Posted August 27, 2024
Happy Weekend Columbine Community,
We just wrapped up a BIG week back with our staff. Let me tell you, I have never in my career had so much confidence in a staff. This crew is simply incredible. Each and every one of our teachers has been all in all week prepping, planning, and setting up beautiful learning spaces for your children. On Friday, we all attended a kick-off event as part of the Black Student Success cohort. We were at the Cable Center and sat in awe of our keynote speaker, Dr. Gholdy Muhammed, author of Unearthing Joy and Cultivating Genius. She gave us powerful messages we will hold on to for all children and especially our Black children.
Here is what we know; your children come to us WHOLE and eager with gifts of brilliance and rich experiences that deserve to be honored in their learning environments. We are committed to ensuring that we recognize and elevate the GENIUS and JOY in every single child in our crew.
We can’t wait to see you on Monday morning between 7:50-8:00 to begin the 2024-2025 school year!
First Day of School (K-5) – 8/19 @ 8:00am
We can’t wait to welcome you all on the first day of school! For the first four days of school, teachers will meet students outside on the blacktop and the field. We will all line up between 7:50-8:00am and teachers will walk students inside at the 8:00am bell. Students will all say goodbye to families outside and then please join our PTA crew to enjoy coffee at our Cheers and Tears event! On Friday, we will switch to our typical school entry routine. On typical school entry days, exterior doors will be opened by staff members at 7:50am and students will be able to come inside on their own and walk to their classrooms. Only DPS staff are permitted to enter the building through exterior doors. All families who need to enter the building must use the main entry, at all times, with no exceptions. This is for the safety of our whole crew.
Kinder, 4th, and 5th will be on the blacktop
1st, 2nd, and 3rd will be on the field
MIA will use the bus lane and front entry
ECE families, we are looking forward to seeing many of you for one-on-one meetings on Tuesday! Please see this ECE specific guidance for our arrival and dismissal procedures.
Breakfast in the Cafeteria
Our cafeteria will open at 7:40am for students to come in and have a hot breakfast. All students must use the main entry doors located off of 29th and Elizabeth between 7:40-7:50am. The cafeteria will be open from 7:40-7:55 am. If students arrive after 7:50, they can pick up breakfast in the office as a grab-and-go option and can eat in their classroom.
Dismissal
For dismissal, our crews will come out of the building from the same doors they entered. They will all then make their way back out to the field/blacktop where they lined up in the morning. Here is what we ask of families. Please do NOT take your child from their crew while they make their way to their pick up spot. Once students have arrived at their designated spot with their teacher, teachers will begin dismissal. Please be patient as these first few days teachers are learning many new names and faces and a safe end-of-day hand off is a priority for us. Rather than calling your student over to the sidewalk, please come to the location where your child’s crew is lining up. If you plan to have a different pick up schedule, if a sibling will be picking up a younger child, or (3rd-5th) if your child is walking home, please let the teacher know.
Columbine New Family Night – 8/20 @ 5:30-6:30 pm
All new Columbine families, please join me on Tuesday evening for our Columbine New Family Night. We will meet in the library and this will be a time to run through all of our systems, celebrations, traditions, handbooks, and volunteer opportunities. We will be joined by our PTA!
I believe that I sit in one of the most rewarding and humbling positions as principal of Columbine. I want to thank each and every one of you for trusting our school and our staff to love, grow, and look after your children. We promise, we will do just that.
Here’s to a great 24-25 school year!
In Crew,
Corey Jenks
Principal
| Please take some time in the first week to review our Columbine Community Handbook |
Below are a few handbook MVPs:
✔️Visitors
All adults who are not staff must ALWAYS enter the school through the Main Entrance and sign in at the front office. Visitors will be asked for their ID to be scanned and will receive a visitor badge to wear through our Raptor System. Any family who is in the building should wear this visitor badge at all times. Per DPS policy, families may not go to a classroom directly to get their child. Please arrange any visitations ahead of time with teachers, administrators, and office staff so that we can prioritize and prepare for your arrival. This process will include celebrations and performances.
👩🏼🤝👨🏾Volunteers
Columbine welcomes and values our volunteers! There are many ways families and community members can support the students at Columbine. One great avenue for volunteering is via our Classroom Hero and Parent Teacher Association (PTA).
DPS Policy: Volunteers who are non-DPS staff but have undergone volunteer approval via the Family and Community Engagement department are allowed to volunteer across the school building. Volunteers must comply with standard volunteer processes; volunteers who engage with students through a community partner must abide by all community partner policies. Click here to become a volunteer in DPS by completing a background check.
📱Cell Phones and Electronics
Student cell phones and electronic devices should not be brought to school. If your child carries a phone for safety reasons, their teacher will collect it at the beginning of the school day, lock it up for safekeeping to be returned at the end of the day. Cell phones not turned in will be turned into the office and a parent/guardian will need to come and pick up the phone.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that adults place consistent limits on the use of technology, video games and screen time for elementary aged children, making sure media does not take the place of adequate sleep, physical activity and other behaviors essential to health.
Calling for Room Heroes for the 24-25 School Year!
If you are looking for a way to support your child’s crew and classroom teacher, please consider being a room hero. Our room heroes help our teachers and crews in so many ways. See the info sheet below and reach out to Amy Macfarlane if you are interested or want to learn more.
amybkr@gmail.com
Music and Art Fee – Added to Registration
This year as part of registration, families will be asked to pay a $35 fee towards our Music and Art program. Families will be receiving information about this fee in the next week. As our electives continue to grow and our enrollment continues to increase, we want to be able to provide the best programming possible to our students. Families who qualify for Free and Reduced Lunch will have this fee waived.
Denver Children’s Chorus After-School Enrichment Program
The NEW PTA Enrichment Team is thrilled to introduce the first after-school enrichment program: the Denver Children’s Choir After-School Enrichment Program for elementary students aged 7-18.
Program Details:
Discover the joy of music with us! For more information, check out the attached flyer in the sign-up form!
Upcoming Events
| August 19th: First day of school for students (K-5) No school for ECEOur first bell is at 7:50 and our final bell is at 8:00am. For the first four days of school, we will all line up outside on the field and blacktop for arrival and classes will walk in at the 8:00 bell. Our afternoon bell is at 3:30pm with the exception of Thursday when our afternoon bell is 1:30pm. ☕Immediately following drop off will be our Tears and Cheers event hosted by PTA. Stop by for a cup of coffee and a tissue (or a cheers!) OR both!☕IAugust 20th 5:30-6:30 pm: New Family Info Night August 20th: One-on-one meetings for ECE students August 21st 7:50-9:00am: New Family Welcome Breakfast August 21st: First day of school for ECE August 24th 9:00-1:00: Clyde’s Community Pancake Breakfast & Soccer GameAugust 28th 5:30-7:00: Back-to-School Night (followed by 1st PTA meeting of the year 7:00-8:00)September 2nd: Labor Day (No School) |
Columbine Cougars PTA Update
SHOUT OUT to our DOCS and all the CREW who showed up today for our Back-to-School Grounds Clean Up!
| 🎉 Upcoming Events! 🎉 🥹& 👏🏻 Monday, August 19th Tears and Cheers: 7:45-8:30 – Enjoy a first day of school coffee with our PTA cheers and tears event, directly following drop off 🥯 Wednesday, August 21st: New Family Welcome Breakfast 7:50-9:00am on the blacktop 🥞 Saturday, August 24th: Clyde’s Community Pancake Breakfast & Soccer Game: 9:00-1:00 come enjoy some pancakes and play some soccer with our NEW soccer goals! ⚽ 🍽️Friday, August 23rd: PTA Dine Out at Ephemeral Upcoming Meetings! Wednesday, August 28th at 7:00pm: First PTA meeting of the year – Columbine Cafeteria Don’t miss upcoming events! Sync your calendar with our Columbine calendar! |
Looking to stay in touch? Follow some of our Columbine Elementary social media accounts. columbine_cougars dadsofcolumbine columbinecougarspta |
