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HAPPENING THIS WEEK ...
- One-Act Plays Callbacks: Thursday, Dec. 14, 3-5 pm, Auditorium
- Italy Bike Trip Info Meeting: Thursday, Dec. 14, 6-7 pm, Ms. Bishop's room (115)
- Middle School Boys Basketball: Friday, Dec. 15, 4-5 pm, at Grant Ranch
- Middle School Girls Basketball: Friday, Dec. 15, 5-6 pm, at Grant Ranch
- Middle School Boys Basketball: Monday, Dec. 18, 4-5 pm, at Henry
- Middle School Girls Basketball: Monday, Dec. 18, 5-6 pm, at Henry
- Final Exams: Monday-Tuesday, Dec. 18-19
- Student Alliances Potluck: Tuesday, Dec. 19
- Makeup Day: Wednesday, Dec. 20 (ONLY STUDENTS WHO HAVE WORK OR AN EXAM TO MAKE UP WILL COME TO SCHOOL THIS DAY)
- Staff Appreciation Lunch: Wednesday, Dec. 20, 11:30 am–1 pm, Cafeteria (sign up here to bring food or beverage)
MARK YOUR CALENDARS ...
- NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS: Thursday, Dec. 21 (staff professional development)
- WINTER BREAK: Friday, Dec. 22-Thursday, Jan. 4
- NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS: Friday, Jan. 5 (staff professional development)
- SCHOOL RESUMES: Monday, Jan. 8
- Fundraising & Events Team Planning Session: Tuesday, Jan. 9, 6-7:30 pm, DCIS Community Room 103, RSVP
- Coffee with the Principal (English): Wednesday, Jan. 10, 8:15–9:15 am, DCIS Community Room 103
- Middle School Boys Basketball: Wednesday, Jan. 10, 4-5 pm, at DCIS vs. Kepner
- Middle School Girls Basketball: Wednesday, Jan. 10, 5-6 pm, at DCIS vs. Kepner
- Open House for Prospective Students: Thursday, Jan. 11, 6–7:30 pm
- DCIS Foundation Mandatory Scholarship Orientation: Jan. 15, 16 or 18
LETTER FROM THE PRINCIPAL ...
This is a very busy week at DCIS. Students are completing end of semester projects, studying for finals, making up missed work, giving presentations and more! During this hectic time, we appreciate even more the support you give your students at home. Here are a few quick tips for how you can help your child finish the semester smoothly.As a reminder, Monday and Tuesday of next week are final exam days and there is no school on Wednesday for students, unless they need to make up a final, or have made arrangements with a teacher to complete missing work. There will be no buses to or from school on Wednesday, December 20, so if your child does need to make up a final or complete missing work, please make sure you have arranged for transportation.
- Have them make a "To Do" list so there is one place that lists everything they need to get done, which goes a long way to eliminating the issue of students forgetting to complete or turn in an assignment.
- Have them assign time for all of the things they need to complete and still leave enough time for sleep. Often, students will spend a lot of time on phones/social media, and then have to stay up really late to finish their work. I recommend having students put their phone in a safe place of their choice in another room of the house than where they are doing their work, and then when they finish their work, they can go and get their phone. Parents have told me that somehow this makes their kids work much more efficiently! Worth a try.
- Make sure students are getting enough sleep.
- Encourage students to eat a healthy breakfast. Breakfast is free for all students every day at DCIS, so if you or students are running late in the morning, please encourage them to have breakfast at school.
Thank you for supporting your children at home so that we can do a better job of supporting them here at school. Best of luck for a healthy and stress-free last week of the semester.
Sincerely,
Theresa McCorquodale
PTSA SHOUT OUTSAs President of the PTSA, it is a distinct honor and privilege to work with the amazing volunteers who have heeded the call to serve our DCIS community. So, a full-throated, hearty THANK YOU (a preemptive apology if I inadvertently overlooked anyone!) goes out to:
Edmond Horsey, for being an ace Treasurer, a champion of the coffee fundraiser, a master flag hanger, the list goes on and on...
Terri Porter & Tanya Tribelhorn, for managing the school newsletter
Marie Meyer, for leading the Cultural Enrichment grants effort and organizing last week's incredible Travel Fair
Kate Douglas Kestyn, for taking on the Fundraising helm.
Maria Carmen Pizano, Cinthia Camacho, Melissa Valle, John Ramirez, Greg Mortimer, Maria Culligan, Monse Loya, Brenda Gonzalez and Lucy Rosas for serving as amazing liaisons with our Spanish speaking families and assisting with Spanish translation & interpretation needs.
Tanya Tribelhorn, Vivian Masket & Terri Porter for working diligently on the school communications team.
Laurie Harris, Sonia Castro, Cheryl & Scott Burger, Lynn Miller, Fred Glick, Maria Culligan, Adam Gordon, Mary Fitzpatrick, Edmond Horsey, Kit Hinders, Marie Meyer, Beverly Longe and Lisa Conner for helping with school beautification.
Tarl Ford and Armando Aguilar, for making our display boards possible.
Cheryl Burger, for organizing the PTSA closet and ironing countless flags.
Aimee VanAusdale, Matt Autdemberge, Cheryl Burger, Mary Fitzpatrick, Rivka Gross, Karen Herbert, Edmond Horsey, Allyson Mendenhall, Jody Mier, Christina Montez da Silva, Terri Porter, Michelle Price Hirsh, John Ramirez, Lucy Rosas, Amber Shearer, Tanya Tribelhorn, Kate Douglas Kestyn, Melissa Valle, Vivian Masket, and Ernest & Jozette Vigil for being a part of the Fundraising & Events team.
DawnMarie Gallardo, for stepping in as Secretary.
The many DCIS Spanish-speaking families who made the first DCIS Taco Night possible.
Allyson Mendenhall, Karen Herbert, Terri Porter, Vivian Masket, Tanya Tribelhorn, and Marie Meyer for serving as Parent Ambassadors at open houses and shadowing days.
Edmond Horsey, Vivian Masket, Allyson Mendenhall & Eliot Hoyt, Karen Herbert, Tracy McMahon and Steven Weigler for being faithful Phoenix Fund monthly donors.
Kathryn White, Udine Laine and Michelle Price Hirsh for volunteering in the front office.
Orah Fireman, Amber Shearer, Jennifer Gentry and Mateo Pardo for serving as the parent representatives on the DCIS CSC.
Craig & Lisa Conner for making the coffee fundraiser possible.
And, finally, to the countless parents who have donated snacks for dances, chaperoned, made food for staff appreciation events, volunteered at registration and helped in so many ways.
Thank you, DCIS parents & friends. You are deeply appreciated!
Sincerely,
Karen Mortimer
DCIS PTSA President
DCIS would like to congratulate the middleschool students who were honored at a ceremony where they were presented certificates for honor roll. These students exemplified leadership and academic excellence by having a GPA this semester of 3.5 or higher. To see the names students who received this honor, please click here. For pictures: 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade. Congratulations, students!
When: December 19 at 12:30 PM
Where: Mr. Munoz's classroom
All students and staff are welcome- just bring some food to share!
Hope to see you there!
RAISE YOUR HAND ...
ART ROOM WELCOMES DONATIONS
Have extra "stuff" cluttering up your home? Chances are, the DCIS Art Room can use it! See our wish list here.
Thank you to those who donated their extra "clutter" when school began! If you have donations for the new semester, they can be dropped off in the art room (117) at your convenience.
Thanks for your support of the DCIS art program!
Questions? Comments?
CONTACT:
Susan Marion, Ed.D., NBCT
Visual Arts
Denver Center for International Studies
Susan_Marion@dpsk12.org
HOLIDAY RESOURCES FOR FAMILIES IN NEED
This holiday season, Denver Public Schools is compiling a list of free holiday meals, gift giveaways, food assistance organizations and child care resources for our families and kids. Need assistance this holiday season? Click here for a list of resources. Do you know an organization that provides one or more of these services, and isn't on the list? If so, email us at office_communications@dpsk12.org and provide us with an attachment or a link to more information, so we can add it to the list. Happy holidays!
STAFF APPRECIATION LUNCH
Help us show our fantastic DCIS staff how much we appreciate them by donating food or beverage to our staff appreciation lunch on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 11:30 am–1 pm. Sign up here.
HAVE FUN AND EARN MONEY FOR DCIS
Mom UP! Project @ Stanley Marketplace
Save the date for Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018 (4–9:30 pm) and purchase your tickets for the Mom UP! Project. This first-of-its-kind event will have something for everybody: pop-up shops, prolific guest speakers and demos, pop-up restaurants and swag bags loaded with offers/samples for every attendee. It gets better! $8 from every ticket will be donated back to the school of each attendee's choice. Tickets are limited. Buy your tickets here and type in "DCIS" as your school.
Holocaust and Human Behavior Class Speaker Rudi Florian Visits Class – November 14, 2017
Thanks to the PTSA Cultural Enrichment and Inclusion Grant, high school students were able to bring an eyewitness to history speaker into their classroom. Rudi Florian, a German born person, spoke to the class about his experiences in Germany and Europe from the period of 1934 through to the end of the war. Here are some excerpts from the students' reflections of the listening to the speaker:
- Having the speaker come to our class allowed us to better recognize the perspective of someone that experienced life under Hitler's Third Reich. I was able to hear from this person that not everyone supported what was being done, and to better understand how that could be.
- Mr. Florian helped me see how what he was learning in school influenced young people in their treatment of Jews in their communities. Some people resisted, but many people acted upon the misinformation.
- Mr. Florian was an amazing speaker and helped me see that not all Germans of the time hated the Jews.
- Education in Germany at the time of Mr. Florian followed a program of hate towards Jews and this led many youth to support Hitler's policies.
- As a society, we need to feel empowered to speak up against hate so that the Holocaust can not happen again.
- Mr. Florian helped me understand that history can become a part of culture.
- We need to learn about the Holocaust so that we do not repeat other people's mistakes. Social media today can trick us into believing things that are not true, and we must be aware of propaganda that may be circulating and recognize it as such. Students benefit from hearing an eyewitness to history because it is more engaging than a textbook, it allows us to understand the human perspective and we can ask questions and overall gain a better understanding.
- You can not change the past, but you can shape the future. It is important to build bridges with all types of people, and not build walls based on differences. The Holocaust helps us see this.
- The Holocaust could happen again anywhere. I see people being scapegoated, as was the case in Germany. People today are targeted for their race, religion, and gender creating fear and hatred. This fear and hatred leads the way to the possibility of a second Holocaust.
- We need to learn about our history and own our history so that something like the Holocaust does not happen again.
Support your teachers...and get a great tutor!Ivy is a new tutoring startup founded by one of our parents. Ivy connects K-12 Denver-area teachers with parents who are seeking to hire tutors for their children. The Ivy app is exclusively for teachers, giving parents a safe and verified source for tutors. All Ivy teachers are qualified in our school curriculum so they know how best to help your child excel academically. Use the Ivy app to book a session at a teachers location or have them come to your home. Teachers are available to tutor middle school Algebra all the way up to AP chemistry and physics in high school…or even get a great piano teacher.
You can download Ivy for Parents:
iPhone iOS
http://bit.ly/Ivy4ParentsiOS
Android
http://bit.ly/Ivy4ParentsAndroid
COUNSELORS' CORNER ...
COUNSELOR ASSIGNMENTS
Tami Schmidt: Middle School
Ted Brugman: 9th and 10th Grades
Melisa Springsteen: 11th and 12th Grades
Aly Bortle: 12th Grade Post-Secondary Coach, Wednesdays and Fridays in room 1010
12TH GRADE POSTSECONDARY COACH
Aly Bortle, the DCIS Post-secondary Coach, is available to help seniors accomplish anything and everything they want for themselves after high school. If they want to go to college, she'll help them find the best school and scholarships for them. If they want to start a career, she'll help them find a way to do something they love. She can help students complete applications, write college essays, research interests, and much more! Email ALYSSA_BORTLE@dpsk12.org or stop by Room 101B in the main office on Wednesdays and Fridays.
SENIORS COLLEGE APPLICATION UPDATEREMINDER APP FOR FAMILIES WITH JUNIORS AND SENIORS
- 69% of our senior class has applied to a university, community college and/or technical school
- 8% of students who have applied have been admitted, thus far
- 47%% of the senior class has completed their FAFSA
- 87% of the senior class is remediation free in Math & English
- 2 Coca Cola Semi-finalist
- 1 Boettcher Semi-finalist
The Counseling Office is using the Remind app to notify the parents of juniors and seniors about important dates and deadlines. To sign up for reminders:
Parents of juniors: text @co19pg to the number 81010
Parents of seniors: text @co18pg to the number 81010
COLLEGE WORD OF THE WEEK
Financial Aid: Money you receive for you college tuition or expenses that you may or may not have to pay back. (See: "Grant," "Loan," and "Scholarship")
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
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Friday, December 15, 2017
Fwd: DCIS Connect Newsletter Dec 14-20
Thursday, December 14, 2017
DCIS Connect Newsletter Dec 14-20
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