Dora Moore Elementary

Dora Moore Elementary

 

Weekly Follow Up: 1/18/26

 

Hello! 

On Monday, we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by reflecting on his commitment to justice, dignity, and collective responsibility. Dr. King reminded us that schools are not neutral spaces—they can either reinforce inequity or help dismantle it. On this day, we recommit to ensuring every child in our community is seen, supported, and given access to the high-quality education they deserve.

On a much different note, a reminder about the balance and tension between attendance and sickness. Please use the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) guidance to help you decide when to keep your child home from school to keep our students, staff and families safe and healthy during the year while also prioritizing great attendance. 

Shout-out to Mrs. Watson for running Dora Moore like a boss the last two weeks during her acting principalship residency. Mr. Janson is back in the building on Tuesday. 

We look forward to another great week! 

Sincerely,

Mr. Janson & Mrs. Watson

Important Dates

  • Thursday, January 22nd, 1:30pm - 4:00pm 2nd Grade Slow Food Cooking Classes 
  • Thursday, January 22nd - 23rd, Annual DPS Universal Health Screenings
  • SAVE THE DATE: February 19th, 4:15pm - 6:15pm Dora Moore x PTSA Annual Winter Carnival
 

Dora Moore Winter Carnival February, 19th 4:15 - 6:15 

FREE to attend ~ FUN for the whole family ~ FREE dinner 

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED 

The Winter Carnival is back for the 3rd year in a row and we need YOU to help make it a success!! We will need a minimum of 30 adult volunteers to make it happen! If you are available, please sign up HERE for a one-hour shift as a volunteer OR to donate food and/or beverages! After signing up, a PTSA member will reach out to you with more information regarding planning, purchasing, etc.

 
 
 

Social Emotional Learning Question of the Week

One of our goals this year is to increase building-wide alignment of our weekly social emotional learning lessons, content, and economy of language. With that being said, we have a "SEL Question of the Week" that we discuss in our morning meetings and always aligns to monthly focus. Ms. Watson creates a weekly video to launch the week as well.

Please ask your students about these questions and about the conversations they are having at school!

January's Focus: Curiosity

Week 1: Notice & Wonder--What do I notice, and what makes me curious?

Week 2: Ask Better Questions--How do I ask a question that helps me learn more?

Week 3: How can I make a small plan to explore a question I have?

 

Join Dora Moore students and families as we celebrate Black History / Black Futures Month with a visit to the annual Denver School of the Arts (DSA) Theatre Performance

The Annual Denver School of the Arts (DSA) Black History performance is produced, written, directed, and performed by the Theatre majors as part of our celebration of Black History Month. This year’s script was written by Lariah Campbell; the performance has been directed by Theatre Major Josh Thomas.

This story follows Kira, a talented teenage dancer who transfers to a mostly white private school and struggles to figure out where she belongs. At her new school, she faces racism and societal pressure to change. The people who don’t fully respect her or her talent cause her to pull away from her old friends and lose confidence in her talent. When another performer steals her dance, she realizes she’s being taken advantage of, causing Kira to finally stand up for herself. Through dance, friendship, and creating a club for students of color, she learns that she doesn’t have to change who she is to fit in. 

The script expresses themes of identity, racism, microaggressions, cultural pride, the value of friendship, self-expression through art, finding your community, and staying authentic to yourself.

For more information email DoraMoorePTSA@gmail.com  or https://dsa.dpsk12.org/performances/ 

 
 
 

Automated Attendance Emails from 1/16/26

In support of families understanding their children's attendance rate, DPS sent out automated emails to families on Friday, January 16th. Though we support these communications being sent, we have received some feedback from families regarding these emails. Here are some clarifying talking points from DPS to provide a little more context to the email you most likely received. 

  • EVERY STUDENT receives this message.  We do this for the whole student population, just like we give grades and feedback to every student. 
  • We want to ensure guardians are proactively updated about their student's access to education.
  • Chronic Absenteeism status is different from attendance rate, and different from truancy and chronic truancy.
    • A student is considered chronically absent when they miss 10% or more of the time enrolled in school for any reason: excused, unexcused or suspended. This is the state and federal definition of chronic absenteeism.
  • Chronic absenteeism is calculated by the minute - so arriving late and leaving early counts.
  • The message calculated the minutes of school missed and equated it to how many days that would be. Every minute matters.
  • A student either IS, IS NOT or is AT RISK OF being chronically absent. This status can change during the school year as long as the student attends all classes for the full day, every day.
  • Reducing chronic absenteeism is the district's focus around attendance. This aligns with the Colorado and national Calls To Action. Last year, DPS had over 33,000 students chronically absent.
  • There is a newly updated, public-facing DPS Attendance Webpage with more information, including family friendly and recently updated 'How sick is too sick' information. This includes information around what parents/guardians can do to support strong student attendance.

If you have further questions or concerns about your students attendance, please reach out to Ms. Bianka in the front office at bianka_grijalva@dpsk12.net or by calling 720-424-5300.

 

 DORA MOORE COMMUNITY EXCHANGE STORE OVERFLOWETH

We have received an overwhelming amount of donations recently (both food & clothing). 

PLEASE, come one come all to check out our latest inventory!

Open Mondays 3:30 - 4:30 PM,  Thurs. & Friday  8:45- 9:45 AM  

Need to come at a different time next week? Want further assistance? Contact Josh Konz:  joshua_konz@dpsk12.net