DCIS Connect Newsletter (May 2-8, 2019)

Weekly Newsletter for Parents, Staff and Students May 2-8, 2019 (Leer en Español usar el traductor de Google aquí.) MAY 9 STAFF APPRECIATION Coming up next week! Let's show all the hardworking folks at DCIS how much we appreciate them. The PTSA is putting together a lunch and collecting gift cards for the faculty and staff on May 9 and is need of donations of food, gift cards and, very important, your words of gratitude. Sign up to bring food and/or drinks to the appreciation lunch for teachers and staff on Thursday, May 9! We will gratefully accept your donated items until the lunch starts at 12:30 pm. Share kind words, impact statements and more with DCIS staff — let them know how they have made a difference in your lives. Donate money so the PTSA can buy $5 gift cards to distribute to teachers/staff. Donate one or more $5 gift cards to be distributed to teachers/staff at the lunch on May 9. Drop-off for gift cards is in the main office with Ms. Abi Rodriguez. HAPPENING THIS WEEK ... College Signing Day: Friday, May 3, 8:30 am, DCIS Auditorium (parents welcome) DCIS Student Art Exhibit Passage: Friday, May 3, 6:30 pm, at The Temple Prom: Saturday, May 4, 7–11 pm, Larimer Social, Denver MARK YOUR CALENDAR ... Teacher/Staff Appreciation Luncheon: Thursday, May 9, 12:30 pm (see above to sign up) DCIS Drama Spring Musical: The Drowsy Chaperone, Thursday-Saturday, May 9-11, 6 pm (+ 2 pm matinee on Saturday) Community Powwow: Friday, May 10, 2-6 pm, south side of school General PTSA Meeting and Parent Volunteer Appreciation: Friday, May 10, 3:30-4:30 pm DCIS Art Department Art Show and Reception: Thursday, May 16, 5-7 pm, DCIS Art Room (117) and surrounding hall   Drama Club Banquet: Friday, May 17, 5 pm, Congress Park Graduation: Wednesday, May 22, 6 pm, University of Denver 8th Grade Continuation: Wednesday, May 29, 6 pm, DCIS Auditorium Day of Service/Students' Last Day: Thursday, May 30 Taco Night and Chili Cook-off: Friday, Aug. 23, 5-9 pm (sign up for the Chili Cook-off here) FROM THE ACTING PRINCIPAL ... Dear DCIS Families, The team worked on Monday to make the best-possible plans for all classes through the end of the year. We know there are a limited number of class periods left, and we are going to make the most of every chance we have to engage everyone's brains in interesting and important work. Tests and projects will also be part of the final weeks of school, and we are excited to end the year with strength and focus. The calendar is full too. Prom is this weekend (May 4), then AP exams start for our high schoolers on the 6th. Our seniors will start check-out on May 16 and will rehearse and then graduate on May 22. Eighth graders will have a Continuation ceremony on May 29 as a final middle school celebration. We have a few field trips scheduled for May and some special events (Drama Club musical May 9–11!). All students will have finals on May 28 and 29 (Blue Day and Green Day schedules), and we will have a schoolwide day of service and picnic celebration on May 30 (the last day for all students). We continue to look toward next year too. On May 1 we met some new DCIS families at a Welcome Night where they saw our Drama Club perform, met Student Ambassadors and selected courses for next year while making connections with each other and our school community. We shared the following Important Dates for 2019-20 and want you to have them as well. Thank you for your ongoing collaboration and support, Jenn Zinn DCIS PASSAGES ART SHOW YOU ARE INVITED to join two budding DCIS student artists on the opening night of their art exhibit on Friday, May 3, 6:30 pm, at The Temple (2400 Curtis St., Denver). DCIS Juniors Reyna and Brittany have commissioned artwork to tell the stories of immigrants in our community. They will talk about immigration leading into the art show.  Please sign up here if you can donate food (to be delivered by 6 pm please). DCIS DRAMA PRESENTS THE DROWSY CHAPERONE MAY 9, 10 and 11   With the houselights down, a man in a chair appears on stage and puts on his favorite record: the cast recording of a fictitious 1928 musical. The recording comes to life and "The Drowsy Chaperone" begins as the man in the chair looks on. Mix in two lovers on the eve of their wedding, a bumbling best man, a desperate theatre producer, a not-so-bright hostess, two gangsters posing as pastry chefs, a misguided Don Juan and an intoxicated chaperone, and you have the ingredients for an evening of madcap delight. Purchase advance tickets YEARBOOKS ARE IN! If you ordered a yearbook, it is available for pickup in room 216A during lunch! Students must sign for yearbooks in person.   Didn't buy a yearbook? It's not too late! Order your very own here.   DCIS HOSTING OPPORTUNITIES...  SEPTEMBER 3-14, 2019 ITALIAN EXCHANGE STUDENTS DCIS families! Would you like to host an Italian student for 10 days at the end of September? Italian high school students from the Istituto Balbo in Casale-Monferato in the northern Italian region of Piemonte will be spending the week with DCIS, and we're looking for host families. They will have different levels of English-speaking abilities, but one of the primary goals of the Italians will be to practice their English. Please see the flyer for more information, or contact Sally Bishop if you are interested. 2019-20 NORWEGIAN EXCHANGE STUDENT We are still in need of a host family for a 17-year-old Norwegian boy who will be joining us in the fall for the 2019-20 school year. André is the perfect exchange student! He is really excited and has the right expectations for a year abroad in the U.S. He is very family-oriented and friendly. André has a lot of energy and does a lot of activities in his spare time, including soccer, skiing and dancing hip hop. He is very open-minded and the type of person who will try not to judge and to always be positive. André is a student with EF High School Exchange Year and comes fully insured with health insurance and his own spending money. His American family would provide a bedroom to sleep in, meals at home and a loving home to call his own. Email Derek today to find out how you can make André's American dream come true!  TEAM DCIS COMPETES IN THE JAPAN CUP On Saturday, April 20, DCIS sent a team to the JASC Japan Cup competition. Schools from all across Colorado send students, and this was the first time in many years that DCIS was able to send a team. The team of Alex Pappas Grundy (10th grade) and Eli Grundy (8th grade) studied hard to prepare. The competition consisted of questions about Japanese language and culture. They were able to answer some questions easily, and others were difficult, but they learned a lot from being able to compete. There were also Japanese-themed activities and Japanese lunch. This was a good opportunity to start getting DCIS more involved in the Japanese learning community, and we hope to send more teams next year. RAISE YOUR HAND ...  PTSA You are invited! Please join us on Friday, May 10, at 3:30 pm in the Community Room for a quick general PTSA meeting, followed by a Parent Volunteer Appreciation ceremony led by Mr. Linwood Washington, where we'll celebrate the many parents who have made a difference in our community this past year. Very important: This is the one PTSA meeting for which we ask that you please RSVP so we know to expect you. Are you looking for more opportunities to be a sponsor or donor? Please see our Google Form for opportunities to give to our students.  Please email Marie Meyer or call her at 303-913-4845 if you have any questions or there is something else you can offer. Your help will be much appreciated! DCIS ART DEPARTMENT SHOW AND RECEPTION On Thursday, May 16, 5-7 pm, the DCIS Art Department will have an art show and reception in and around the Art Room (117) at the south end of the hall. This will feature our iconic art furniture and objects (by MS artists), a slideshow of commissioned art around the school and community in room 118, and our ceiling gallery in 117. Punch and cookies provided for guests of the artists who sign our visitors' book! 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 SENIOR ANNOUNCEMENTS Scholarship Newsletter and Other Documents Senior Calendar-Class of 2019 IMPORTANT DATES Friday, May 3 (TOMORROW!) — All High School: Summer School Registration Deadline. The Summer School Program will run June 18-July 19. Classes will be in session Monday-Friday 8 a.m.–noon; breakfast and lunch will be served. Our sites this year are: North High School: 2960 Speer Blvd., Denver, CO 80211 Thomas Jefferson High School: 3950 Holly St., Denver, CO 80237 Florida Pitt Waller: 21601 E. 51st Place, Denver, CO 80249 Abraham Lincoln High: 2285 S. Federal Blvd., Denver, CO 80219 Collegiate Prep Academy: 5290 Kittredge St., Denver, CO 80239 Please contact your student's school counselor (listed above) to coordinate registration. Friday, May 3 (TOMORROW!) — 12th grade college signing day during all-school meeting and districtwide at University of Denver Parents and families are invited to our college signing day during our all-school meeting (starts at 8:30 am). Monday, May 6th — All High School: College Trip to University of Denver (DU) and University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (UCCS) All high school students are invited to join us for a college trip to DU and UCCS. Bus leaves DCIS at 7:15 am and returns at 3:30 pm. Lunch is provided. Permission slips are due TODAY, Thursday, May 2. Friday, May 10 — 10th & 11th Grade: Deadline for Off-Campus Concurrent Enrollment for Fall 2019 All paperwork and registration must be completed and turned in by this date. This is for sophomores and juniors who have taken the ACCUPLACER already and are college-ready. Students who did not have the chance to ACCUPLACE and/or register this spring must wait until fall 2019. Wednesday, May 22 — Graduation, 6 pm, at the University of Denver Students must arrive by 5 pm. Doors open for families at 5:30 pm; ceremony starts at 6 pm. Families will receive 10 tickets each (more available first-come, first-served basis). Students get tickets on May 17 (once they check out). REMIND SIGN-UP FOR JUNIOR/SENIOR FAMILIES Parents and guardians: please sign up! Get text and/or email reminders about what is going on with the DCIS Counseling Department. Seniors  Juniors Sophomores Freshman FROM THE OFFICE OF WHOLE CHILD SUPPORTS The May DenverRAP Activity Calendar is here! This calendar provides information about free activities happening in the Denver area. You can find the calendar (as well as a printer-friendly version) online. 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