PCKCS Newsletter 9-10-09

FROM THE DIRECTOR

Communication is key . . . to managing almost any situation well. This is certainly true when it comes to the Swine Flu, especially with all of its related worries, concerns and misinformation. Our goal this year is to keep you posted whenever there is new information to share.

As I mentioned during Back-to-School Night, we well not be announcing each case of the flu that strikes students here at school. Our protocol is the same as all other district schools – parents are urged to keep students home if they exhibit any flu-like symptoms (fever, body aches, sore throat, etc.). If a student goes to the doctor, is tested for Influenza A, and that test comes back positive, we ask that parents notify the school so that we can track the number and location (grade level) of cases within the building. Should our school nurse grow concerned, she will notify me regarding necessary changes to our current protocol. To date we have had several cases reported and in all instances the parents have followed our guidelines perfectly. With this type of cooperation going forward, we have the absolute best chance of containing the spread of any flu virus within our school environment.

Children who have been out sick with the flu will return to school when they are/have been symptom-free for a 24-hour period without medication. Therefore, please assure your student that they do not need to be fearful of students who return after being sick. There is a lot of misinformation out there, particularly among the students, and we need to work together to educate them so that they can feel safe at school and around their classmates. For more information about the H1N1 (Swine Flu) virus, please visit our website at www.ckcs.net.

Thank you in advance for helping us keep ALL students safe and healthy.

SEPTEMBER

10^th October Lunch Menus Due

10^th O/C Meeting 6:30 P.M.

11^th Sock Hop Meeting 2:00 P.M.

14^th Hearing/Vision Testing

17^th PTO Meeting 8:00 A.M.

25^th Teacher In-service no school

GENERAL SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS

ð Book Fair is coming! We're going international this year with our theme - Around

the World. The festivities will take place the week of October 2^nd -9^th (with the weekend off, of course). Plan to join us, so you can see all the fun and educational things available for your kids.

ð Saving the Earth .... one step at a time! This year the 6th grade environmental club will continue to collect items for recycling. We would love your help! Empty ink cartridges (both home and business), phones, and plastic bags will be our focus. You may send the phones and ink cartridges to Mrs. Randazzo's classroom and drop the plastic bags in one of the green receptacles located near middle school or in the front lobby. We will take care of the rest. We will again be supporting worthy causes to save our wildlife from harm and preserve our environment. If you have an organization you would like us to look into, please email Mrs. Randazzo.

ð Art Department News - The Art department is having a student from each grade level make a mosaic stepping stone for our outdoor garden. If your child is interested please have them contact Mrs. Barker as soon as possible. A drawing will be held to pick the specific students to participate. We will be doing this project after school on Monday, October 12^th from 3:15-4:15. Your help with the project if your child is participating is appreciated.

ð Art Items Needed - Leftover tile and ceramic plates to use for mosaic project, old or extra/unwanted photos black and white or color, ribbons, puff paint, patterned papers or other collage materials, brown paper bags, and an iron.

ð Policy Change Announcement - The OC voted in August to approve a change to the PCKCS Special Request Absence policy. The old policy allowed students to receive up to 50% credit for completing missing assignments within the two-week period following their return. The REVISED policy now gives students up to 70% credit on completed assignments turned in within the two-week make-up period. The OC considered parent input on this issue and increased the allowable percentage earned in hopes that this would serve as an incentive for students when completing make-up assignments.

PTO

Sock Hop Planning Meeting - is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday the 11^th at 2:00 P.M. If you have any questions please contact Terri Clark, 303-506-1756 or clarkscruisin67@msn.com. This is a community-building event scheduled for November 13^th, 2009. MANY volunteers are needed! Start logging those volunteer hours early!

THANK YOU

Y

To Stephanie Challis, Nicole Rost and Kim Grant for doing the school laundry in August

Y

To Moms In Touch for the delightful “apple” treats on Wednesday morning - Yum!

PCKCS 09/03/2009

FROM THE DIRECTOR

Core Virtues meets Carpool! Sounds like the title of an action movie, but actually it’s our way to help parents stay connected/involved in our school-wide Core Virtues effort. Today, in the Thursday folders, you will find your family’s Carpool Connection card ring with several cards already attached. Each month we will send home a new card with discussion questions for your carpool that relate to our core virtue of the month. Our hope is that you will keep this ring handy in the car and use the questions to prompt ‘virtuous’ discussions and foster teachable moments while driving your carpool kids to and from school. Feel free to add your own follow-up questions and see where the conversation goes. Who says carpools time can’t be fun and educational?

Speaking of core virtues, our September assembly is this Friday and our virtue of the month is Positive Attitude. Let’s challenge ourselves as staff and parents to model this virtue for our students all year long. Once the students understand that attitude is a choice, they will be very in tune to the choices we make.

In addition, Core Virtues "Character Under Construction" T-shirts will be available for students to order. Students will be allowed to wear their Core Virtues T-shirt in place of their regular uniform shirt with their regular uniform bottom on assembly days (usually the first Friday of the month). A donation of $10 is recommended. Orders can be placed at the front desk.

SEPTEMBER

4th Core Virtue Assembly Positive Attitude
7th Labor Day no school
8th October Lunch Menus Due
10th O/C Meeting 6:30 P.M.
14th Hearing/Vision Testing
17th PTO Meeting 8:00 A.M.
25th Teacher In-service no school

GENERAL SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS

 President's Speech to School Children - PCKCS will not be broadcasting President Obama's speech to school children on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009. We do not have cable or school wide broadcasting capabilities here at school. We ask that parents who wish their child(ren) to hear/see the president's speech record it and view it later that evening with their child(ren).


 Book Fair is coming! We're going international this year with our theme - Around the World. The festivities will take place the week of October 2-9 (with the weekend off, of course). Plan to join us, so you can see all the fun and educational things available for your kids.

 Hot Topic . . . Hot Lunch - if you are interested in serving on a parent committee to research hot lunch options for our school, please contact Mrs. Aplin at school. The first meeting will be in mid-Sept. with the goal of researching potential vendors, evaluating food products and deciding which hot lunch provider will best meets our needs. Parent Survey data from Spring 2009 will be used as the starting place for this committee's work.

 Policy Change Announcement - The OC voted in August to approve a change to the PCKCS Special Request Absence policy. The old policy allowed students to receive up to 50% credit for completing missing assignments within the two week period following their return. The REVISED policy now gives students up to 70% credit on completed assignments turned in within the two week make-up period. The OC considered parent input on this issue and increased the allowable percentage earned in hopes that this would serve as an incentive for students when completing make-up assignments.

 Bullying - We are pleased to announce the start of our Bullying Prevention Program this year. Our School Counselor, Angela Krautz, along with assistance from our School Psychologist, Dr. Jim Farrell, will begin classroom lessons in grades 1-8 starting after Labor Day. Each lesson will follow the class/grade theme for the year and last approximately 30 minutes. Topics covered include: Stop & Think, Teasing, Apologies, Anger Mgt., Gossip, Cliques, Assertiveness Skills and Friendship Skills.

 Milk Cards – $7.00 = 20 milks, 35¢ = 1 milk, hot lunch includes a milk. Checks can be made out PCKCS.

 Art Items Needed - Leftover tile and ceramic plates to use for mosaic project, old or extra/unwanted photos black and white or color, ribbons, puff paint, patterned papers or other collage materials you have hanging around, brown paper bags and an iron.

PTO

BIG Fall Fundraiser – Sell, Sell, Sell - Sales end next Tuesday, September 8th.

Sock Hop Planning Committee now being formed. Please contact Terri Clark at 303-841-0740
or clarkscruisin67@msn.com to get involved. This is a large, community-building event on November 13, 2009. MANY volunteers needed…start logging those volunteer hours early!

THANK YOU

To Nancy Yohn, Melissa Edwards, Amber Hatcher, Sandy Higgins, Michele Kjar for their help with school pictures – combed hair, lined students up and generally kept things moving.

The Parker Fire Department and our Handyman, Mike Quesnoy (retired firefighter) for hooking up our new flagpole rope. They had to bring in their ladder truck in! Thanks!

FROM THE DIRECTOR

Thank you to all parents who attended Back-to-School Night this past Tuesday evening! We had a fabulous turnout for what I hope was a very informative evening. For those who were unable to join us, here are some of the key items discussed during our general session:

Introduction of Staff: New staff members include Martha Wright-AM Kindergarten, Debbie Gary- PM Kindergarten, Matess Medina - 1st grade, Monica Dukes - MS Science and Ellen Hall - Tutor. All other staff members are returning staff.

OC Focus: Rick Bellefeuille, OC President, introduced all current OC members and outlined the OC's top three initiatives for the 2009-10 school year. They are: 1.) Develop a Long-term Strategic Plan 2.) Enhance School Safety & Security and 3.) Promote Academic Excellence

Colorado League of Charter Schools (CLCS) Director of Governmental Affairs, Sean Bradley, was on hand to encourage parents to stay in touch with issues impacting charter schools across our state. In particular, he mentioned the November 2009 Board of Education election in Douglas County where four seats are open. It is important that the charter community get to know the candidates BEFORE voting, as some are more 'charter friendly' than others. He also invited parents to sign up for a weekly email from the CLCS regarding charter legislation in Colorado. If you would like to sign up to receive this email, please visit the CLCS website at www.coloradoleague.org.

Top Operational and Academic Initiatives for the coming year include:

• Increase use of technology throughout the school
• Promote 'Character Under Construction', including a ‘Carpool Connection’ opportunity
• Champion bullying prevention efforts K-8
• Refine use of MAP and CSAP data to drive instructional strategies, target early interventions and increase student growth
• Focus on professional development of staff to better serve diverse learning needs of students
• Increase overall communication between home and school; promote CKCS.net website as primary communication vehicle

Finally, I like to take every opportunity to invite parents to stop by my office, call or email if you have a question or concern about anything going on at school. I am always happy to meet with you so that we can address your question/concern in a timely manner. If your question/concern is of an academic nature (grades, curriculum, student schedules, Special Ed, etc.) Mrs. Harth is also readily available to meet with you and address your concern(s). Whenever we work together, I'm confident we can work anything out. Thanks for your support from the home front!

GENERAL SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS

 Safety Reminders

• All visitors MUST CHECK IN at the front office and receive a green visitors sticker to wear throughout the building; the MS entrance is for students ONLY.

• Carpool is a necessary part of life for charter families and the SAFETY of students, carpool workers and drivers is our top priority. Patience and general courtesy towards other drivers and carpool workers is always appreciated. As adults, let's ALL agree to model good character and positive behavior when picking-up or dropping-off students at school. Thank you!

• H1N1 - Please refer to the school website (www.ckcs.net) for the latest information about symptoms and recommended precautions related to H1N1. The DCSD is closely monitoring all reported cases in Douglas County schools, including charters. The District's protocol for communication about H1N1 is the protocol we will follow throughout the upcoming winter flu season. Therefore, as stated at Back-to-School Night, we will NOT be announcing individual H1N1 cases that occur across our school. However, as our school nurse monitors our numbers, she will advise a change in this protocol should a significant health risk develop at school. In this case, all parents will be notified. In the meantime, we should all follow the recommended precautions outlined in the H1N1 FAQ posted on our website. If you have specific health risk concerns, please contact Mrs. Aplin for further follow-up.

 PCKCS Sweatshirt Orders - All sweatshirt orders taken from Kindergarten Orientation, GEM Night, and Back to School night will be placed this week. Sweatshirts should be delivered to your student within 2-3 weeks. Another order will be placed on September 11th. So if you have not yet turned in your order form, please do so before that date.

 Target Credit Card Holders - Reminder to families that the school receives a percentage of all purchases made using your Target card. This is an easy way to help contribute to the school.

PTO

BIG Fundraiser Kickoff – Packets were sent home with your child Monday. Sales run for two weeks ending Tuesday, September 8th.

Sock Hop Planning Committee now being formed. Please contact Terri Clark at 303/841-0740
or clarkscruisin67@comcast.net to get involved. This is a large, community-building event on November 13, 2009. MANY volunteers needed…start logging those volunteer hours early!

Thursday Newsletter 8-20-09

FROM THE DIRECTOR

Welcome back to all Core Families!

The new school year is off to a fabulous start and I am excited about what this year holds for all of us. It’s been great reconnecting with so many of you after the long summer break; I’ve loved all the fun stories about your adventures this past summer (Don’t forget to send us a picture or two for our Summer Fun bulletin board.)

Back-to-School Night is coming up quickly – next Tuesday, the 25^th, to be exact. Please mark your calendars for this important evening. The teachers are all looking forward to meeting you and welcoming you into their classrooms, and the general session for ALL parents will provide new information about our direction for the 2009-10 school year. OC members will be on hand, along with a special guest from the League of Charter Schools, Sean Bradley. I hope you will all make it a priority to attend both the classroom and general sessions. Information about classroom and general session times are listed at the end of this newsletter.

We’re always building something at Core…knowledge, skills, critical thinkers, responsible citizens, etc. This year, we are ramping up our efforts to build student character, one brick (or virtue) at a time. Our theme is Character Under Construction, and each month during our all-school assembly we will feature a different character virtue. Students were recently introduced to our line up of virtues for the year, starting with Respect & Responsibility in August. Parents will soon be invited to join the effort via our ‘Carpool Connection’ – Details to follow at Back-to-School Night!

The 2009 CSAP results are in and I am extremely pleased, once again, with the overall performance of our students. Additionally, as a school, we met all of our AYP (adequate yearly progress) target under No Child Left Behind, so it’s good news all around. We will be sending home individual student reports in early September and providing all Core Families with a summary of our school-wide successes. Every year it takes a team effort to help our students achieve their highest potential. With our strong results in ’09, I’d say our efforts last year paid off…More to come on this subject at Back-to-School Night.

Finally, just a reminder and invitation to all, if you have an issue or concern at anytime during the school year, please let us know. Parents are encouraged to first discuss student issues/concerns with their child’s teacher (classroom teacher or Specials teacher); broader school issues should be brought to the attention of the School Director. We always appreciate hearing about your concern as soon as the issue arises so that we can quickly work together towards resolution. Appointments are appreciated, and we will make every effort to meet with you ASAP.

I look forward to seeing you ALL next Tuesday evening at Back-to-School Night. Let our work begin…

AUGUST

25th Back to School Night see info

26th School Pictures

27^th PTO General Meeting (all welcome) 8:00 A.M.

27^th New Family Orientation 2:00 – 3:00

GENERAL SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS

ð School Pictures – Wednesday, August 26^th. Picture order packets are included in today’s Thursday folder. Students should either “dress-up” or wear their school uniform. Please send forms with your student on picture day. Reminder: 8^th graders will have a special photo session on a TBD date for the school yearbook.

ð New Families – You are invited! We will have an informal information session with Mrs. Aplin, our School Director and Angie Runyon, our Volunteer Coordinator, on Thursday, August 27^th from 2:00 – 3:00 P.M. The meeting will be held in the school gym – This is a great way to meet other new families and get connected to PCKCS!

ð Lunch Utensils – are included with purchased hot lunches, but are not provided for lunches brought from home. Please be sure your child’s sack lunch has the necessary utensils.

ð Used Uniforms and Volunteers Needed: Donate your used uniforms to benefit our schools PTO. Used uniforms and volunteers are needed for Back to School night on August 25^th. Contact Lisa Olofson at 303-840-5411 or lisa5411@myawai.com .

ð Did you hear about Buster the miniature School Bus? He visited our school yesterday during the lunch period to train the students on general bus safety. Since our students do not ride a school bus on a regular basis, this safety training is especially important to prepare them to ride a district bus for field trip purposes. With 6^th grade Science Camp just around the corner, the training couldn’t have been timelier. Ask your student what they learned from Buster.

ð Patience with Carpool – Thank you to all parents for your cooperation and patience with the afternoon carpool process. The first week is always a bit difficult as students learn the process, but it does get better. Hang in there!

PTO

BIG Fundraiser Kickoff – Parents, please look for the catalog packet being sent home with your child next Monday. Sales run for two weeks from Monday, August 24 – Tuesday, September 8^th.

1^st Meeting of the Year - Thursday, August 27^th at 8:00 A.M in the school library. Come and see all the great events and fundraisers we are planning for this school year. We would love your input.

THANK YOU

Wow – so many volunteers helped us get this school year going!

Y To Syd Cymbala and her hospitality group for the delicious staff breakfast on 8/12 - Natha Kelly, Stephanie Schannuth, Angie Westback, Nancy Glassen, Amy Geels, Terry Thompson, Heather Newbrough, Kay Leenerts, Trish A. Pavik-Cook, Janie Amos, Paige New, Jen Weems, Kelly Bishop, Jenifer Cox, Melissa Grissom & Angi Runyon

Y To our great PTO – Heather Kasari, Tanya Bouthillier, Janet Ellison for hosting the Greet, Eat & Meet night at registration.

Y To Angie and Tim Westback for moving the “give-away” furniture repeatedly around the school.

Y To Alina Wilson, Amanda Judd & Peggy Carter for helping prepare our bulletin boards throughout the school.

Y To Lisa Olofson for her continuing coordination of the used uniform inventory and sales!

Y To Janet Ellison for the coordination of the Cougar sweatshirt sale

Y To Stephanie Schannuth and Kirsten Evert for creating our beautiful “Character Under Construction” display case in the lobby

Y To Peggy Carter and Linda Henderson for bringing bagels for staff last Friday. Also, for providing Child Identity kits to Core families at GEM Night.

Y To Lori VanDoozer for serving as our Carpool Coordinator

Y To Heather Kasari and Tanya Bouthillier for coordinating the Tool Box school supply sale.

Back to School Night

Tuesday, August 25^th

6:00 – 6:20 1^st Classroom Session (Parents of MORE THAN ONE elementary student should begin here)

6:25 – 6:45 AM Kindergarten classroom session

6:25 – 6:45 2^nd Classroom Session (Parents with ONLY ONE elementary student should begin here)

6:45 – 7:15 General Session in the gym for all parents (K-8)

7:20 – 7:40 PM Kindergarten classroom session

7:20 – 8:00 Begin rotation of Middle School (7/8) classroom sessions