September 27: Homecoming Game
September 28: Homecoming Dance
October 7 & 8: Parent Teacher conferences 4-8pm
October 10: Professional Learning Day
October 11: No School
October 14: Indigenous Peoples Day, No School
East High School
Important Upcoming Dates
Student Information
Behavior and Emotional Screening System (BESS)
This school year, all Denver Public School students will complete universal mental health screening using the Behavior and Emotional Screening System (BESS). This is an online tool that takes approximately five minutes to complete and consists of 28 questions for the student to answer.
During the beginning-of-the-year school registration, you had an opportunity to opt your child out of completing the Student Self-Report Form of the BESS.
Third period teachers will be facilitating students in completion of their Student Self-Report Form of the BESS between the dates of October 3 and 18.
If you, the parent/guardian, would like to confirm or revoke your opt-out decision, please do so by emailing Jackie Coppola at jcoppol@dpsk12.net or calling 720-423-8300.
You have the right, upon request, to review the items on the BESS. This is completed through a phone call, video call, or in-person meeting with your child’s school. Due to copyright, school teams are not able to send a copy of the questions home prior to screening.
If we do not receive contact from you about confirming or revoking your opt-out decision, we will assume you are choosing to have your child participate in the Student Self-Report Form of the BESS.
As we prepare for upcoming Homecoming events, we encourage you to set clear expectations with your students. Here are some tips:
Schedule a time to talk with your child about their plans.
Show empathy—let them know you want them to have fun while staying safe.
Collaboratively decide on reasonable expectations and outcomes.
Please note: Students must remain sober and without alcohol or drugs. Read the Planning for Dances at East High School document for more information.
No admittance after 9:30 PM, and there is no re-admittance. Any incidents involving intoxication or possession may lead to suspension or revocation of homecoming privileges. This includes any homecoming or school event leading up to the dance.
Feel free to reach out to Lauren Nichols, LCSW, LAC (Lauren.Nichols@dpsk12.net) for support on navigating substance use conversations with your teen.
Let’s have a great week!
Fall Testing Information
9th-11th grade students will have the opportunity to take the PSAT 9 and NMSQT. This is an excellent SAT practice opportunity for all, and the NMSQT allows national academic recognition and scholarship opportunities. Guardians have the right to opt their child out of any state testing. If you would like to opt your child out, please use the opt out instructions below. Students need to be opted out of the test by their guardian no later than Friday Oct. 4th.
opt out English / opt out Spanish
Please be on time for testing. If you arrive after your assigned testing room has started testing, you may not be admitted.
There will be one make-up opportunity for the 11th grade NMSQT test only starting at 8:20 a.m. on Tuesday Oct. 15th.
Please also be aware that students with extended time or extra breaks accommodations will not be released with students who have standard time and breaks.
During testing weeks, students are required to attend only during their assigned testing day. Testing days are assigned by grade level and test.
A guardian may opt their child out of their testing accommodations for this test no later than Wed. October 2nd by sending an email that states the full name, grade, and test to our site assessment leader Jessica Perkins at jperkin@dpsk12.net . Students may not opt out of their accommodations after October 2nd.
District Attendance Email:
This week families received an email from the district speaking to each child’s attendance. Please see below for how the district defines chronic absenteeism and linked here are the directions on how to excuse your child’s absences via parent portal.
Road Closure: Please plan ahead for October 4!
Student Opportunities
Museum of Contemporary Arts:
The MCA has paid teen internship opportunities throughout the school year. This allows teens from across schools to engage in the art community by creating art alongside guest artists, crafting individual and collaborative projects, and learning more about the Denver arts community.
Our applications for Moxie Mag and Offhand are live! The direct links to the applications are below.
Moxie Mag: https://mcadenver.org/teens/teen-moxiemag
Offhand: https://mcadenver.org/teens/offhand
Applications for Moxie Mag are open through October 20th, while Offhand is open through September 1st on a rolling basis.
If you would like to learn more about our teen programs you can visit our website!
Denver Parks and Recreation:
Fall Programs Are Here! With the new school year underway, now is the perfect time to check out fall programs at Denver Recreation Centers. From sports and fitness to arts and culture, there is something for everyone. Don’t miss out—register today to secure your spot! VisitDenvergov.org/Recreation or any Denver Recreation Center to enroll.
CONGRATULATIONS! East High School JROTC led the DPS JROTC Regimental Promotion Ceremony. We are so proud of you!
Photo Retakes: October 9th
ID Card Reprints
Beginning Monday, all students will need to present their 2024-25 School ID. If you have not received your ID, check with Tee MacDonald. If you have lost your ID, they will be available to reprint at the front entrance desk at the cost of $5 per reprint.
The East Choir Department is proud to present our first choir performance of the year!
Our annual Cabaret Concert will be held Friday (10/4) @ 7:00 PM and Saturday (10/5) @ 4:00PM in the Auditorium! This year, we are featuring music from Broadway Musicals, Movies and Jazz Standards. You'll hear solos, small group, and full choir songs from familiar shows such as: Guys and Dolls, Hamilton, Barbie Movie, Into the Woods and much more!
Counseling Connections
The East Counseling Department has restructured for this year and each counselor will be working with a caseload based on the first letter of their last name for grades 9 - 12. Please click here for more detailed information and to see who your student’s counselor is.
Testing Tips:
P/SAT Scores- Students will have the opportunity to login to their College Board accounts in their math class before Friday the 27th to see their test scores from the previous year. We highly recommend also viewing the scores with your children at home.
Test Prep and Khan Academy: Use the below link to get more information on how to read/interpret your child’s score
https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt/scores/understanding-scores
Free Test Prep: Khan Academy will use your PSAT scores to create a personalized study plan with exercises tailored to your needs. https://www.khanacademy.org/digital-sat
Make sure you have accounts on both College Board and Khan Academy
Log in to your College Board account
Select SAT and then Send Scores to Khan Academy
Give permission to link your accounts
You should be redirected to Khan Academy
If you aren't, go to Khan Academy's SAT practice section and the accounts should link up automatically
ICAP:
Last week the counseling department completed ICAP lessons (Individualized Career and Academic Plan) with each 9th grader. We also met individually with each student on our caseload that day for a one minute meeting where they shared 3 things they would like their counselor to know about them. Please check in with your students about their Career Interest Profiler results and ICAP plan that can be found on their student portal under ‘myicap’.
If your student missed their ICAP lesson they are expected to attend a make-up session on Thursday October 3rd after school at 1:40 and it should take approximately 30 minutes. We will send out personal invitations to remind students.
Senior Reminders:
College Applications: Early Decision and Early Action deadlines are quickly approaching. Please remember that your school document request and all letter of recommendation requests must be submitted at least 2 weeks prior to your college deadline. Remember to check out the senior site for additional information and support on the application process.
Free App Day: We will host a Free App Day Event for all Seniors on October 16th in the commons! Counselors, admissions representatives, and essay editors will be available all day to support. Please talk to your teacher about coming down to the commons or visit us during your off period! To ensure you are prepared to hit submit, please check out the Free App Day Checklist.
College Fair: The counseling team is excited to host our annual College Fair on October 21st, 6-7:30pm in the Panek Gym. This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with admission representatives, get information about universities and their application process, and receive tips and suggestions. Every East High School junior and senior will be automatically registered for this opportunity so all you have to do is show up and connect with colleges. Upon registration, you will receive a barcode in your email, make sure to keep this accessible for the day of the fair or add it to your apple wallet. During the fair, colleges will scan your barcode to send you more information about their schools. The day after the fair, you will receive a report with information on the colleges with whom you scanned. If you are not able to attend, you will still be able to get information about attending colleges with your automatic registration. Here is a link to the list of colleges currently registered, please check back often as we will continue to make additions. We are excited to see you there!
Athletics
Congratulations to our golf team who won the City Cup Championship and are the 2024 City League Champions. Three individuals were awarded First Team All League Honors: Elijah Johnson, Aex Kukreja, and Murphy Rowen. Special shout out to Alex Kukreja for winning the City Cup Championship with a -4 68.
Big congratulations to all our fall sports and their big homecoming wins!
Homecoming Football Game Updates and Reminders:
7:15pm Game Time
Thomas Jefferson’s homecoming game is right before ours. East fans will not be allowed in the stadium until all TJ fans exit. We are estimating that this will be around 6:30pm
Students will not be allowed to bring bags into the stadium.
Students will not be allowed entrance to the game after halftime.
Buy tickets ahead of time: Here on GoFan
Games this upcoming week - Home games are highlighted in red
Family and Community Engagement
Parent Teacher Conferences
Parent teacher conferences will be on Monday, Oct 7 and Tuesday, Oct 8 from 4:00 - 8:00pm each night. We are offering East families the opportunity to meet with teachers in person.
Stay tuned for the link to sign-up!
Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month Resources
Anythink Library Hispanic Heritage Month events:
Spanish Story Times – every Friday
Mariachi music by Los Dahlias – September 14
Casa Cultura – September 21
Vejigantes in partnership with the Museo de las Americas – September 23
Guatemalan worry dolls workshop – September 24
Family Lotería – September 25
Latin dance workshop – September 27
Youth cooking class, tostadas – September 28
Papel Picado workshop – October 1
Denver Public Library Events, Books, Blog Posts
Festival Latino will be held on September 15 at Riverdale Regional Park in Brighton. This free, family-friendly event will feature live music from several artists, interactive art installations, and food. A fireworks display will take place after sunset.
Museo de Las Americas has curated an exhibit, “Anthony Quinn: What am I? ¿Qué soy?” As the first Mexican-American to win an Academy Award, Quinn inspired a lifetime of fans, especially those who saw themselves in him. Now, viewers can see Quinn as an artist, accompanying generations in their own journeys towards self-reflection and acceptance. Visit the museum before September 22 to view.
On September 26, the Colorado Symphony will present Latin Beats: Sonidos de las Americas in partnership with the Mexican Cultural Center. This unique concert celebrates Latin culture’s influence on sound in the Americas, showcasing a fusion of traditional, classical, and contemporary music augmented by the Colorado Symphony’s soaring orchestrations.
The Chicano Humanities and Arts Council (CHAC) is exhibiting “Unapologetically Chicano” through September 28. This mixed media show curated by Rob and Tammy Yancey displays their artwork, their mixed ancestry and pride.
The Denver Art Museum has an interactive exhibition titled “Have a Seat: Mexican Chair Design Today” through November 3. Visitors are encouraged to sit on and move selected chairs and seats by Mexican designers, showcasing connections between modern design and ancient practices. In addition, the Latin American Art gallery presents over 1,000 rare works from Latin America, which is open year-round.
Denver Botanic Gardens presents Yo Soy, a platform for Latino cultural heritage through several exhibits and workshops. The art exhibit Calacas y Catrinas will be on display at the York location and several Aurora Public Library locations through October 20.
The Borderlands of Southern Colorado Initiative at History Colorado includes exhibits, programs, and experiences to showcase the stories that frame Colorado’s borderlands. This initiative is featured at the History Colorado Center in Denver, where the exhibit is presented in both English and Spanish.
Help support our Mental Health Clinic and make a difference in the lives of our students this year! We’re excited to share the Mental Health Clinic wishlist, which includes essential resources that ensure we continue providing much-needed mental health support.
This week, we want to give a special shoutout to Adam Paull, one of our incredible mental health team members who goes above and beyond for students in need and goes out of his way to provide quality home visits. Adam's dedication and care help create a safe and supportive environment for every student. Let's rally together to make sure our clinic is fully equipped to keep changing lives!
Apply to be a part of DPS’ Black Education Advisory Council (BEAC)!
We are looking for council members to be part of this critical work. The Black Education Advisory Council (BEAC) is a group of Denver Public Schools community members who value and honor the richness and diversity that our Black and Indigenous culture brings to the educational system in Denver Public Schools. We are DPS parents, grandparents, guardians, students, educators, community members, district employees, and other stakeholders who believe in diversity and equality for all students.
The purpose of the BEAC is to lead and influence positive change. BEAC seeks to improve educational opportunities and to provide quality education for all students, particularly students of Black heritage.
BEAC is accepting applications through October 11, 2024. The selection process will take place between October-November. BEAC is open to all community members. Click HERE to apply!
Check out this flier for more information and to spread the word!
Denver Regional Mobility and Access Council
Free Travel Training Courses
The Denver Regional Mobility and Access Council (DRMAC) has been serving Denver Metro area residents for over 18 years. DRMAC provides assistance to older adults, people with disabilities, veterans, people of low income, the BIPOC community, and immigrant communities. Their travel assistance services include navigation help, education about public transit options, communication resources explaining routes specialized for accessibility needs, and promotion and advocacy of safe access and mobility for all community members.
DRMAC is providing free travel training courses to all DPS students, families, and staff. DRMAC offers 3 hour-long courses: Overview of Transit Resources, Lyft and Uber Basics, and RTD Basics. These courses are offered both virtually and in-person and are available in both English and Spanish trainings.
Come join us at East High School for a casual morning of coffee and conversation with our school principal and Denver Scholarship Foundation team as well as the leadership of our counceling team. This is a great opportunity to ask questions about what the future options for Life After East. Whether you're a parent, student, or community member, your input is valuable to us. Let's sip some coffee and chat about how we can make our school even better together. We look forward to seeing you there!
Click here to sign up or scan the QR code on the coffee cup.
East Collaborative School Committee (CSC)
Congratulations to our 2024 - 2026 CSC Additions!
DCTA:
Gregg Velasquez
Rebecca Behmke
Parents:
Priya Burkett
Dr. Angelina Walker
Want to know the latest with our DECA team? Check out our DECA Newsletter!
