DCIS Connect Newsletter (Feb. 28-March 6, 2019)

Weekly Newsletter for Parents, Staff and Students February 28-March 6, 2019 (Leer en Español usar el traductor de Google aquí.) HAPPENING THIS WEEK ... NO SCHOOL: Non-student contact day, Monday, March 4 MARK YOUR CALENDAR ... PTSA Social, Pour Painting Night: Come build community with us! Friday, March 8, 6-8 pm, Cafeteria PTSA Meeting, Planning 2019-2020: Thursday, March 14, 6-8 pm, Community Room CSC Meeting: Thursday, March 21, 4:30-6 pm, Community Room SPRING BREAK: Monday, March 25–Friday, March 29 FROM THE ACTING PRINCIPAL ... DCIS Parents,    We hope you'll ask your children about the academic push happening at school right now. Every adult in the building is dedicated to students making the most of every class period, and the teachers are working with classes on rigorous, enriching activities. Passages work last week was a great success, physics students took care to make sure their eggs didn't break in the Great Egg Drop, and students in different grade levels are reading historical materials as they develop their global citizenship. We continue to be busy and focused on teaching and learning as we look ahead to March.   One way we are promoting strong academic work is through our attention on students being in class and focused. This includes working to have students here on time — more than 10 percent of our students sign in late to school most mornings. We are asking for your help and offering our support too. We know that some children need to get up earlier or ride earlier buses, and we are happy to support this important habit. Please tell us if we can help with early-morning calls (getting a call from school as an alarm can have quite an impact) or if there is something else we can do. We are also working to ensure students get to class on time after lunch and stay focused while they are in class, which means having their phones and earbuds out of sight.   We hope you'll talk at home about how important it is to be in class on time and to stay there as much as possible in order to benefit from the lessons. A lot of exciting things happen in DCIS classrooms every day, and we want your child to make the most of these opportunities. Note there will be no school on Monday, March 4, for students. The teachers will be working and doing their own professional development that day.   Looking forward, Jenn Zinn POUR PAINTING COMMUNITY SOCIAL The DCIS PTSA is excited to announce that we will be having a Pour Painting night on Friday, March 8, 6-8 pm, in the DCIS Cafeteria for International Women's Day. All are welcome! The painting project will be hosted by Spectra Art Space. The event starts with writing a manifestation on the back of the canvas, which the host will provide. Then, each individual is given a cup to fill with different colors of paint, each color labeled with a feeling or emotion such as gratitude, compassion, etc. Afterward, participants are invited to share their manifestation and how they feel about their painting.  The cost for each participant is $25, and parents are encouraged to bring a friend or two. A second painting can be done for $10 more. These could be nice gifts, but the intent is to bring our parents together and create community within the school. Students are welcome to participate at their parent's discretion.  Please sign up by sending an email to Angela. RAISE YOUR HAND ... PTSA MARK YOUR CALENDAR for Thursday, March 14, for a PTSA meeting from 6 to 8 pm in the Community Room to start our planning for the 2019-2020 school year. We can really use your input! Please see our SignUp Genius for specific asks, but we would love to hear from you if there is something else you would like to offer. Bringing something to eat or drink is optional, but much appreciated. Everyone welcome. 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   Some important dates to add to the calendar: March 6 & 12 — Next Generation ACCUPLACER Testing This test will be administered to all sophomores and juniors who are interested in taking a college-level course in fall 2019. Students must preregister with Mrs. Springsteen or Mrs. Masich. March 22 — 9th grade College Expo All 9th graders will be joining us on a visit to the Auraria Campus. Early April — Concurrent Enrollment Registration for off-campus college courses will begin. If your student has already taken the ACCUPLACER and received a college-ready designation, please have them see Mrs. Springsteen. April 9 — PSAT and SAT testing for grades 9-11 There will be no school for middle school students and 12th graders. In addition, as a disclaimer to all students and families, it is very important that your student bring their own calculator (if they have one) to this test date. We have a limited number and cannot guarantee one for every student.   May 3 — 12th grade college signing day during All-School Meeting and districtwide at University of Denver May 22 — Graduation, 6 pm at the University of Denver CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT If your student is enrolled in a concurrent enrollment class, click to see the drop/withdrawal deadlines. SENIOR ANNOUNCEMENTS Scholarship Newsletter and Other Documents FROM THE OFFICE OF WHOLE CHILD SUPPORTS ...  Click here to view the DenverRAP Activity Calendar for March. This calendar provides information on free activities happening in the Denver area. Please share this with anyone who might benefit from this resource. You can also have information about free activities happening in Denver sent directly to your phone by texting "DenverRAP" to 67076. 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 © 2019 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 (Feb. 21-27, 2019)

Weekly Newsletter for Parents, Staff and Students February 21-27, 2019 (Leer en Español usar el traductor de Google aquí.) POUR PAINTING COMMUNITY SOCIAL The DCIS PTSA is excited to announce that we will be having a Pour Painting night on Friday, March 8, 6-8 pm, in the DCIS Cafeteria for International Women's Day. All are welcome! The painting project will be hosted by Spectra Art Space. The event starts with writing a manifestation on the back of the canvas, which the host will provide. Then, each individual is given a cup to fill with different colors of paint, each color labeled with a feeling or emotion such as gratitude, compassion, etc. Afterward, participants are invited to share their manifestation and how they feel about their painting.  The cost for each participant is $25, and parents are encouraged to bring a friend or two. A second painting can be done for $10 more. These could be nice gifts, but the intent is to bring our parents together and create community within the school. Students are welcome to participate at their parent's discretion.  Please sign up by sending an email to Angela. HAPPENING THIS WEEK ... Middle School Dance: Friday, February 22, 6-8 pm, Cafeteria MARK YOUR CALENDAR ... NO SCHOOL: Non-student contact day, Monday, March 4 PTSA Social, Pour Painting Night: Come build community with us! Friday, March 8, 6-8 pm, Cafeteria PTSA Meeting, Planning 2019-2020: Thursday, March 14, 6-8 pm, Community Room CSC Meeting: Thursday, March 21, 4:30-6 pm, Community Room SPRING BREAK: Monday, March 25–Friday, March 29 FROM THE ACTING PRINCIPAL ... DCIS Community,    The weather is chilly, but things are heating up here in school. I am excited to continue to meet students and families as we head toward spring break. This week we have Passages work, and all our classes are driving forward. The classrooms are filled with the buzz of work and learning — writing in different languages, experiments, mastering new concepts, group work and more.   The team is doing research, brainstorming and talking about the new school year too. We are exploring ideas for new bell schedules (thanks to those who completed the survey to share your thoughts!) and preparing for how we can make the most of our international focus through the classes we will offer next year. We are also continuing the work of expanding our restorative practices program in all grade levels.   I hope to see you all at the next PTSA meeting and that you'll reach out to tell me what I should know and how I can serve you and your child.   Looking forward, Jenn Zinn RAISE YOUR HAND ... PTSA Build Our Community Please see this week's SignUp Genius for specific asks for a T-shirt seller, photographer, auction treasurer, classroom parents (every grade) and 10th grade trip fundraiser. We also need help with communications, teacher appreciation, advocacy and fundraising. Let us know if there is something else you can offer ... we would love to hear from you! PTSA Meeting MARK YOUR CALENDAR for Thursday, March 14, for a PTSA meeting from 6 to 8 pm in the Community Room to start our planning for the 2019-2020 school year. We can really use your input!  Please see our SignUp Genius for specific asks, but we would love to hear from you if there is something else you would like to offer. Bringing something to eat or drink is optional, but much appreciated. Everyone welcome. DCIS TRAVELS AND HOSTING ...  HOSTING EXCHANGE STUDENTS CHANGES LIVES My name is Derek Chandler, and I wanted to share a little about our experience as a host family. My family and I first decided to host a high school exchange student about nine years ago. We decided to host because we were thinking of adopting. We started with a student from Norway (who ended up staying and going to CU Boulder) and fell in love with the experience. So we kept on hosting. Thirteen kids later, here we are. Ten have gone to DCIS.  I can say that hosting an exchange student changed my life and my family's lives. We are better people for doing this. These kids become family, and we now have family all over the world. I've enjoyed hosting so much that I now volunteer for the program and help connect American families with students. We are looking for host families for the 2019-20 school year for students in the EF High School Exchange Year program. They have their own health insurance and spending money. The student's American family would provide a bedroom, meals at home and a loving home to call their own. Email me today to find out how you can make a student's American dream come true.  You might recognize a few of these familiar faces who have graced the halls of DCIS: MEET THE MIDDLE EAST DCIS students have a unique opportunity to learn more about one of the world's most important and intriguing regions. Meet the Middle East has extended a special invitation to all DCIS high school students — automatic acceptance to the Youth Ambassador Program, taking place June 10-19.   Application deadline: Monday, Feb. 25   Please see their website for more information, or contact DCIS Travel Coordinator Sally Bishop. ADOLESCO EXCHANGE Are you ready to spread your wings to France, Germany, Italy or Spain?  We offer a unique, two-way exchange program that gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself in a new language and new culture AND to host your carefully matched exchange partner in turn.   At ADOLESCO YOUTH EXCHANGE we will match you with a student about your own age in France, Germany, Italy or Spain (your choice); you will decide exactly WHEN (whatever's best for your schedule) and for HOW LONG (between 6 and 12 weeks) you want to go on exchange and host as part of our flexible and affordable nonprofit language immersion and cultural exchange program for qualifying students between the ages of 9 and 18. Please join us for an INFO MEETING on Saturday, March 2, 2–4 pm, at the Sam Gary Library in Stapleton. RSVP here, and see the website for more info.  The application deadline is March 15, and matches will be announced by late April.  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   CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT If your student is enrolled in a concurrent enrollment class, click to see the drop/withdrawal deadlines. Upcoming important dates to add to the calendar. Friday, March 22: 9th grade College Expo Tuesday, April 9: PSAT and SAT testing for grades 9-11 Friday, May 3: 12th grade college signing day during all-school meeting Wednesday, May 22: Graduation Senior Stuff Folder (scholarship newsletter and other information) FROM THE OFFICE OF WHOLE CHILD SUPPORTS ...  Marijuana Education Initiative has developed a complimentary tool for parents, Changing the Conversation about Marijuana. This parent guide provides information for parents about youth marijuana use as well as talking points for parents to help them begin discussing the effects of marijuana, both recreational and medicinal, with kids. The parent guide also has real-life scenarios that are easy to identify with and can provide insight on how other families are navigating this new territory. You can find the toolkit HERE. 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 © 2019 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