Posted November 6, 2020
Dear Families,
Thank you all for your grace and patience with all of these transitions. I wanted to take a moment of gratitude. I realize just how much change and pivoting we have had to do over the last 7 months. Each time we go through another change we prioritize safety, instruction, and the social-emotional needs of our entire community. Despite our individual situations we continue to come together because we know we must. We just want to take a moment and acknowledge you, your thoughtfulness, and your support of our students and staff.
At first Friday, we learned about having an attitude for gratitude. We explored all the benefits of being grateful and sharing gratitude to others. Ask your child what they are grateful for.
Schools have been tasked to provide a Remote Learning Center for students in grades 3-5. Among other considerations, we considered the prioritization of students who stand to most benefit from supervision, reliable internet, adult support, and/or a safe place to learn and be, and can use attendance and engagement information as helpful metrics to understand who might most need the support of a Remote Learning Center. Our decisions are not solely rooted in a student’s membership in a protected class. We will begin with a small cohort of students to ensure the effectiveness of the program before adding more students.
A few updates:
As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions, concerns or suggestions. Best,
Joan Wieser
Joan_Wieser@dpsk12.org
Principal
Cory PTA’s annual giving campaign, Friends of Cory, is off and running. Thank you to those of you who have already contributed! If you have not yet contributed, please consider making your gift today.
Your generosity ensures our students at Cory Elementary have access to many resources including full-time Specials teachers like Mr. Conklin, our Physical Education Teacher. Not only does P.E. provide an opportunity for our kids to move around during the day, it also allows them to learn new games, sports, and activities that they might not have been exposed to otherwise. We are so fortunate to have a highly qualified, invested, committed P.E Teacher like Mr. Conklin at Cory! It wouldn’t be possible without your support of Friends of Cory.
Please make your tax-deductible gift today. Your donation helps make P.E and all the Specials at Cory possible. Thank You!
This year Cory Book Fair will be a virtual event, held November 16-29. All book orders will be delivered and you will not have to pay shipping costs on orders over $25. As usual, a portion of the proceeds go to Cory and will be used to purchase birthday books, fill classroom libraries, purchase STEM products for the classrooms, and supplement our teachers classroom needs throughout the year.
Every year during the book fair the student council or other groups within the school hold a gently used book drive for underprivileged schools within DPS. This year, since most classes aren’t in person and due to restrictions due to Covid-19, with needs within our own Cory community, a $50 Scholastic gift card will be given to families in need to help fill their home libraries. Each sale made during the fair will go towards the purchase of gift cards for 32 Cory families. We are committed to maintaining confidentiality and preserving family dignity as we facilitate this community-giving project.
Milli Wolfson and Erin Robbins
Some of you have requested testing for your students to determine whether they qualify for gifted and talented services. You should have received a message (through Seesaw, Class Dojo, or email) from Ms. Annie Witwer about the testing dates and times. In case you missed that communication, here’s is the Cory schedule for testing:
1st grade — Tuesday, November 10, 9-11:30
3rd grade — Wednesday, November 11, 9-11:30
4th grade — Thursday, November 12, 9-11:30
5th grade — Friday, November 13, 9-11:30
Actual testing is 90 minutes long, but we allow extra time for getting started and for breaks between each of the three sections (verbal, non-verbal, and quantitative).
First graders should come to school and check-in with their classroom teachers. Remote first graders, and older students should meet Ms. Annie no later than 9 a.m. at the south entrance to Cory off the playground. It is crucial that your child bring a fully-charged Chrome book or laptop to school, as that is the only way we can access the testing.
Sending a snack and a leak-proof water bottle is a good idea.
For more information about the CogAT, please click here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wlNbpJjlo–nNojl0PpobU6MQconxH5D4YNto8ZSRQM/edit?usp=sharing
If you did not sign up for testing this fall but would like to request if for spring 2021, you can visit this DPS website: https://studentequity.dpsk12.org/gifted-talented/.
Please feel free to contact Ms. Annie with any questions: anne_witwer@dpsk12.org.
The Collaborative School Committee (CSC) is a DPS-mandated board consisting of the principal, elected parent representatives, teachers, support staff and community members. The Collaborative School Committee (CSC) is a DPS-mandated board consisting of the principal, elected parent representatives, teachers, support staff and community members. Throughout the year, the CSC provides guidance and recommendations to improve academic performance; as well as advice on achieving the goals of Cory’s strategic plans, budget and staffing priorities, increasing parent engagement, and enhancing school culture.
This is a great opportunity to become further involved in Cory as a parent. If you are interested in becoming a parent representative, please complete the attached Google form 2020-2021 Collaborative School Committee Nomination Form. A representative from Cory will be in touch shortly after. The deadline is November 10th.
Thank you for your consideration.
