Parent Post 2/7/2025

Posted February 7, 2025

Message from the Principal 

Cory Caregivers,

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is an essential framework that focuses on developing students’ emotional intelligence, interpersonal skills, and self-regulation. By prioritizing SEL, schools can create a safe and welcoming environment that significantly enhances academic performance and overall student well-being. Here’s a closer look at the importance of SEL and its impact on academics, emphasizing the need for partnerships with families.

1. Enhancing Emotional Well-Being

• Building Resilience: SEL equips students with skills to manage stress, cope with challenges, and bounce back from setbacks. This resilience is crucial for maintaining focus and motivation in academic pursuits.
• Improving Self-Regulation: By learning to recognize and manage their emotions, students are better able to control their impulses and behaviors, leading to improved classroom conduct and learning experiences.

2. Fostering Positive Relationships

• Collaboration Skills: SEL promotes skills such as teamwork, empathy, and communication, enabling students to work effectively with peers. Positive interactions enhance the learning environment and encourage collaborative learning.
• Conflict Resolution: Students equipped with SEL skills are more adept at resolving conflicts peacefully, contributing to a more harmonious classroom atmosphere that supports academic engagement.

3. Creating a Safe and Welcoming Environment

• Sense of Belonging: When students feel emotionally supported and valued, they are more likely to engage in the learning process. SEL fosters a sense of belonging, which is vital for academic success.
• Reduced Anxiety and Behavioral Issues: A safe and welcoming environment reduces anxiety and behavioral challenges, allowing students to focus on their studies rather than on distractions related to emotional distress.

4. Boosting Academic Performance

• Improved Engagement: Students with strong social-emotional skills are more engaged in their learning. They are likely to participate actively in class discussions and activities, leading to better retention of information and higher academic achievement.
• Higher Academic Achievement: Research shows a strong correlation between SEL and improved academic outcomes. Students with well-developed social-emotional skills tend to achieve higher grades and perform better on standardized tests.

Social Emotional Learning is instrumental in creating safe and welcoming conditions for students to thrive academically. By fostering emotional well-being, positive relationships, and a supportive environment, SEL significantly impacts students’ academic performance. To maximize these benefits, it is essential for schools to partner with families, ensuring a holistic approach to supporting each student’s social and emotional development. Together, we can create a nurturing learning environment that empowers every student to succeed.

Joan and Anna 

Upcoming Events 

• Feb 14th – No School For Students 
• Feb 17th – No School – Presidents’ Day 
• Feb 18th – SchoolChoice closes @4:00
• Feb 20th – Literacy Night 
• Feb 21st Coffee with Ms. Wieser and Ms. Meyer 
• March 3rd – No Students – Teacher Work Day
• March 5th – Spring Individual Pictures
• March 5th – 5th Grade Class Picture 
• Mar 12th – PTA Dine Out – Chipotle 
• Mar 17th – BESS Screening Window Opens 
• March 24th – March 30 – Spring Break
• March 31st – No School Cesar Chavez Day
• April 3rd – PTA Program Ready, Tech & Go @ 4:30
• April 7th CMAS testing begins

New Vocabulary Words for the month: 

boundless, gleeful, peculiar, emerge

This program is divided into 6 Lessons:

1. Ways to Stay Safe: General safety- looking both ways before crossing the street, asking before petting a dog, never touching a gun etc. Identifying 5 trusted adults in their lives. Children will learn to recognize, refuse and report.

2. Always Ask Permission First: Always ask the person in charge before going somewhere, doing something, or accepting something.

3. Safe, Unsafe, and Unwanted Touches: Safe touches make us feel loved and cared for. Unsafe touches hurt our bodies. Unwanted touches can be safe but something a child may not want now. Kids are learning they have the right to say, “no”.

4. The Private Body Part Rule: A bigger person should never touch your private body part except to keep you healthy. Children identify the exceptions to this rule (caregivers, nurses, doctors).

We teach that the private body parts are covered by a child’s bathing suit.

5. Never Keep a Secret: Never keep a secret especially if the private body part rule is broken. In this lesson, kids will also learn that it is never their fault if someone else breaks the touching rule and to keep telling if their safe adult does not believe them.

6. Internet Safety: DCAC is an Educational Partner with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). We utilize NCMEC’s NetSmartz to talk about internet safety to Kinder – 5th grade students.

Selected classes, kinder-5th will complete a pre and post-test. These tests will be verbally conducted by the trained prevention specialist. There will be no identifying information, and tests will be shredded after being scored. The reason for these tests is to collect data that illustrates an improvement in scores from pre to post test.

If you have questions about the Denver Children’s Advocacy Center, or the Denver Safe from the Start

curriculum, please do not hesitate to call us.

Sincerely,

Christa Summers, MA, LPC, NCC 

Community Outreach Director 

720-974-7232 

Julia Urbina, MSW, SWC

Bilingual Prevention Specialist

303-996-8595

Caregiver Informational Video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_8qE8BjLQk1kfQjoLOn4m8_Ub84_GGZy/view?usp=drive_link

Teacher Training

Cory TSEAL Daily Lessons 

• Unit 1: Positive School and Class Culture – August 2024 
• Unit 2: Self Awareness – September 2024 
• Unit 3: Self Regulation – October 2024 
• Unit 4: Gratitude – November 2024 
• Unit 5: Bullying Prevention, Upstander Behavior, and Conflict Resolution – December and January 2024/ 2025 
• NEW! Unit 6: Circles of Control, Lizard and Wizard Brain, Size of the Problem 

Random Acts of Kindness (RAOK) 

https://www.randomactsofkindness.org

We have taken our CASEL approved, highly effective, evidence-based Kindness in the Classroom® social emotional learning curriculum and made it better. By including a focus on equity, teacher self-care, and digital citizenship, we are excited to share a more engaging, relatable, and inclusive curriculum. 

Free lesson plans: ​​https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/kindergarten-grade-5-lesson-plans

Second Step 

https://www.secondstep.org

DPS TSEAL Manual 24/25 

Parent Restorative Practices Toolbox

DPS’ Extended Learning and Community Schools (ELCS) will be offering three different camp options this summer. Please see below:

• Discovery Link Registration
• ELCSports Registration
• ELCS Enrichment Registration

For questions, email discovery_link@dpsk12.org, enrichment_extendedlearning@dpsk12.org and elcsports@dpsk12.net.