Parent Post – May 5, 2017

Posted May 5, 2017

Principal Updates

THANK YOU!  I want to personally thank all of you for your showering of appreciation to our Cory Crew this past week during Staff Appreciation Week.  Your gratitude toward our team brought us enough joy and encouragement to last us a very long time.  Thank you all for your personal cards, chocolates, food galore, balloons and beautiful flowers.  We are honored to serve your families and thankful you choose Cory as your school to educate your child.

To keep on the “appreciation” topic, I hope that all of you can join us for our Annual Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast where we get to return the favor and honor YOU!  This breakfast is happening on Tuesday, May 23 at 8:00AM.  Click Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast to RSVP (we will also have free childcare!).

Other Quick Updates:

  • End of Year Activities- We have many activities coming up, so be sure to keep an eye on communications from your child’s teacher, the Parent Post and Facebook for updates and reminders in the coming weeks.
  • Parent Input Form- If you haven’t already, please be sure to fill out your Parent Input Form.  This form gives us information to help us make classroom placements for the upcoming school year.  We sent this home hard copy last Monday and the electronic version is linked above, should you need to re-print.  Please send this to your child’s teacher no later than Friday, May 12. and be sure to note the following update:  NEW!  It has always been our goal to carefully place each student in a classroom in which we will be able to support their learning. We would also like to honor the feedback we have received from parents during our CSC Spring Forum regarding refining our differentiation. In order to intentionally do this work, we will be releasing classroom teacher assignments in August, after we have had time to thoughtfully plan your child’s placement. You will receive a Grade Level “Welcome” Letter in June, but it will not include your child’s teacher placement. Yes, we are going “old school” and the excitement of checking your child’s teacher on a list on the school windows will occur in August. 

Enjoy this beautiful weekend!

Jennifer Harris, Proud Principal of the Cory Cougars

 

Merrill Middle School Spring Fling

The event is for incoming 6th graders on May 11, 2017 at 5:30 – 7:30 pm.
View the flyers in English and Spanish for more information.

 

 

Mother’s Day Bulb Sale

Need a creative, personal Mothers Day Gift?  How about a Mothers Day Gift that also contributes to our Cory Garden?  SCORE! Come on Friday, May 12th during drop-off and pick-up to purchase your beautifully decorated bag (created by our students) with 3 amazing Dutch Iris Mixed Flower Bulbs tucked inside!  These darling gifts will cost $5 and will sell out fast!  We will be selling at both the Main Entrance and at Kiss and Go.  See you then!

 

Discovery Link – Before and After School Care

Hello Cory families! If you are NOT currently enrolled in Discovery Link and wish to register for before- OR after-school care for the upcoming 17-18 School Year, registration for NEW Families opens next week Monday, May 8th and continues at Cory through 5:30pm Thursday, May 11th and at our S. Acoma office through 4:00pm on Friday, May 12th.  We will not be accepting registrations outside of our designated times or after the deadline, so please read carefully! Feel free to email Samuel_haselden@dpsk12.org if you have any questions. We’re looking forward to another great year with Discovery Link!

 

Call for 2017/2018 Cory Annual Auction and Friends of Cory Annual Giving Campaign Chairs

Want to make an impact in a very important way for Cory Elementary? Consider volunteering to chair the 2018 Cory Annual Auction or the Friends of Cory Annual Giving Campaign. Turn your thoughts and ideas into action! The Cory PTA needs motivated “doers” who are ready to take on these fundraising roles that are integral to maintaining Cory’s tradition of providing an excellent education for our kids. Take a look at the responsibilities! Most don’t require asking for money or donations but rather rely on skill sets like leadership, marketing, writing, budget management and event planning. Training is provided. We have a very talented and diverse parent population at Cory. We know you are out there!

Friends of Cory Annual Giving Campaign Co-Chair Responsibilities: These positions last for 5 weeks mid-September to mid-October and are responsible for raising a targeted amount via a direct giving campaign that predominantly relies on email and letter writing.

Co-Chair for Appeals- Responsible for overall campaign strategy and activities. Updates Friends of Cory webpage with current material. Updates applicable donation forms. Writes weekly appeal letters for Friday Folders. Facilitates creation of banners to track donations. Works with the front office staff to send messengers and Facebook posts as needed. Works the Friends of Cory booth at the Fall Carnival. Creates, prints and sends thank you letters and donation receipts after the campaign.

Co-Chair for Bookkeeping-Tracks and records cash, check and online donations in database. Collects and deposits cash and checks. Gives progress reports to Appeals Co-chair weekly and as needed. Helps with campaign strategy and execution.

2018 Cory Annual Auction Co-Chair Responsibilities: These positions last from September to May and are responsible for raising a targeted amount via a community event usually held in April.

Co-Chair for Event Logistics-Maintains the event budget to include projections, expense management and actuals. Handles the venue, catering, signage, set-up, entertainment, etc and day-of event execution. Schedules committee meetings and recruits volunteers. Manages: Event Decor Team, Food and Beverage Donation Team.

Co-Chair for Marketing-Handles logo creation and graphics, Parent Post updates, web content on Cory site, banners, Friday Folder flyers, Facebook, emails to target audiences for Family Sponsorships, evites to auction parties and compiles/facilitates the printed Auction Catalog. Manages: Graphic Design Team, Catalog Team, Event Marketing and Ticket Sales Team.

Co-Chair for Acquisitions-Responsible for the online auction platform to include setting up the registration site, entering in (and storing and delivering) all donated items and sponsorships, creating attractive packages for the auction, working with the auction vendor to execute on event day, placing remaining items for purchase post-event and reconciling the event for unpaid purchases, sending Teacher Treasure and Buy A Share participants to the contacts and item pick-up. This chair is also responsible for the Live Auction strategy/remarks/program of the event. Manages: Sponsorships Team, Live Auction Team, Silent Auction Team, Paddle Raise, Teacher Treasures, Buy A Shares, Class Baskets and Class Art Projects.

 

Dine Out at Chipotle on May 10

Thank you to everyone who shopped at Kendra Scott this week to support Cory! Mark your calendars for our last dine out of the school year. On Wednesday, May 10, 5:30 – 7:30 pm, Chipotle (2760 S. Colorado Blvd, at Yale) will give 50% of sales to Cory. Don’t forget to mention you are with Cory!

 

REMINDER: PARENT ENGAGEMENT AND SATISFACTION SURVEY – WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

The Parent Engagement and Satisfaction Survey is designed to measure how well our school is reaching out to involve parents, the quality of family-school relationships, and your perceptions of the school environment. This survey is sent out annually to all parents and guardians of Denver Public Schools students in ECE through 12th grade. Parent feedback is extremely important to us, and it helps us assess how well we are serving your children and involving you. Thank you to everyone who has already filled out the survey and mailed it back in the prepaid envelope. If you haven’t yet filled out the survey, please do. We are striving for 100% participation so that we can hear from every student’s family. Thank you for partnering with our school.

 

Mark your calendars for Cory’s beloved tradition of “Concert on the Green”

The concert will take place Thursday, May 18th (rain date May 25th, IF NEEDED).This year we are also adding “Art on the Green,” and will feature student art displayed outside.  Be sure to bring the whole family, a picnic dinner, and a blanket to sit on while you enjoy the talents of Cory students tall and small. ALL grades will have performances to share. Please leave family pets at home! TIME: The concert will begin at 6:00pm, but students should report at 5:45pm. LOCATION: The concert will take place on the South part of the Cory playground/field. Families are encouraged to set up picnics in the Cory field facing the south brick wall of the school (but not before 5:15pm, please). See you there!

 

REGISTRATION for the 2017/2018 School Year

It time to start thinking about registration for the 2017/2018 school year. At Cory Elementary, we do our registration online via the Online Verification System (OLV). We do not have a registration day. Please make sure your children’s Parent Portal is up to date. It is a good idea to sign in at least once a month. Please see below for more details.

BENEFIT:
The OLV system offers an alternative to printing, mailing, and manually updating the pre-populated forms for all students! Parents can complete OLV for all of their students in their Infinite Campus primary household in one place, through their Parent Portal account.

WHO COMPLETES OLV:
Parents of currently attending or pre-enrolled students (active in IC)
***Students new to DPS can pre-enroll (with Round 2 Pre-enrollment Form and required documents) through June, then request a Parent Portal account and use OLV
***Students new to DPS who are not pre-enrolled by June will need to complete the New Student Registration paper packet

Please remember that only a member of the family’s primary household in Infinite Campus can complete OLV. For example, if the student’s primary household is with the mother and the student’s secondary household is with the father, only the mother can complete OLV for this student.

OLV WINDOW:
OLV will be open from July 20th until August 22nd at 5 p.m.

OLV is not first come, first served and will not affect the student’s enrollment. It is simply used to verify that all information in Infinite Campus is up to date.

CALL TO ACTION:
If you have not done so already, please create your Parent Portal account by visiting myportal.dpsk12.org and click on “Getting Started”. You will need an email address and one of your student’s ID#s. There are no more wait times for an account; you can NOW create your own account!

If you have questions and need more support with Parent/Student Portal, please email dps_portalteam@dpsk12.org or call 720.423.3163.