Posted April 10, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of SKCEE!
Happy April!
We hope you all had a wonderful spring break. Thank you to our PTA, our staff, and those of you who were able to join us for our first ever Friendship Festival during Rainbow Week. Everyone enjoyed the activities and community building. We are grateful to be partners with you, and look forward to many more opportunities in April and May to connect. From Field Day, to Spring Fling, to end of year celebrations, these final 8+ weeks will fly by. In ECE we are excited to embark on our new unit, “GARDENING!” We will need some soil donations; read more about that below. Thank you all for your donations during our building unit, and we hope you enjoyed our city in the lobby.
Kindergarteners have been learning about the seasons and weather, and then they will move into “Taking care of the Earth.” A reminder that April 19th is a district-wide professional learning day, and we won’t have school for students that day. SKCEE will continue our work with NAEYC and Boulder Journey School a week later on April 26th, so students will not come that day either. We should know by mid-April when our SKCEE specific professional learning days are for the 24-25 school year, and we will be sure to inform you before August.
Wednesday, April 8th there will be a partial eclipse here in Denver at 12:40. We will take safety precautions to ensure your children don’t look directly at the sun, but hope to notice leaf shadows and other interesting patterns on the ground.
Eid Mubarek to our Muslim families celebrating this Blessed Feast on Wednesday.
Thank you for all you do every day.
In partnership,
Principal Shelley Boberschmidt
DPS Choice Window #2:
If you didn’t participate in the first round of choice, round two will open on Wednesday, April 10th at 10:00 am. Unlike round one, this round is first come, first served, so make sure you do it as early as possible. We will be working through our waitlists on a rolling basis, and extending offers as we have availability.
24-25 School Year Early Bird Online Registration:
Once a family is accepted into a DPS school, the next step is to register with the school. Early Bird online registration will be open in Parent Portal from May 6-June 1. To save time in the fall and simplify things, please participate in this process if you are coming to SKCEE next year. If your child will be here for ECE 3 or 4, you will also have a paper packet specific to ECE that we will email to you once they are released to us. Like this year, we will not be taking requests for specific teachers, but will be sharing a family input survey for student placements for next school year. Look for that by the beginning of May.
Playgrounds After Hours:
We love seeing so many of our families staying to play after school on these longer, warmer days. You may have seen these new DPS signs, and we do ask that you either stay and play out front on our lawn, or you are welcome to play on the East Playground. Because we have Discovery Link and Enrichments after school, and due to our state licensing requirements, we need to use the Courtyard, Kindergarten playground, and field for only school programming until 6:00pm. Additionally, dogs are not allowed on
DPS campuses except in unique circumstances. If you walk your pups, please stay on the sidewalks off of school property, and be sure to clean up after them as well. Thanks for understanding and supporting our safe school community.
Staff Updates:
From Karri Hart, kindergarten teacher: I am excited as well as sad to announce that I will be leaving SKCEE at the end of this school year. I will be moving and joining my husband in Basalt. We have been living apart most of this school year and I am looking forward to living with him once again. I have recently accepted a First Grade Dual Language position in Glenwood Springs for next school year. I have really enjoyed teaching your children this year as well as last year. I know they will all do
amazing things as they continue to grow and further their education. I have really enjoyed working at SKCEE and will really miss the community.
Olivia Hummel, kindergarten para: We want to let you know that Olivia will not be returning this school year. She is going to focus on school, family and taking care of herself. For the remainder of the school year we will have some of our favorite subs filling in to create consistency for Ms. Hart’s class. Please say hello to Ms. Chris and Ms. Brenda, who will make up most of the remaining days.
Maternity Leave: We have hired an amazing teacher to join us at SKCEE while Ms. Kline is home with her baby.
Meet Kendall Kushner:
My name is Kendall Kushner and I am so excited to teach Kindergarten at Stephen Knight next year! I
am currently attending the University of Denver and graduating with my Masters degree in Elementary
Education this June. My teaching journey began after I graduated from Florida State University in 2021,
and I taught ECE for one year. After this, I decided to move to Denver to continue my education and
pursue my Masters degree. My first year in the program I worked as a Kindergarten Paraprofessional,
and this year I am an Apprentice Teacher in a Kindergarten classroom. Outside of school, my hobbies
include yoga, cooking, skiing, and traveling during the summers! Go Butterflies!
Book Fair: Next Week!
SKCEE’s Scholastic Book Fair is happening NEXT WEEK from Tuesday, April 9 through Thursday, April 11 in the auditorium.
Students and their families are invited to shop at the book fair during the following times:
● Tuesday, April 9: 10:45am-12:45pm and 3:15-4:30pm
● Wednesday, April 10: 10:45am-12:45pm and 3:15pm-6:30pm
● Thursday, April 11: 10:45am-12:45pm and 3:15-4:30pm
By supporting the book fair, you help SKCEE earn Scholastic Dollars, which the staff uses to purchase books and other classroom items. We still need a few volunteers to help make this event a success! Please review the opportunities and sign up here.
April Dine Out – Thursday, April 11th
Get ready for games, pizza and prizes! You’re invited to a school-wide playdate at Chuck E. Cheese on Thursday, April 11th from 3pm – 8pm! Be on the lookout for a Chuck E. Cheese flyer from your student, as the SKCEE PTA receives 20% of sales when you show it. Bring your family and friends for a fun-filled afternoon! 1001 W. Hampden Ave., Englewood, CO 80110 Here is a link to the flyer, and one for the coupons. Please be sure to purchase game cards from the staff so we get credit; you cannot use the automated machines for this fundraiser. See you all there!
Stock the Lounge – Wednesday, April 17th
This is the final Stock the Lounge for the year and will be school-wide! Please bring in non-perishable snacks and drinks on Wednesday, April 17th for the teachers and other staff to enjoy. There will be PTA volunteers and donation boxes outside of the front office, at the kinder kiss-n-go line, and at the Cory bus stop.
Join the PTA!
Are you interested in getting more involved with the SKCEE PTA? Consider joining the Board! Elections will be held during the May meeting. Be on the lookout in the coming weeks for more information and opportunities.
PTA Meeting – Thursday April 18th – 5pm
The next PTA meeting will be on Thursday, April 18th at 5pm in room 101. Note that this is a week later than usual. Childcare
School-Wide Dirt Drive:
Our ECE classrooms are beginning a unit to learn about gardening, and we will be installing 3 new garden beds in the coming weeks! We are collecting soil and seeds from our community to support planting both indoors and outdoors. Check out the Dirt Drive Flyer, or donate funds directly for us to purchase soil here. Thank you for your generosity and support of this springtime project!
Extra Clothes Needed:
Our supply of extra clothes in the nurse’s office is running very low, especially pants and underwear. If you can donate gently used items (size 3-6), it would be greatly appreciated.
Lost & Found:
We will donate our Lost & Found clothing to a local family shelter at the end of next week (Friday, April 12). Please check to see if your child is missing anything!
April 9-11: Book Fair
April 10: School Choice Window #2 Opens
April 11: Chuck E. Cheese Fundraiser (3:00-8:00)
April 17: Kindergarten Graduation Picture Day, Stock the Lounge
April 18: CSC Meeting (3:45) & PTA Meeting (5:00)
April 19: No School – Professional Learning Day
April 26: No School – Professional Learning Day
May 3: Field Day