are welcome to participate and can contact the DPS Farm to School Coordinator Anne Wilson (Anne_Wilson@dpsk12.org) to RSVP and to ensure we have samples for all.