Posted February 4, 2022
Hello SKCEE Families!
It has been a pleasure to meet more of you each week via phone, emails, and seeing you outside. I’m looking forward to many more opportunities in which to connect with the community. 😀
In last week’s family newsletter, I included information/nomination forms for our school’s need of four parents to serve on our Collaborative School Committee. We received three nominations and are hopeful for at least one more. Please see the information letter and nomination form below. Our extended deadline is Wednesday, February 9, at 3:30pm.
As you may know, staffing shortages in our nation’s school systems are an impactful reality; we are no exception to those shortages at SKCEE. We currently have multiple staff vacancies that we solve for each day. I want to publicly thank our wonderful staff that rise to the challenge each day with “all hands in” to make sure that our students come first in not feeling the shortage impact. ❤️ That being said, if you know of anyone that would like to apply for our several paraprofessional openings or teacher vacancies, please encourage them to immediately apply via the DPS Job Board, or contact me for more information.
As I familiarize myself with operational systems at SKCEE, one system that needs some operational system love is around early student pick-up at the end of the day. Being a parent myself, I do know that “life happens” and there are unavoidable reasons for early pick-up of students. Recognizing the parking and traffic challenges, bell times in other schools, in addition to COVID-19 realities, SKCEE has implemented staggered arrival and dismissal times. The high number of consistent early student pick-ups are a challenge due to the interruption of instruction to accommodate the early pick-up, in addition to staff escorting the student to the office to meet the parent/guardian. Those instructional interruptions really do add up in lost learning. For example: An early pick-up of 15 minutes each day would equal 75 minutes a week of learning loss. Yikes, that adds up quickly! Thank you for your patience and support as we work together in the best interest of SKCEE. You are appreciated! ❤️
Thank you to our SKCEE PTA for providing lunch for the entire staff today. We appreciated it! 💕
Valentine’s Day is coming! Our SKCEE butterflies will be celebrating Valentine’s Day on Mon 2/14. Please be on the lookout for additional information coming from your student’s teacher.
Respectfully,
Joanne P. Lander
(CSC information below)
February is a big month for schools as it brings on budget season, hiring season, and important planning for the current and following year. Each school is required to have an operating Collaborative School Committee (CSC) that includes elected parents, staff, and other representatives. Upon my arrival to SKCEE two weeks ago, I found that SKCEE is in need of electing parent representatives.
We are in need of four parents for the CSC. If you are interested in serving on this critical committee, please see the attached CSC Letter and Nomination Forms via the links or copied below. You may use a paper copy or the google form for ballot submissions. Paper copies should be turned in to the main office or sent via your student to the classroom teacher.
CSC Elections Letter
Stephen Knight Center for Early Education
2021 – 2022
Dear Parent/ Guardian:
Every school within the Denver Public School District has a Collaborative School Committee (CSC) in place. The CSC brings together staff, parents, students, and community members to create and implement a plan to promote high achievement within the school.
Being a part of the CSC is an exciting opportunity to be involved in our school community, not to mention to participate in the education of all our students. Our school is working towards some great goals and we believe that by working together, we may achieve them!
For this year (2021 – 2022) we have four parent openings on our CSC. We meet virtually on the first Wednesday of the month at 5:30pm and may have a few extra meetings during the month of February through April. Elected parents will be required to meet virtually Tuesday, February 22, 2022 at 5:30pm for CSC training. We ask that CSC members participate in the meetings and commit to being a member for two years, or one year where it applies. Parents in the 3yr old program would serve for the remainder of this year through Kindergarten. Parents in the 4yr old program would serve for the remainder of this school year and next. Parents of Kindergarten would only serve the remainder of this year.
If you are interested in your name being placed on the ballot for one of the parent openings, please print and fill out the nomination form included in this letter or use the digital google form option and return it to the main office by Wednesday, February 9, 2022 at 3:30pm.
If you would like more information concerning the CSC before making a decision, please feel free to contact our Interim Principal Joanne Lander at Joanne_Lander@dpsk12.net or 720-424-6502. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
We encourage you to participate in this great work.
Thank you,
Joanne Lander
Interim Principal
Stephen Knight Center for Early Education
CSC Nomination Form
2021 – 2022
Denver Public School
Stephen Knight Center for Early Education
Nomination Form for CSC, Parent Positions
This is a great opportunity to further participate in the education of our young people. Please return this nomination form to the office by Wednesday, February 9, 2022 at 3:30pm. Together we can promote a new world of education for the next generation.
I would like to nominate:
☐ Self
☐ Another
Name _________________________________________________ Phone Number __________________
Please state briefly why you are (or your nominee is) the best candidate to be on the CSC team. Additionally, please also include a brief description about yourself (or your nominee) that we may include on an election ballot:
I agree to attend all meetings held on the first Wednesday of each month. I also understand that the frequency of these meetings may increase during the months of February- April.
Nominee’s Signature _________________________________________ Date ________________
Important Information
Kids Heart Challenge Update
We are halfway through the Kids Heart Challenge at SKCEE and we are doing amazing! We have been doing KHC warm ups and cool downs before our bowling activities this week. During the next two weeks we will really dig into learning about how the heart works, how to use heart rate monitors, and making heart-healthy food choices. Regarding fundraising, we set a goal of $5000 and we already have about $3500! Please remember that fundraising is totally optional, and your student can sign up for free to access many online heart-health activities. If you do choose to fundraise, your child is eligible to earn lots of fun prizes. Also, the American Heart Association partners with US Games. SKCEE receives a voucher from US Games to purchase PE equipment depending on how much money we fundraise. You can visit SKCEE’s KHC page here:
https://www2.heart.org/site/TR?pg=company&fr_id=6320&company_id=326681
Thanks!
Sara Whatmore
Classroom Donations Needed
We would like to thank you for all you have done so far this school year. As we enter the second semester, we are running low on some classroom supplies. If you would like to donate any items off the list below please deliver them to your classroom teacher or the front office. We are so grateful to have such amazing families supporting our school.
Open Enrollment for the 2022-2023 School Year
The DPS SchoolChoice open enrollment window for the 2022-23 school year is now live. Round 1 ends on Feb. 15, 2022 at 4:00 pm. We encourage all current families to submit their application during Round 1 of Enrollment.
For additional information please check the SchoolChoice website or the SKCEE website. We are also available in the office to answer your questions. Please email Staci_Becker@dpsk12.net or call us 720-424-6500.
**ALL current SKCEE Kindergarteners will transition to Cory for first grade for the 22-23 school year. If you would like to attend a different school for first grade please complete the open enrollment process.
Temporary Closures and Alternative Class Assignments
As we begin the new year, staff shortages and the prevalence of COVID continue to be challenges for the District. SKCEE is also affected by these situations. Whenever possible, to avoid a school and/or classroom closure, SKCEE will reassign students to classrooms other than their own to mitigate students missing invaluable opportunities with their peers and access to learning experiences. Please note that this strategy may not always be feasible but we will work hard to keep our school open and functioning for our students. However, despite these best efforts, there could also be temporary classroom or building closures.
What can you expect?
You can expect to be notified as soon as we know of a possibility of any kind of closure. However, please accept this as notice of potential classroom reassignment for a school day as this process is fluid and sometimes unanticipated. If your child is reassigned, you will receive communication on the first day. We will notify the families impacted through school messenger with the following message:
“Your child will be visiting another classroom today. If you have any questions, please contact the school. The classroom teacher will also contact families, if necessary.”
PTA Updates…..
February Dine Out at Sexy Pizza
Save the date ~ 2/22/2022 – 20% donated back to SKCEE. More info coming soon.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook!
Follow us on Instagram or Facebook to be kept up to date on what’s happening at our school. If you have a fun picture you want to share, a shout-out to a teacher, staff member, parent, or student, or just want to share a favorite moment from the day, please email a picture to knightceepta@gmail.com.
Discovery Link Updates…..
Discovery Link Summer Camp
Summer 2022, ELCS will offer traditional Discovery Link summer camps, as well as the return of Enrichment Exploration Camps. Summer camps will run from 6/13/22 – 8/5/22, Monday – Friday, between the hours of 7:00am – 5:30pm (no camp on 7/4/22). Enrichment Exploration Camps will run the same dates from 7:30am – 5:30pm. Registration for camp will open in late January/early February – you will receive more information in the following weeks. We can’t wait to spend Summer in the City with you!
When to Keep Your Student Home
We wanted to remind all families that if your child is showing any of the symptoms below they need to stay home from school. Students may return to school 24 hours after symptoms resolve without medication. When in doubt, please contact the front office or the school nurse for guidance.