Posted October 7, 2026
Dear SKCEE Families,
Happy October! We are now six weeks into the school year, and things are running smoothly. Thank you for your support and engagement.
Yesterday we had the privilege of opening the new Naturescape playground on the east side of the building. The students and staff from room 108 got to “cut the ribbon” and were the first to play in this area. Inspired by our beautiful state of Colorado, and aligned to our Reggio Emilia approach, this project has been in the works since last spring.
In the Reggio Emilia approach, we hold a deep belief that the environment is the third teacher—alongside parents and educators.
Children play to understand the world. It is how they learn. This play space was designed with natural textures and open-ended structures so that our young learners can follow their innate curiosity. Whether they are balancing on natural logs, swaying on the swings, climbing on a wolf or a cloud, this space will nurture their creative minds and capable bodies.
A vision like this requires a community that believes in its children and prioritizes their experience. We want to extend our immense gratitude to the voters of Denver. This playground was made possible through the Focused Learning Environment (FLE) portion of the 2024 Denver Public Schools Bond. When our community voted to pass the bond, you pledged to invest directly in student learning environments. You recognized that learning doesn’t stop at the classroom doorway—it extends outdoors into spaces that foster well-being, movement, and joy. Thank you, Denver voters, for prioritizing our children’s growth and future!
DPS and SKCEE will be holding fall family conferences on Monday, October 12th. There will be no school for students, and you can start looking for a sign up from your classroom teaching team to schedule your conference.
Our exciting and largest fundraiser and fun run, the SKCEE Scamper and silent auction, will be happening the last week of October. We are grateful for the PTA and our family partnerships that support this community event and the generosity you show in your financial support. Please see the PTA newsletter or bulletin board by the gym for more details, and make sure to register your runner TODAY! Costumes are welcome and encouraged! Just a few friendly reminders—no weapons, blood, gore, masks, or inflatables. Since our kiddos will be scampering around the field, let’s keep costumes comfy, safe, and easy to move in (and easy to dash to the bathroom if needed!). Most of all, let’s keep them full of fun! The run happens on 10/29 during specials, and DPS will be closed on 10/30 for a district professional learning day.
Please see more news from the SKCEE community below, and thank you for your partnership,
Principal Shelley Boberschmidt
ECE Update
As we settle into the rhythm of the school year, it is a joy to listen to the children’s voices fill our classrooms, their questions, discoveries, stories, and excitement unfolding throughout the day. Across the school, classrooms are diving into pet studies, inviting children to wonder about what animals need, how we care for them, and what makes each pet unique. Through conversations, imaginative play, books, art, and hands-on exploration, children are identifying characteristics, building vocabulary, and sharing their own experiences and ideas. We are also thrilled to welcome children onto our new playground! This expanded outdoor space offers new possibilities for movement, collaboration, problem-solving, and connection with the natural world. Classrooms are taking their learning outside, where the environment itself becomes a teacher sparking curiosity, encouraging exploration, and inviting children to notice, wonder, and make meaning together.
Kindergarten Update:
Hello Families!
What an amazing month it has been in kindergarten! This past month we wrapped up our Alphabet Academy work which means students have now been exposed to every letter in the alphabet! As we move on to Skills Unit 3 this month, students will begin to make connections between sounds and symbols. They will continue to practice blending sounds into words and they will be taught several of the symbols used when reading and writing. Specifically, they will learn the most common way to spell eight of the sounds of English:
We wrapped up our Nursery and Rhymes Unit in Knowledge. This month we will be focusing on two new units. The first being The Five Senses. In this unit, students will explore the world around them as they learn about the five senses. Students will explore how humans gather information about the environment through the five senses. They will hear stories of people such as Ray Charles and Helen Keller, who overcame significant challenges posed by blindness and deafness. Students will learn how their bodies gather information through the use of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. As they make observations and use language to describe what they are seeing, they will be using key skills in the scientific process. Students will describe key concepts in the informational texts they are reading, such as creating timelines about the lives of inspiring people. Our second unit will be Stories. In this unit, students will be introduced to classic stories, such as “The Three Little Pigs” and “Chicken Little,” as well as memorable characters like Goldilocks and the Billy Goats Gruff. Students will gain an understanding of the elements of a story, including characters, plot, and setting. Students will sequence the events in stories, as well as compare characters from different stories.
In math we are in our second unit of the year. In this unit, students answer questions about how many objects are in a collection. Students count out and compare groups within 10 and write numbers to represent how many. We will be focusing on the terms “fewer” and “more” when comparing numbers throughout this unit.
Physical Education Update:
In October, we will be focusing on some manipulative skills including tossing underhand, bouncing and catching, and aiming for targets. We have been playing “Tossing for Stuffies”, “Decorate the Cookie”, and cornhole to practice our tossing and aiming skills. As the ECE classes move into their Pets Unit, we will be practicing moving like different animals as we think about moving at different levels of space (high, medium, low) and different speeds (slow, medium, fast). I hope you are enjoying the cooler temps, beautiful weather, and fall sports season!
Gifted and Talented GT Update:
What is Giftedness in ECE? Check out our GT DPS family website here and scroll to the bottom for ECE. Feeling the fall season? Try these seasonal curiosity activities at home, linked here (click here for Spanish, Vietnamese, and Arabic).
GT Department Family Series 26/27 Calendar
Mark your calendar for following family events here. The next session is in person, with a special expert guest, Tuesday, October 13th. Register with the link above.
Cognitive Testing
For testing information click here. The fall nomination window closes today, October 2nd, but spring nominations will open back up in December.
Early Access
DPS offers early access to kindergarten and first grade. Read all about that process here. The fall Early Access interest form closes on October 15th.
Gifted Education News
Harmonic and Divergent: Navigating Giftedness and Neurodiversity in Music – National Association for Music Education
Questions?
Connect with our GT Itinerant, Chelsea Chappell-Cox at chelsea_chappell-cox@dpsk12.net.
Multilingual Education at SKCEE
We are so excited to work with students and families who speak multiple languages! Arabic, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Mongolian, Buriat, Japanese, Akan, Amharic, Farsi, Dari, Portuguese, Russian, Bulgarian, French, and English are just some of the languages that families at SKCEE speak.
All families and teachers can have instant translation in ANY language with phone interpreters. Ms. Lettecia, Ms. Arrwa and Ms. Fernanda are here every day to help students and families in Arabic and Spanish. Please tell the teachers or Ms. Staci if you would like a translator at any time. You deserve to be understood by everyone who works with your child.
Imagine Math Night is Coming Up!
Tuesday, October 6 from 3:30-5:30 in the School Library
Join us to learn about fun and simple ways to help you students learn math at home. Students will participate with their families, and free childcare is provided for younger brothers and sisters. A local restaurant is providing a delicious free dinner, and there will also be giveaways, and Arabic and Spanish translators will be there too!
Please RSVP with this survey. Hope to see you there!
From the Main Office:
Picture retakes are on Tuesday, October 13. If you would like a retake please turn in your original picture order and make sure to inform your teacher that you are requesting a retake. All new to SKCEE students will be getting their picture taken.
From the Health Office:
A few quick reminders from Nurse Eve:
Please follow How Sick is Too Sick for decisions about when students should stay home from school due to illness symptoms. School-wide vision, hearing, and dental screenings will take place on October 21st, 22nd, and 23rd. All students will be screened unless the caregivers “opt out”. Reach out to Nurse Eve with any questions!
BESS:
SKCEE is participating in Denver Public School’s initiative to have parents/guardians complete a survey to provide input on your child’s social-emotional and behavioral strengths and needs.
This survey, called the BESS, is open for fall screening through October 30th and can be completed in as little as 5 minutes. You will need to input your student’s ID number, which can be found in the DPS parent portal, as well as your child’s date of birth.
You can find the link for this survey by typing tinyurl.com/bessparent into any device connected to the internet.
If you would like to learn more about the BESS and universal social-emotional and behavioral screening in Denver Public Schools, please visit https://ess.dpsk12.org/page/dpsscreening.
Thank you so much for your participation!
Kirstie Smith, LCSW
School Social Worker
Stephen Knight Center for Early Education
(p): 720-424-6523
Important Dates and Events:
October 6: Imagine Math Family Event
October 8: PTA Meeting
October 12: No school for students, family conference day
October 13: Picture Retakes
October 14: Culture of Wellness Farmers’ Market
October 26-30: Scamper Virtual Auction
October 29: Scamper Fun Run (During Specials)
October 30: DPS PD Day, no school for students