DCIS Connect Newsletter (Nov. 29-Dec. 5, 2018)

Weekly Newsletter for Parents, Staff and Students November 29-December 5, 2018 (Leer en Español usar el traductor de Google aquí.) OPEN HOUSE FOR CURRENT 8TH GRADE STUDENTS AND FAMILIES Please Join Us Tuesday, Dec. 4, 6-7:30 pm, Auditorium RSVP DCIS was awarded the 2018 Succeeds Prize for Transformational Impact in a High School and is the No. 1-ranked district-run DPS high school in 2018, according to U.S. News & World Report. Learn more about our high school programming, including passages, Advanced Placement courses, concurrent enrollment opportunities and electives  Hear from current DCIS high school students about their experiences with athletic programs, both at the West campus and at their neighborhood high schools Explore how our high school prepares students for college and career Ask questions of current DCIS high school students and administrators Look forward to seeing you on Dec. 4! HAPPENING THIS WEEK ... Cafe con la Directora: Thursday, Nov. 29, 8:30-9:15 am, DCIS Community Room Open House for Prospective Students: Thursday, Nov. 29, 6-7 pm PTSA Board Meeting: Sunday, Dec. 2, 2-4 pm, Pizzeria Locale, Meeting Room, everyone welcome 8th Grade Open House: (for current 8th grade students and families) Tuesday, Dec. 4, 6-7:30 pm, DCIS Auditorium  MARK YOUR CALENDAR ... One-Act Play Auditions: Dec. 10, 11, 13, 3-4 pm, Auditorium One-Act Play Tech Apps Due: Thursday, Dec. 13 CSC Meeting: Thursday, Dec. 13, 4-6 pm, DCIS Community Room Finals: Wednesday-Thursday, Dec. 19-20 Finals Makeup Day: Friday, Dec. 21 Winter Break: Dec. 21- Jan. 6 Classes Resume: Monday, Jan. 7 PTSA Meeting: Thursday, Jan. 17, 6:30-8 pm, DCIS Cafeteria, everyone welcome LETTER FROM THE PRINCIPAL ... Dear DCIS Parents, I hope you all had a restful and enjoyable break. Hard to believe that in a little more than three weeks we will get another break! It is important between now and then to help keep students focused on their schoolwork so they can finish the semester strong, and earn all of their credits in good standing. Please help us at home by encouraging your students to complete any and all missing assignments. One of the biggest reasons students end up with failing grades (or grades lower than they want) is missing work. So we ask that you take the time to discuss the grade that your child currently has in each class, and make a plan with them to make sure that all work is completed before the end of the semester. At the moment, a very large percentage of our students have at least one missing assignment. Now is the time to fix this. We will do what we can on our end but would love to have your support from home. Thanks! 8th Grade Parents We want your child to continue with us for their high school career! DCIS offers some great opportunities as a high school and has won both state and national recognition in the past year. Come find out what DCIS has to offer as a high school option (and how it is different than middle school). We will host an Open House exclusively for our current 8th graders and their parents on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 6–7 pm in the DCIS Auditorium. Please come check out this option for your child. As It Gets Colder…. Please remember that school ends at 2:55 pm and that after 3:15 we have no supervision for students. Students must leave the building by 3:15 each day unless they are part of a supervised activity, such as Drama Club, sports events, etc. Please make arrangements for your child to be picked up by 3:15 or to take the bus home. DCIS does not have any after-school care staffing or programming, so please make sure your child is picked up on time. We certainly don't want to send them out to wait in the cold. However, we can't have them just hang out in school unsupervised either. So please, make sure you have arrangements in place for your child to leave the building safely by 3:15. Thank you!   As a reminder, Friday, Dec. 21, is a makeup day for finals, and there are no classes. Students who need to make up a test or complete any remaining missing work need to do so on this day and should make arrangements with their teachers. Students who have completed their work and their tests will not come to school this day. Classes resume for all students on Monday, Jan. 7, 2019. Theresa McCorquodale RAISE YOUR HAND ... BLACK FRIDAY PAPER DRIVE If you bought copy paper for the school during the Black Friday Paper Drive, thank you!! You can drop it off in the main office during regular school hours. If you need help carting in cases, let them know, and they will assist. We appreciate everyone's contributions! VOLUNTEERS NEEDED A message from our friends at DCIS Fairmont To Our Neighbors at DCIS Baker: DCIS Fairmont is running a fundraiser this year on which we hope to partner with DCIS Baker next year. To familiarize you all with the operation, we would like to invite you to volunteer at our CHRISTMAS TREE LOT starting on Friday, Nov. 23, and running through Sunday, Dec. 16, on the corner of Broadway and 2nd Ave. (parking lot behind Compound Basix, 145 Broadway, Denver, 80203). Please sign up for shifts here — we need your help! Monday through Friday hours are 5-7:30 pm, with one shift starting at 4:45, the second starting at 5 and both ending at 7:30. Saturday and Sunday hours are 10 am-7 pm, with shifts of varying lengths available. Thanks so much in advance for your help! PTA at DCIS Fairmont DCIS PTSA YOU ARE INVITED to attend the DCIS PTSA membership meeting on Thursday, Jan. 17, 6:30-8 pm in the DCIS Cafeteria.If you have any questions or ideas about fundraising, we look forward to discussing the Christmas Tree Lot collaboration with DCIS Fairmont and other sponsorship opportunities, as well as your priorities for how to spend the money the PTSA raises! COUNSELORS' CORNER ...  COUNSELORS Tami Schmidt Middle school 720-423-9006 Melisa Springsteen High school last names A-J 720-423-9105 Ted Brugman  High school last names K-Z 720-423-9094 DCIS CANNED FOOD DRIVE Thank you to all the students who donated to our canned food drive. We collected more than 350 canned goods. A big congrats to Mr. Pomponio's Advisement and Ms. Ryan's Advisement for bringing in the most cans!!! JUNIOR AND SENIOR DEADLINES The concurrent enrollment deadline is this Friday, Nov. 30. Please have your student speak to Mrs. Springsteen ASAP to discuss their college readiness scores and registration. 8th GRADE Thanks to all the 8th graders who attended the District Career Fair last week. Students visited with various organizations based on their results from a career assessment survey as well as their general interest in companies that participated. Students also had a great opportunity to visit with various DPS high schools and postsecondary institutions to begin asking questions to help them start thinking about their futures after completing the 8th grade. Hopefully the fair ignited a spark in many of them about the exciting possibilities ahead!!! FALL SEMESTER Finals for fall semester are Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 19-20. Please make sure to monitor your student's grades between now and then to make sure your student passes with a D or better to earn credit. Senior Stuff Folder TRAVEL FAIR SPOTLIGHT ... Youth In Action Founded in 2000, the Youth In Action program includes weekly Japanese language and culture study, community service, volunteer work, and fundraising activities. Students commit to 15 or more hours of study and service a month.This 18-month program culminates in a month-long cultural exchange trip to Japan in the summer. Through this experience, students will have the opportunity to discover themselves in a place that is unfamiliar to them, and develop self-awareness and self-esteem in a way that cannot be duplicated. Students also learn how to confront social challenges outside of their comfort zones and deal with problems head-on. Also, Youth In Action students must learn to live in their host families' households, which increases the value they place on their own home and family life.  Traveling to Japan in the month of June allows the group to participate in school visits — a significant component of the Youth In Action program. YIA students spend 10-12 days in schools — elementary, middle, high school and colleges. Not only do YIA students benefit from experiencing the Japanese education system, but on a typical day they teach 3-4 English classes at the schools, providing each Japanese student the unique opportunity to interact with and learn English from an American youth close to their own age. The Youth in Action program builds the integrity and character of today's youth, helping them to become responsible members of society by building relationships with each other and their community while creating a strong work ethic. The youth involved become more aware about themselves and their world by studying world cultures, through interactions within their communities and through the firsthand experience of traveling to another country for a cultural exchange. Our month-long exchange trip includes home stays in Colorado's sister state of Yamagata and in the southern city of Kumamoto, Japan, along with local school visits where we learn about Japanese culture and share ours. A portion of the trip will include staying and sightseeing in the historical cities of Kyoto and Hiroshima. Check out YIA's Facebook page for more information! CONNECT ... DCIS Website DCIS Facebook Page DCIS Parents Group (closed, non-school-sanctioned) on Facebook DCIS Drama Club Facebook  DCIS Travel Center Facebook DCIS Foundation Facebook   DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL. Please send questions or comments to dcis.connect@gmail.com.  Every Thursday while school is in session, you'll receive this DCIS Connect newsletter in your email inbox to keep you up to date on all the events and happenings at our school. It's also available on the DCIS Connect app, which you can download at the Apple Store or Google Play. If you don't wish to receive the newsletter, click the Unsubscribe link below. If you're receiving multiple copies of the newsletter, please email dcis.connect@gmail.com to report the problem; be sure to indicate your first and last name and preferred email address so we can update our records. Newsletter submissions are due by noon on the Tuesday preceding the issue date. Email submissions to dcis.connect@gmail.com.  Copyright © 2018 DCIS Connect Newsletter, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email newsletter because you are a member of the DCIS community. If you do not wish to receive the newsletter, please click the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email. Our mailing address is: DCIS Connect Newsletter 574 W. 6th Ave. Denver, CO 80204 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

DCIS Connect Newsletter (Nov. 15-21, 2018)

Weekly Newsletter for Parents, Staff and Students November 15-21, 2018 (Leer en Español usar el traductor de Google aquí.) ** BLACK FRIDAY PAPER DRIVE ** Looking for a BIG way to help the school with little effort or cost? This may be the perfect opportunity! The school perpetually runs low on copy paper, and given that a case can run around $40, those costs can quickly add up. In at least the past three years, Staples has run a Black Friday sale on copy paper where you pay the full price up front, then submit the rebate (super easy to do online). The net cost of the paper is $10/case, and you get your rebate in the form of a Visa card. We won't know until the wee hours of Black Friday whether they're still running the sale (or whether you can order online and have the paper shipped to the school), but we'll send out a push notification via the app as soon as we can to let you know whether the sale is on and whether an online option is available.  If 50 people each donated a case of paper, that would go a long way toward greatly helping the school. Stay tuned via the app for details! HAPPENING THIS WEEK ... STARTS TONIGHT! DCIS Drama Fall Play: "Nosferatu: The Legend of Dracula," Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 15-17, 6-8 pm, DCIS Auditorium Thanksgiving Break – NO SCHOOL: Monday-Friday, Nov. 19-23; school resumes Monday, Nov. 26 MARK YOUR CALENDAR ... Parent-Principal Coffee: Wednesday, Nov. 28, 8-8:45 am, DCIS Community Room Collaborative School Committee: Note new date! Wednesday, Nov. 28, 4:30-6:30 pm, DCIS Community Room Cafe con la Directora: Thursday, Nov. 29, 8:30-9:15 am, DCIS Community Room Open House for Prospective Students: Thursday, Nov. 29, 6-7 pm PTSA Board Meeting: Sunday, Dec. 2, 2-4 pm, Pizzeria Locale, Meeting Room, everyone welcome 8th Grade Open House: (for current 8th grade students and families) Tuesday, Dec. 4, 6-7:30 pm, DCIS Auditorium  DCIS Drama presents "The R+J Effect": Wednesday, Dec. 5, 6-8 pm, DCIS Auditorium Finals: Wednesday-Thursday, Dec. 19-20 Finals Makeup Day: Friday, Dec. 21 Winter Break: Dec. 21- Jan. 6 Classes Resume: Monday, Jan. 7 PTSA Meeting: Thursday, Jan. 17, 6:30-8 pm, DCIS Cafeteria, everyone welcome November 15, 16, 17 at 6 pm in the Auditorium   Buy your tickets online or at the door. Students $5, Adults $8 DCIS DRAMA PRESENTS   LETTER FROM THE PRINCIPAL . . . Dear DCIS Parents, Heading into our Thanksgiving break, I wanted to take a moment to let you know that I am thankful every day for your children! They make DCIS the awesome place that it is. Updates There will be no school for students the week of November 19-23. Classes resume on Monday, Nov. 26. The end of the semester for all students is Thursday, Dec. 20. Friday, Dec. 21 will be a makeup day for students who missed a semester final, but otherwise, there is no school for students that day. Please do not take your students out of school before Dec. 21! We need students here every day, all the way through Dec. 20, and then they get a long break, with no classes until Jan. 7, 2019. School Performance Framework (SPF) Rating Thank you to those parents who attended our Parent SPF meeting last week. Following are some highlights of that meeting. DCIS is green according to the Colorado Department of Education, but orange according to Denver Public Schools (DPS). The reason for the vast difference has to do with the additional indicators DPS uses and the different way DPS weights the indicators. Our biggest areas for improvement as a school are: Closing academic gaps for middle school (MS) students of color Closing academic gaps for MS students in poverty Closing academic gaps for MS students with disabilities Closing academic gaps for MS English language learners Our biggest areas of success as a school are: High school student performing at grade level Post-secondary readiness of DCIS graduates (more than 95% of DCIS seniors last year graduated college-ready in both math and literacy) Closing academic gaps for high school (HS) students of color Closing academic gaps for HS students in poverty Some of the things we are doing to improve are: Added the Math Fellows math education support plan for MS students Offer free after-school tutoring for both MS and HS students Increased the number of English language development (ELD) classes for English language learners Reduced class sizes for 6th- and 7th-grade math and language arts classes, to allow for more individualized support in the classroom If you would like to discuss any of these ideas and/or the SPF in more detail, please plan to attend the Parent-Principal Coffee on either Wednesday, Nov. 28, at 8 a.m. (in English) or on Thursday, Nov. 29, at 8:30 a.m. (in Spanish) for more information.   Thank you again for trusting DCIS with your child's education. We truly are grateful. Wishing all of you a safe and restful break. Theresa McCorquodale OPEN HOUSE FOR CURRENT 8TH GRADE STUDENTS AND FAMILIES Please Join Us Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2018 • 6-7:30 PM, Auditorium RSVP DCIS was awarded the 2018 Succeeds Prize for Transformational Impact in a High School and is the No. 1-ranked district-run DPS high school in 2018, according to U.S. News & World Report. Learn more about our high school programming, including Passages, Advanced Placement courses, concurrent enrollment opportunities and electives  Hear from current DCIS high school students about their experiences with athletic programs, both at the West campus and at their neighborhood high schools Explore how our high school prepares students for college and career Ask questions of current DCIS high school students and administrators Look forward to seeing you on Dec. 4! DCIS TRAVELS ...  10TH GRADE TRAVEL WEEK Arrangements are well underway for the 10th Grade Travel Week April 22-26, 2019! Your student has the choice of going to (1) Canyonlands, Utah OR to the YMCA of the Rockies just outside Estes Park, Colorado. Regardless of the location your student chooses, the purpose of these trips is to have students experience nature and the natural world through the lens of a writer, historian, mathematician and scientist, and the experience will be woven into the 10th-grade curriculum by addressing the following question: "How has the relationship between human beings and the physical and natural world changed and stayed the same over time?" We strongly encourage ALL 10th graders to go on one of the trips, and we have various fundraising projects underway to ensure that this opportunity is available to all our 10th graders regardless of ability to pay. We applied to the DCIS Foundation as a group for a scholarship (and this won't affect any individual DCISF application), and we are also accepting donations from our community. Thank you in advance if you are considering a donation! We know from past experiences that 10th Grade Travel Week is a transformational milestone for our students. Please contact Marie Meyer if your student needs help with fundraising or if you would like to make a donation to support these experiences. RAISE YOUR HAND ... VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Do you have only a few hours each month available to volunteer at school? We are looking for individuals to help on an as-needed basis with hoodie and T-shirt sales at all school events. The first opportunities are tonight through Saturday, 5:30-8:30 pm outside the DCIS Auditorium, in conjunction with the school play "Nosferatu: The Legend of Dracula" (the play is 6-8 pm). Training will be provided, and you will not be the only volunteer. Email Marie or text her at 303-913-4845 if you can be there, or want to help at future events. Please come volunteer with us — we really need your help! COLLABORATIVE SCHOOL COMMITTEE The next CSC meeting is Wednesday, Nov. 28, at 4:30 pm in the Community Room. All members of the community are welcome to sit in on these meetings. Want to know more about the role of the CSC? Check out the DPS website. COUNSELORS' CORNER ...  COUNSELORS Tami Schmidt: Middle school Melisa Springsteen: High school last names A-J Ted Brugman: High school last names K-Z FALL SEMESTER Finals for fall semester are Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 19-20. Please make sure to monitor your student's grades between now and then to make sure your student passes with a D or better to earn credit.   CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT FOR JUNIORS AND SENIORS The deadline for concurrent enrollment is Friday, Nov. 30. Please have your student speak to Mrs. Springsteen ASAP to discuss their college readiness scores and registration. Senior Stuff Folder TRAVEL FAIR SPOTLIGHT ... Africa School Assistance Project The Africa School Assistance Project (ASAP) is committed to increasing access to quality public education in East Africa, especially for girls — because education, more than any other sector of development, seeds dramatic improvement in poverty reduction, gender equality, health outcomes, child immunization, HIV/AIDS prevention, environmental protection and wildlife conservation. Simply put, widely available public education will lead to a prosperous, peaceful and sustainable future for Africa. ASAP's solution is to systematically develop community schools (primary and secondary) in rural Tanzania for the purpose of expanding access to quality education. They take a holistic approach to school development, meaning that they aim to provide each school with the facilities needed to enable the students and teachers to thrive. ASAP's schools include classrooms, teacher offices, toilets and hand-washing stations, water systems, solar power, playing fields, kitchens, teacher housing and more. ASAP also aims to increase secondary school graduation rates for girls through a dormitory-based program called the Kupanda Project for Girls. The project supports girls in all aspects of their lives so they can personally thrive and succeed in school. Three years into this program, they have increased girls completion rates from 6% to 96%! ASAP also leads groups of volunteers to Africa each June to lend a hand in the school construction process. This powerful concept of bega kwa bega (Swahili for "shoulder to shoulder") has been central to ASAP's model since the beginning. Visit ASAP to learn more.  NEWS FROM DPS ...  EMERGENCY TEXTS FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS Families and high school students will now receive emergency texts from the district. The communications team will also send emergency robocalls and robo-emails. Messages will be sent during crises such as lockdowns, evacuations and weather delays/closures. We are excited about this change because sending text messages will inform families and students of crises in a much shorter time frame than what it takes for a robocall or robo-email to be delivered. Parents and guardians* have been automatically opted-in to receive emergency texts** based on cell phone numbers provided during registration. Please check to make sure your information is up-to-date in the Parent Portal. Messages will be sent in English and Spanish. *Families of high school students, please fill out this Google form in order to sign up YOUR STUDENT to receive emergency texts. **Please note, Communications does not send out messages during lockouts unless they take place during arrival/dismissal and we hear directly from a school leader or DPS Safety. Lockouts are typically caused by police activity in our neighborhood and will only affect families and students during arrival/dismissal and lunchtime. Learn more about lockdowns and lockouts here. SUBSTANCE USE PREVENTION PROGRAM Recent claims that youth e-cigarette use is an "epidemic" are not exaggerated; according to the results of the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey (HKCS) from 2017, 40.6% of students in DPS have used an electronic vapor product at some point in their life. In addition, 57% of DPS students do not think that people who use electronic vapor products every day have a moderate or great risk of harm. Parental involvement is the No. 1 way to prevent risky behavior in teens, and it is important that you make time to talk to your child about the risks associated with vaping.   Learn more about vaping and health here. Parents who are concerned their student has already experimented with vaping or who have other health-related concerns should reach out to their school-based health clinics, which are run by Denver Health, or get in touch with their student's healthcare provider. CONNECT ... DCIS Website DCIS Facebook Page DCIS Parents Group (closed, non-school-sanctioned) on Facebook DCIS Drama Club Facebook  DCIS Travel Center Facebook DCIS Foundation Facebook   DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL. Please send questions or comments to dcis.connect@gmail.com.  Every Thursday while school is in session, you'll receive this DCIS Connect newsletter in your email inbox to keep you up to date on all the events and happenings at our school. It's also available on the DCIS Connect app, which you can download at the Apple Store or Google Play. If you don't wish to receive the newsletter, click the Unsubscribe link below. If you're receiving multiple copies of the newsletter, please email dcis.connect@gmail.com to report the problem; be sure to indicate your first and last name and preferred email address so we can update our records. Newsletter submissions are due by noon on the Tuesday preceding the issue date. Email submissions to dcis.connect@gmail.com.  Copyright © 2018 DCIS Connect Newsletter, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email newsletter because you are a member of the DCIS community. If you do not wish to receive the newsletter, please click the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email. Our mailing address is: DCIS Connect Newsletter 574 W. 6th Ave. Denver, CO 80204 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list