PHE Families:
As the Holidays are fast approaching, I wanted to personally thank you for your partnership with our school community. We could not do this amazing and important work without you! As shared earlier in the week, if you are in a position to give to those in need of a little extra this Holiday season, we are in the midst of our Gift Card drive (see additional message below). If you or someone you know could benefit from our Gift Card drive, please let us know - this information is kept confidential.
In addition and on a different note, I have had the privilege of speaking with many parents formally and informally over the first half of the year. Some parents have inquired about parenting tips, books to read, podcasts, etc. Please refer to the link below for helpful parenting resources that perhaps you can take advantage of over the extended Holiday season. No risk or requirement, just sharing in response to some inquiries we have received.
https://positivepsychology.com/positive-parenting-books-training/
Stay well,
Ken Burdette, Principal
Attendance Emails from the District
As we have previously noted, the district is testing out a new attendance notification system that updates families on their student’s absence numbers. These are DPS automated messages that do not factor in things like illnesses, special family events, school tours, etc.
Some families have communicated concern if their student is noted as being absent. While we do want students to be in school as much as possible, we know that things come up and want to reiterate that students who are sick, should continue to stay home until they have improved. If we have concerns about your student’s absences, we will communicate with you directly.
Speech Therapy Note
The speech therapist for Park Hill recently resigned from the district. The district is recruiting another SLP as a long-term replacement. In the interim, we will have fill-in Speech therapists working with students. The district recognizes how important speech therapy services are to students and have told us they are eager to fill in the gap. Please reach out to Principal Burdette if you have any questions or concerns.
Pre-Enrollment open for new DPS students for 2025-26 school year
Pre-enrollment is now open for the 2025-26 school year. Pre-enrollment helps us get all of the information the district requires to get new students ready for SchoolChoice which opens January 15th. The pre-enrollment packet can be found on the front page of the website. This is requested only for new students to DPS or those transferring back into DPS from another school district. We do not need actively enrolled DPS students to complete this information. Please send completed packets to ann_kurth@dpsk12.net
1st Grade Performances
Dec. 11th - 5pm - Wiant, 6pm - Harris
Dec. 12th - 5pm - Peterson, 6pm - Wren
Friends and families, please drop off your student in their homeroom 15 minutes prior to showtime and proceed to the auditorium to find your seats. Students should wear all black and shoes they can safely move and dance in. We look forward to sharing a magical evening with you!
Gift Card Drive
The office is collecting gift cards to Safeway, King Soopers, Walmart, and Target. All gift givers and recipients are anonymous. We will distribute these the last week of school before the Holiday break. Please label the gift cards with the dollar amount to help us distribute them fairly to families. Gift cards can be dropped off in the office during school hours.
Care Committee Warm Fuzzies Drive
Our 4th and 5th graders' Care Committee are pairing with a foundation called Lovewell who serve our unhoused neighbors on Colfax. We will be collecting men's and women's coats, gloves, wool socks (only new), beanies, and blankets (only new). We ask that these are preferably in adult sizes and are either New or very lightly used.
These neighbors we are serving are people who long for friendship and Lovewell goes out every Sunday providing necessities and building friendships with each of them. Some special relationships have been formed through these Sundays. With the winter coming, we want to be able to provide items that will tangibly keep them supported in the winter.
If it is easier for you to donate in a faster way, we have also set up an Amazon Wishlist that will have these items sent directly to the school.
Lost and Found
We will be doing another donation of unclaimed items on Thursday, December 19. We have a full bin of hats and gloves, and our coat racks are nearly full. Feel free to stop by the school during school hours to look for items, or encourage your student to do the same. We try to return unclaimed items that are labeled with names.
Reminder: Save the date CMAS Testing and opt-out deadline
The Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) testing for Grades 3-5 is scheduled April 15-17 and April 22-24, 2025. Please try to ensure your student is present during these dates if possible. If you know of an absence during these dates, please let Ms Bixby know to help coordinate make-up dates. As a reminder, if you plan on opting-out your student from CMAS, please do so in the Parent Portal by February 1. Information on how to opt-out is contained in the guides below. Please reach out to Ms Bixby if you have questions.
