SKCEE Weekly Newsletter

Posted February 11, 2022

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February 11, 2022

Hello SKCEE Families!

Congratulations to our newly appointed parent representatives on the Collaborative School Committee. Our parent representatives are: Brooke El-Merrahi (has an ECE 4 student), Lisa Rorden (has a Kindergarten student), and Cooper Howard (has an ECE 4 student). We have parent representatives from both the ECE and Kinder programs 🙂. Our committee is composed of parents and elected teachers who will be trained by a DPS representative, then we will be up and running. CSC meetings are public meetings, and we will share more information once we are fully functional.

Last week, I highlighted the lost instructional minutes that add up with consistent early pick-ups at the end of the day. Thank you for your understanding of the impact classroom interruptions create to learning…we have seen a decline in the amount of students being picked up early! 😍

So, now let’s think about how we might be losing instructional time with consistent late arrivals. Those instructional interruptions really add up to lost learning. For example: A late arrival of 20 minutes each day would equal 100 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 and our precious students. You are appreciated! ❤️

You may have received communication from Priscilla Hopkins, Director of Early Education, regarding the upcoming mask mandate removal beginning on February 28, 2022. We are hopeful to have more clarity as to how that might affect our ECE Center as we think about state licensing requirements and vaccinations etc. I have no more information than what has already been shared with you, and am anxious to hear what decisions will be made. 👀

Thank you to our SKCEE PTA for purchasing a classroom set of books for each teacher to share for Valentine’s Day and add to their classroom libraries. Additionally, the PTA stocked the staff lounge with goodies to nourish us throughout the weeks.  We appreciate it! 💕

Respectfully,

Joanne P. Lander

jlander@dpsk12.net

720-424-6502

Important Information

Kids Heart Challenge Update

We have one week left of the Kids Heart Challenge at SKCEE and we are doing amazing!. During the next week we will really dig into learning about how the heart works, how to use heart rate monitors, and making heart-healthy food choices. We are excited to announce that we have raised over $6000 so far!! We are about $1000 away from our total raised last year. It is not too late to sign up!  Please remember that fundraising is optional, and your student can sign up for free and access many online heart-health activities. If you do choose to fundraise, your child is eligible to earn lots of fun prizes. SKCEE will receive gift certificates to use at US Games (Mrs. Whatmore loves shopping through US Games!!)  based on the amount we fundraise. 

Please click below to see our progress:

https://www2.heart.org/site/TR?pg=company&fr_id=6320&company_id=326681

Here are some quick stats: 

  • 2 Students have completed FInn’s mission
  • 55 students have registered
  • 32 have completed the challenge for being kind
  • 22 have met the challenge for moving more

School Choice, Round One, closes on Tuesday, Feb. 15 @ 4:00 pm !!

We encourage all current families to submit their application during Round 1 of Enrollment.

If you have not submitted your application for the 22-23 school year, now is the time to get it done. Round 1 ends on Feb. 15, 2022 at 4:00 pm.  For additional information please check the SchoolChoice website or the SKCEE website. As a friendly reminder, all ECE students must submit a SchoolChoice application to be placed for the 22-23 school year. We highly encourage all current ECE 4  students who will attend (or hope to attend )  (Cory) Kindergarten next year, to please submit a SchoolChoice application, even if you are a boundary student. 

PTA Updates…..

February 15, 2022 ~ PTA Meeting 

Please join us for our February PTA meeting on 2/15/22 at 5:30 pm. The PTA will be discussing the Spring Fling and starting the process for selecting the 2022-2023 PTA Board. 

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. 

Please Read 🙂
Parking Lot Reminders

We continue to have some issues in the parking lot before and after school. We humbly ask that you are continuing to follow the below guidelines in our parking lots:

  • Please do not use your phone when driving through the parking lot
  • Please do not park along the curb in the front of the school
  • Please do not park in the Kinder Hug and Go area, this is only for kinder pick up and parents should remain in their cars as they proceed through drop off and pick upIf you are  an ECE parent please do not park in this area
  • Please do not park in front of the dumpsters – we have missed having our trash collected several times this year , due to the dumpsters being blocked by cars. 
  • Please do not park in the PTA Auction winner spots – these spots are only available to the families whose names are posted on the parking signs

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. 

  • Fever (100 or higher)
  • Coughing
  • Diarrhea
  • Vomiting
  • Sore Throat
  • Runny nose or congestion
  • Muscle or body aches
  • Headache 
  • Fatigue                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

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.”