Posted August 5, 2022
Dear Cory Community,
Welcome Back! I can’t believe the first day of school is right around the corner. I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer full of new adventures, quality time with family and fun in the sun! We are so excited to share our upcoming plans for this school year. Our driving focus is on the whole child to ensure that all students have the academic and social skills to engage and connect in meaningful ways. We want students to have agency and ownership of their learning opportunities to really grapple with real world problems. We look forward to sharing more of our instructional, social emotional and whole child goals on Back to School Night.
Every school within the Denver Public School District has a Collaborative School Committee (CSC) in place. The CSC brings together staff, parents, students, and community members to create and implement a plan to promote high achievement within the school.Being a part of the CSC is an exciting opportunity to be involved in our school community, not to mention to participate in the education of all our students. Our school is working towards some great goals and we believe that by working together, we can achieve them!
We currently have two openings on our CSC for the 2022-23 school year. We meet the first Thursday of every month at 4:00 PM. We ask that CSC members participate in the meetings and commit to being a member for two years. If you are interested in your name being placed on the ballot for one of the parent representative openings, please fill out the nomination form. If you would like more information concerning the CSC before making a decision, please feel free to contact Joan Wieser, Principal. I am happy to answer any questions you may have. We encourage you to participate in this great work.
Choice and Enrollment
Once a family is enrolled — or accepted — into a DPS school, the next step is registering with their school. This is the annual process of providing and updating student and family information on file, including emergency contacts, health information and more.
Please make sure you have registered your children for the upcoming school year!
Registration can be done online, or through the school in the fall. We recommend registering online because it’s convenient and saves time. Families can register online for the 2022-23 school year. Please finish registering your children for Cory. This is part of the process that needs to be completed by you. Enrollment is NOW OPEN – July 29 through August 22, 2022.To register online, sign in to Parent Portal, click on “See All Apps,” then click on “Online Registration” to verify or update your student’s information. Online registration can only be completed by the parent/guardian listed in the primary household of the student record.
If you don’t have a Parent Portal account, please contact your school directly for registration information.https://myportal.dpsk12.org
IMPORTANT DATES:
Upcoming:
Discovery Link August Newsletter
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12wQNfe7CcYHQPhuXKxTyUExoexqXzjmm/view?ts=62ec2902
What’s the best way to get connected with Cory?
We have the BEST PTA ever!
We would not be able to do our best for our students and school without the dedication and investment of our PTA and parents. I encourage you to join our Parent Teacher Association! Our PTA continues to amaze us with their fundraising efforts which provide incredible support for our staff and students. The PTA helps to fund things such as:
I hope you enjoy your last couple of weeks of summer! The staff and I are eagerly waiting to welcome you to another wonderful school year and look forward to seeing families and students very soon!
We look forward to continuing building our mission and vision with the partnership of our amazing community. As always please email me at jwieser@dpsk12.net or call the main office at Cory at (720) 424-8380 if you have questions or need assistance. Stay safe and healthy! Joan Wieser Principal
Important District Updates:
Free Lunch and Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) Applications
After three years, the federal law providing pandemic-era child nutrition expired on June 30. This means starting this fall, students are expected to pay for their lunch at the time of service unless designated eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Free breakfast will still be available to everyone. To be considered for free lunch, families will need to fill out an application to qualify kids for free, reduced-price or paid meals. DPS encourages families to complete a meal benefits application as soon as possible to determine eligibility for free and reduced-price lunch. Schools will send a copy of this application home with the students, or families can get a copy in the school’s main office. School officials will help families understand if they qualify for free or reduced-price lunch based on the information families put on their school meal application.
Returning to In-person Environments:
The 2022-23 school year is poised to be the most consistent year since the pandemic started, and we understand many have had some tough experiences with COVID-19. We recognize that the fear is real, and the district and schools have resources to assist individuals who are still experiencing trauma. Because of concerns related to in-person school activities, it is important to remind families of matters such as when back-to-school meetings are taking place, the structure and timing of upcoming Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, and where their child’s bus stops are. Overall, it is important to ensure we are not only transparent, but also proactive and giving notice of in-person events well in advance, providing clarity around any safety measure, and school specific expectations.
As we move from pandemic to endemic when it comes to COVID-19, we are following the guidance of local, regional and national health experts. Endemic means that, while there is no clear end to the pandemic, the virus is generally significantly less life-threatening. We are now treating COVID-19 as we do any other reportable, communicable disease that is in our schools. We now have effective vaccines and booster shots. We now have medicines for those who contract the virus. And, we now have a far better understanding of how to protect ourselves with public health measures like wearing masks and improving building ventilation. So, we have revisited, revised and shifted our COVID-19 operational decision-making and policies so that we can still provide the best educational opportunities for our students, while taking reasonable precautions. In short, we now have fewer restrictions because there are no mandates and no public health orders in place. Anyone who chooses to wear a mask may continue to do so. All students may request a mask from their school or program if they need one.
Masks are strongly recommended for any staff member or student who knows they have been exposed to COVID-19 within the previous 10 days. To order additional PPE for your school, please contact Dennis Ralph.
We will continue to follow the guidance for schools provided by the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE). Our Nursing Services team will continue to monitor information daily and will take steps to ensure the safety of students, families and educators, if necessary. Nursing Services will continue having regular meetings with local health officials, the Denver Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE), CDPHE and Denver Health, regarding outbreaks and/or any upward-trending COVID-19 case rates. And, all COVID-19 cases must still be reported to state health officials. The new reporting form is easier, more accessible and goes straight to DDPHE for them to collect their data. Plus, the reporting does not have to be done by a school nurse. Employees can report their own and students’ cases. School personnel who talk with families by phone, can upload this information directly into the form. DPS will no longer maintain a COVID-19 dashboard. Please visit the CDPHE and DDPHE websites for age-related case rates across the state. If there are any outbreaks and/or any unusual cases, Nursing Services will notify those impacted communities and will work directly with them on next steps.
Per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance, and unlike last year, students and employees who have COVID-19 do not need to test for the virus and then get a negative rapid at home test in order to return to school or work. We ask that symptomatic individuals please return on day six and wear a mask from day six to day 10. We still encourage vaccines and booster shots. As of June 30, COVIDCheck Colorado is no longer in existence. DPS is hosting two cost-free PCR testing sites. There are several other cost-free PCR testing sites in Denver county and in areas surrounding Denver.
Heat Mitigation
During the initial weeks of school, high temperatures can be a challenge for creating the most effective learning environments, particularly in schools that do not yet have air conditioning. There are a number of heat mitigation strategies, including portable coolers, fans and nighttime purges of buildings to bring in cooler air. You can reach out to Cory’s liaison if you have any questions or concerns. We will send communication out as quickly as possible if a heat day is called. Scott Clark 720-641-3517
At Cory we love learning and laughter.
We grow by trying new things and learning from our mistakes.
We embrace challenges with the courage to do our best.
We persevere.
We show respect for our community through caring, responsible actions.
We celebrate each others’ differences and accomplishments.
At Cory we love learning and laughter.