Posted November 12, 2024
Happy Monday Columbine Community,
I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful weekend and are ready for some chilly weather this week! Last week held so much joy and genius at Columbine. We had our Columbine Academic Night (see resources below!), 1st grader’s celebration of learning, two of our ECE crews went on their first field trip, we had an epic Halloween day/parade, and on Friday we celebrated Dia de los Muertos alongside several of our families. A culminating project from Hispanic Heritage Month was our school Ofrenda featuring candles, decor, and pictures of our deceased loved ones. Our school entrance was adorned on Friday morning with monarch butterflies and beautiful decor by Mandy Nunes Hennessey, while inside our families Mercedes Dominguez, Carla Gutierrez, and Myra Flores served pan de muerto and chocolate abuelito. Finally, in our whole-school crew circle we all got to celebrate and recognize the Rivera and Rubio family who wore traditional Dia de Los Muertos attire.
Thank you to all who came together to make this celebration so meaningful to our crew!
Celebrating Diwali
Today, our crew will get to experience a Diwali Dance Performance in recognition of and in celebration of Diwali which is celebrated over the course of 5 days and this year, began on October 31st. Diwali is known as ‘The Festival of Lights’. During Diwali, ‘Devotees light outside their homes during the festival to represent the light that guards against spiritual darkness and symbolize good over evil. “The light from these lamps symbolizes the illumination within all of us, which can overcome ignorance, represented by darkness.’” We are so excited to have a Diwali performance for all of our students today!
Black Excellence Family Dinner – TONIGHT! November 4th 5:30-7:30
This evening is our Black Excellence Family Dinner at 5:30 pm. We will be providing the main dishes and beverages, and families are encouraged to bring sides and desserts. This dinner will be an affinity space for our Black Families and Families of our Black students to come together to create community, learn about our Black Excellence Plan, and discuss Black Student Success at Columbine. There will be more upcoming opportunities for families who are looking to work side by side with our Black families in support, in allyship , and in community, however tonight is a space for our Black Families and Families of our Back Students. Thank you all for your support of our community and the community spaces we are working to create for all.
Columbine Multilingual Education Parent Advisory Committee (MLE PAC)
On November 12th from 5:30-6:30 our ELD teacher Sara Hanlon will be hosting our first MLE PAC meeting of the year. All district run schools have an MLE PAC and these meetings are open to all families of students in an MLE program. These meetings provide opportunities to increase communication between school and families. We will be using this time to design the vision for our PAC and discuss the experience of our LatinX students to ensure excellence in all of their school experiences. We hope to gain input, feedback, and reflections from our MLE families to better inform our support of our MLE students and community.
Columbine Community Inclusion and Belonging
Last year, we engaged our community in multiple sessions that centered learning about true inclusion and belonging in a diverse community. Almost 30 of our community members took the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). As a staff and community, it is our personal and professional responsibility to engage in equity work and professional learning to ensure we are providing each of our students the most authentic, meaningful, and impactful educational experiences. One essential component of our professional and personal learning and work has been through our engagement in the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI).
In support of collective responsibility and shared accountability, we are excited to invite families to engage in this learning and work along with us. On November 13th, at Columbine from 5:30-7:00 we will be joined by Michael Atkins, Director of the Black Student Success Team, and Dr. Ellen Miller-Brown (professor and partner at University of Denver). This will be an evening for information sharing about an opportunity for community members to engage in the IDI (free of charge) with individual debriefs followed by DEI sessions. Even if you don’t know what this work will look like, regardless of whether you feel ready or hesitant, I hope you will join us for this informational session.
☕Our next Coffee with Corey will be Friday, November 8th, and following that will be Thursday, November 21st. ☕
In Crew,
Corey Jenks
Principal
Columbine Academic Night Information and Family Resources
Thank you to all who attended our Columbine Academic Night last week! We presented sessions on EL, Early Literacy Skills Instruction, IM Math Curriculum, iReady Assessment and Instruction, and Special Education.
Below are the decks and resources that were shared!
iReady Assessment and Instruction
EL, Foundational Literacy Skills, IM Math – Slide Decks
Early Literacy Skills Handout – Family Resources
Foundational Early Literacy Skills Model at Columbine – Family Resources
IM Math Handout – Family Resources
Columbine CSC
In our last Columbine CSC meeting, we discussed a variety of topics, specifically:
-Our Columbine UIP
-Progress monitoring reports and data reporting processes
-Community engagement strategies and commitments
-Interim principal during Corey’s maternity leave
Please see the CSC Minutes Here:
Our next meeting will be on November 20th at 5:00 in the Columbine Library
All information about our Columbine CSC can be found on the CSC page of our Columbine Website!
DPS School Consolidation Timeline and Updates Happening this Week
This week, on Nov. 7, Superintendent Dr. Marrero will present the Board of Education with a list of schools recommended for consolidation. Then, on Nov. 21, the Board of Education will vote on the list.
Any information I have and learn on the 7th, I will answer questions about at Coffee with Corey on the 8th. Any questions I can not answer, I will be happy to collect and create an FAQ as we learn more about the process and how Columbine is/isn’t impacted.
Upcoming Events
| November 4th: Black Excellence Family Dinner 5:30-7:30November 5th: Picture RetakesNovember 6th: 5th Grade Celebration of Learning 1:30-2:30November 8th: ☕Coffee with Corey ☕@ 8:00am in the library November 8th: 4th Grade Celebration of Learning @ Whittier Cafe 9:30 amNovember 12th: Multilingual Education Parent Advisory Committee Meeting (MLE PAC) 5:30-6:30 November 13th: IDI – Belonging and Inclusion at Columbine Info Session November 20th: Family Turkey Lunch @ Columbine November 20th: Columbine CSC Meeting @ 5:00 pm and PTA Meeting @ 6:30November 21st: ☕ Coffee with Corey ☕@ 8:00am in the library |
| Community Resource Team If you are looking for resources, book recommendations, and entry points into the essential learning about race, gentrification, cultural competency, and racial history in our country, the CR team has compiled a recommended book list. Book List Here |
Columbine Cougars PTA Update 10/27
Please see the Columbine Cougars PTA Newsletter here!
Looking to stay in touch? Follow some of our Columbine Elementary social media accounts. columbine_cougars dadsofcolumbine columbinecougarspta |