Happy Friday!
First, I’d like to thank all of the families that have brought in various clothing items, gift cards, and other basic needs for some of our community. We’ve been able to put these to use right away. If families are considering dropping off more items in the future, please call the office and see what our top needs are.
The past few days I enjoyed seeing some of our 5th grade students show off their Choice projects. Students picked a topic of interest and then did weeks of research to dig into their subject. Students then presented their posters to classmates and parents. I was super impressed with the creativity and hard work students put into their projects. Thanks to all the families that stopped by to take a look at their own student’s projects and stayed around to view others.
The next few months are busy for students and staff. We appreciate the partnership with families to continue to get students to school in the mornings on time and prepared for classes. Families are always welcome to swing by the cafeteria and grab a free breakfast for students in the mornings.
Finally, we ask that all families respect the no dogs on campus policy. Even the most well trained dogs can accidentally bump our littlest students. The request is from me but also we’ve had several parents reach out to make this request as well.
Enjoy your weekend!
-Ken Burdette, Principal
2025-26 DPS School Calendar
The district recently published the 2025-26 Calendar. This has been approved and published so it should be safe to use for summer schedule planning.
Reminder: Enrollment - SchoolChoice and UPK open
The SchoolChoice window opened Wednesday, January 15. Families can rank their preferred schools for their children to attend during this time. This is required for 5th grade students continuing on to middle school, incoming kindergarten and ECE-4 students or those looking to transfer to another DPS school. We are also asking our K-4th grade families to complete their plans if possible for planning purposes. The Choice window is open from January 15-February 18. Elections for SchoolChoice can be made at any point during that window.
This year the state of Colorado Universal Pre-K program will be doing the lottery for ECE-4 placements. All ECE-4 families need to register on the state UPK website. As a reminder, our ECE-4 program accommodates 20 students. Given the limited spots, we strongly encourage all families to have a backup school(s) in mind and to add these as options as part of their application. UPK gives priority to students who have a sibling at PHE. The deadline to apply to UPK is February 3, 2025. We are encouraging families to apply as soon as possible for UPK once they have determined their schools of interest.
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 13. Information on how to opt-out is contained in the guides below. Please reach out to Ms Bixby if you have questions.
Reminder: Valentine’s Celebrations
Valentine's celebrations will take place in the afternoon of Thursday, 2/13. We do not have school on Friday, 2/14
Reminder: ELCS Summer Enrichment Camps at Polaris Elementary
The ELCS department is offering summer enrichments at Polaris Elementary. The signup opens February 11 at 6 am.
