PARENT POST – 3/16/18

Posted April 23, 2018

March 16, 2017

Dear Cory Community,

This week, on Wednesday, our students took time to stop and reflect on what it means to create safe, kind, respectful, inclusive and caring communities. Classrooms in grades 1-4 read stories aloud and discussed how each one of us plays a part in, and carries a responsibility for, making our community strong. Several of our 5th graders, as well as several of their parents, joined me and some of our teachers in a quiet and reflective walk around our field. We began our walk by framing the purpose- to think about our power to bring about change in our world, both as individuals and collectively. It was a moving experience to be on the field, in the quiet of the day, with so many children and parents expressing themselves through a peaceful movement in solidarity with students and families around the country. 

As we move into March, we head into our state standardized testing window for grades 3-5. The CMAS (Colorado Measures of Academic Success) tests are long and rigorous and we encourage everyone to get a good night’s sleep and eat a great breakfast in the morning so they are ready and able to do their very best.  Next week Fourth grade will test in language arts. Tests will occur in the morning from Tuesday-Thursday.

Although testing begins to take over our days in March, we want to keep students engaged and excited about school. This coming Monday, March 19th, we are thrilled to be bringing Google Expeditions into all of our classrooms! Google Expeditions uses AR (Augmented Reality) technology to explore a myriad of places and objects. Students can see inside a model of a lung and watch how the respiratory system works, look inside the layers of earth or visit a planet among hundreds of other virtual field trips. As Google describes it… “Imagine exploring coral reefs or the surface of the Mars in the afternoon. With Expeditions, teachers can take students on immersive, virtual journeys.iGoogle Expeditions is a virtual-reality teaching tool. You can swim with sharks, visit outer space, walk through a museum, and more without leaving the classroom. There are close to 500 expeditions available and more in development.”  Make sure you ask your child about their virtual field trip next week!

Last, but certainly not least, thank you all so much for your generous donations to support Jump Rope for Heart! As a school we raised $20,309.91 for the American Heart Association! Thank you so much to Mr. Conklin for organizing the effort and to all of you who made a donation. Your generosity will help save lives- THANK YOU!

Have a wonderful and relaxing weekend.
 
Liz TenCate


Looking to get involved with the Cory community?
 
The Cory PTA has 2 open positions for next year’s board! With an incredibly active parent volunteer base, the PTA is a well organized and a fun volunteer opportunity. Plus, the two open positions will be joining 3 returning board members – so you will be well-supported!
 
See below and feel free to contact Anastasia Glennie at lantzglennie@gmail.com to find out more details. And, if interested, please join us at our April 6 meeting at 8:45am!
 
PRESIDENT
The president acts as the “conductor” of the PTA. It is a largely administrative role that helps support the goals and activities of the many committees within the PTA. Sample duties include:

  • Create monthly meeting agendas
  • Run the monthly meetings
  • Coordinate with the treasurer on budgeting, payments, banking administrative items
  • Sign contracts, update by-laws (when applicable)
  • Work with committee chairs to execute on activities

Commitment: 1 hour/week
 
VP – COMMUNICATIONS
This new position acts as an important liaison between Cory, the community-at-large, parents, volunteers and Cory families! Sample duties include:

  • Manages internal/external communications on behalf of the PTA
  • Liaison with the community-at-large
  • Works closely with committee chairs to ensure successful events via communication with the school community
  • Opens mail and processes correspondence, works with treasurer to process donations
  • Active role on the PTA board and works closely with board members

Commitment: 1 hour/week on average

The Cory Times
 
Reminder! We are working on pushing out the next edition of the newspaper and NEED your children’s input! All grades are welcome to submit articles; we need voices of all types from our community. Please have them emailed by late Monday, March 19 to thecorytimes@gmail.com

Philanthropic Service Club

Founded and run by a small group of Cory kids, the Philanthropic Service Club is having its second annual service day event Sunday, March 18 from 2-4pm. Over the last year, the club members have been hard at work researching, touring and presenting information they’ve gathered on non-profit charitable organizations both local and around the globe. Last month, the group voted to have their service event benefit Sewall Child Development Center, a Denver based organization serves children with special needs due to disabilities, economic disadvantage and developmental delays.
 
Established in 1944, the center provides behavioral assessment and intervention services. It offers family counseling services for children with social emotional problems along with integrated developmental preschool and early childhood care and education programs. Sewall serves over 2,500 children and families in our community yearly.
 
On the service day, weather permitting, we will have the President and CEO, Heidi Heissenbuttel, and a former Cory family give a brief talk about Sewall to be followed with directions for the day. We will be prepping the playground for spring by cleaning and laying mulch, weeding and prepping the soil of playground planter boxes and organizing supply boxes to be passed out to each of the classrooms.
 
We would love to have the entire Cory community join but need to limit the group to 50. Please register on SignUpGenius: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4ba9ad22a4f49-cory1
 
There will be a box for classroom supplies (listed on SignUpGenius) near the office through March 16. Families are more than welcome to bring donations directly to Sewall the day of the event. 
 
Feel free to reach out to me personally with any questions.
 
Thanks and hope to see you there! 
Malin and Milli Wolfson
milliwolfson@gmail.com
 
Upcoming events

  • 3/16-3/23 – Shop for Cory at Timbuk Toys
  • Mon., 3/19 – Google Expeditions – during the school day
  • Mon., 3/19 – An Evening with Newcomers @ 7:00pm at South HS
  • Tues. – Thurs., 3/20-3/22 – 4th Grade CMAS – ELA – No morning volunteers
  • Fri., 3/23, 8:45-9:30 – Meet and Greet with the New Principal