(Leer en Español usar el traductor de Google aquí.)
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 at the end. 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 10 am on the Tuesday preceding the issue date. Email submissions to dcis.connect@gmail.com.
HAPPENING THIS WEEK ...
DEBATE TOURNAMENT: Denver School of the Arts Invitational, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 3–4 (all day), 7111 Montview Blvd., Denver (map)
NO SCHOOL (non-student contact day), Friday, Feb. 3 (note that Monday, Feb. 6, will be a GREEN day)
NAEP TESTING: 8th graders, Monday, Feb. 6
MIDDLE SCHOOL BASKETBALL vs. Kepner, Monday, Feb. 6, 4 pm (girls), 5 pm (boys), at DCIS
PARENT-PRINCIPAL COFFEE: Tuesday, Feb. 7 (English), and Wednesday, Feb. 8 (Spanish), 8:15–9:15 a.m., DCIS Community Room (103)
DCIS TOWN HALL, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 6–7:30 pm, DCIS cafeteria
DRUG EDUCATION SEMINAR, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 7 pm, Denver School of the Arts, 7111 Montview Blvd., Denver (map). Free to all DPS parents and students. For more information, click here.
MUN FOSSIL RIDGE CRISIS COUNCILS CONFERENCE, Saturday, Feb. 25, 7:45 am, Fossil Ridge High School, 5400 Ziegler Rd., Fort Collins (map)
SPEECH AND DEBATE TOURNAMENT, Saturday, Feb. 25
ADOLESCO YOUTH EXCHANGE MEETING: Saturday, March 11, 2–4 pm, Sam Gary Library (Stapleton), 2961 Roslyn St., Denver. RSVP here. Click here for more info about these family-to-family immersive exchanges for students 9–18 in France, Germany and Spain.
LETTER FROM THE PRINCIPAL ...
Dear DCIS Parents,
Welcome to February! We have a mix of parent and community events going on this month as well as TWO three-day weekends for students.
The first three-day weekend for students starts tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 3, which is a student holiday, although a workday for staff. Then on Monday, Feb. 20, both students and staff get the day off in observance of Presidents' Day. Here's hoping everyone enjoys the little breaks coming our way.
In terms of events, we have TWO major events for parents this month. The first is our Town Hall Meeting (see details below) on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 6 pm in the DCIS Cafeteria. The second is our Spring Semester Parent Conferences, which will be held Thursday, Feb. 16, from 3:30 to 7 pm. Parents can contact any (or all!) of their child's content teachers and/or adviser to set up 20-minute conference times. It's totally up to you. The format is designed to give parents maximum flexibility to meet with the teachers they feel are the most important to touch base with. We ask that you email each teacher you would like to meet with (a list of all DCIS teachers and their emails is here) so you can guarantee a specific time that works. Meeting slots may fill up quickly, so the sooner you reach out to the teachers you want to see, the better. Teachers may also reach out to you if they feel the need to meet with you. All in all, we look forward to a successful, customized spring semester conference night.
As mentioned in previous newsletters, the goal of the Town Hall meeting is to address and discuss some of the changes to DCIS in recent years and to move forward together as a community to both strengthen and sustain our commitment to our mission as an international studies school. We are the Rising Phoenix! We'll begin by providing some background information about how we got to where we are today, and then split into discussion groups using an interactive protocol designed to gather suggestions and input from parents, teachers, staff and students. Here is an outline of our meeting agenda:
Frame the changes: What has changed in the last few years at DCIS and why.
Frame the protocol: We will explain the protocol and emphasize our solutions-oriented focus.
World Café Protocol
Groups of 6-8 participants will discuss each of four prompts.
One person at each table will be the table leader for each round and will record the group's input with respect to what's working, what's not working and solutions.
After discussion for the first topic ends, all participants will move to a different table (and your new table can't have anyone sitting at it who was sitting at your first table).
Round 2 will follow the same process as Round 1, but with a different topic and a new table leader. For each of the four rounds, all participants move to a new group, with a new table leader selected for each new topic/prompt.
Topics for each round are:
Consistent expectations around school culture, discipline, communications, etc.
How can parents, staff and students all support DCIS culture, including buy-in of the DCIS mission?
How do we maintain commitment and passion for our mission in a post-application process world?
Your ideas here! (We can add a topic/prompt if one arises from the group that is not already covered.)
Next steps
Share with the school community the main ideas that came up for each prompt/topic.
Collect input after the meeting from those who couldn't attend or from attendees who have additional thoughts after the Town Hall ends.
From the combined feedback, develop goals for our community to build an even stronger, more positive and more committed school culture — the Rising Phoenix.
I look forward to seeing you on Feb. 8 for our Town Hall meeting and again on Feb. 16 for spring conferences.
Theresa McCorquodale DCIS Principal
RAISE YOUR HAND ...
HELP TRANSFORM OUR SCHOOL!
The DCIS Beautification Committee is ready to begin implementing its plan to transform the school into a much more appealing and dynamic environment, and they would love your help! They need as many volunteers as possible to accomplish what they want to do by year's end. With enough resources who are willing to put in some time together going forward, DCIS will look like a very different and much improved school by this May!
First, here is link to a Google spreadsheet with specifics of the plan (click on the link in the green box once you open the Plan document to see the slideshow), a timeline, and a request for materials and labor: DCIS Beautification Plan A link has also been set up under the Parents/PTSA tab on the DCIS website. Please look over the spreadsheet and see what might be of interest to you in helping out. Any help is appreciated, whether it's a donation, a task you can do from home on your own time, or your presence at the school for much needed labor. There is a place to add your contact information for a specific task on the spreadsheet.
Second, an integral part of this beautification project is displaying photos throughout the school of DCIS and its students, DCIS student and staff travels (local and abroad), and general scenic photos of different regions of the world. If you have any photos you'd like to submit, please email them to BeautifyDCIS@gmail.com. Because most of these photos will need to be enlarged for hallway displays, please send photos with sufficient resolution, and please include a short description or label of the photo (for example, "Photo of DCIS Trip to Costa Rica" or "Great Wall, China" or the names and grade levels of the students in the pictures, where appropriate).
Your help is essential to making this project a success! If you have any questions or ideas, please feel free to contact either Laurie Harris at harrislaurel@yahoo.com or Karen Mortimer at gkmortimer@gmail.com. Thanks so much!
COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES
All the following opportunities are offered through Philanthropy Field Trips. You can learn more by visiting their website here.
Food Prep for People Who Are Homeless Help chop lots of fruits and vegetables for people who are hungry and homeless. Friday, Feb. 10, 9 am-noon, Denver Inner City Parish, 1212 Mariposa St. Sign up here.
Advocacy Days Spend the morning being educated on the legislative process and how to talk with legislators. Then go practice what you have learned during a fun afternoon at the Capitol.
Join LGBTQ Coloradans, their families and allies at the State Capitol for the annual LGBT Lobby Day on Monday, Feb. 27.
Speak up for kids! Colorado Children's Campaign Lobby Day is Wednesday, March 22. Must sign up by Wednesday, Feb. 1. Sign up here.
Letters of Love This is an activity you can do at home, and it's fun for all ages! Consider making Valentines for those who might be feeling alone. They can be delivered to senior centers, Meals on Wheels, hospitals or other locations near you. Email Michelle at Philanthropy Field Trips for a list of places near you.
On Saturday, the show will be followed by an awesome party and fundraiser at Gastronaut's at Gravity Brewing in Louisville, and 20% of sales will benefit Drama Club! Check out the club's web page for more.
COUNSELORS' CORNER ...
SEAL OF BILITERACY Seniors who signed up for the Seal of Biliteracy AAPPL exam will be taking the exam Tuesday, Feb. 7, starting at 8 am.
CHOICE OF STUDY FOR NEXT YEAR Registration for next year's courses will begin this month. Students in grades 9-11 will be bringing home a registration form with the available course offerings. Students are encouraged to speak to their parents about courses and choice of study. More information will be provided in the coming weeks.
COLLEGE WORD OF THE WEEK Certificate. A certificate is an award issued to a student upon completion of a prescribed series of courses. Some certificates, usually requiring 15-30 credit hours, are an alternative academic credential to the lengthier undergraduate or graduate degree programs, and others are awarded as a student progresses through a degree program.
DCIS HOSTS CHINESE STUDENTS ...
Last week, DCIS hosted twelve 10th grade students from China and their chaperone. The students, all from the province of Anhui, were at DCIS on a cultural exchange and to improve their English. The SAYA (Sino-American Youth Ambassadors) program prepares Chinese students to attend a U.S. college or university after graduation. While at DCIS, the visitors shared Chinese culture with the Chinese classes, participated in Ms. Rivera's Global Service Learning class and shadowed their host brothers and sisters throughout the week. They also helped ring in the Chinese New Year with the China Club on Friday. Some photos from the all-school meeting follow.
TRAVEL CENTER NEWS ...
A SPECIAL THANK-YOU ...
To the following DCIS families who hosted our guests from China last week: Glick/Bryson, Smit, Dill/Willits, Mendenhall/Hoyt, Masket, Parker, Hansen, Williams/Evans, Bopp/Bosworth, and Mortimer. Thank you all for welcoming our Sino-American Youth Ambassador students with open arms! You rock!!!
For up-to-date information on trips, scholarships and travel opportunities, be sure to check the Travel Center page on the DCIS website and the DCIS Travel Center Facebook page. Information is also posted on the Travel Center bulletin board in the hall near the main office (across from the old Travel Center) and outside the new Travel Center (room 204).
Geri Zabitz Badler Travel Center and Community Partnerships geri_badler@dpsk12.org Office Phone: 720-423-9043
Girls and boys youth rugby, ages 6-15. Season starts Tuesday, April 11. For more information, visit 303 Rugby's website. For questions, please email J.R.
PHOENIX FUN ...
AFRICA EDITION
Did you know...
Benin, a country in West Africa, has the developing world's highest rate of twinning with 27.9 twins per 1,000 births. The average among other developing countries is 13.6.
Timbuktu, Mali, is home to one of the oldest universities in the world, established in 982 CE.
Ethiopia is the only African country with its own alphabet. It's also the world's oldest living alphabet — Ethiopic — and probably one of the longest with its 345 letters.
The world's biggest frog is found in Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon. Named the Goliath frog, it can grow to be a foot long and weigh up to 8 lbs.
RAISE YOUR HAND ...
For up-to-date information on trips, scholarships and travel opportunities, be sure to check the Travel Center 
