FREE transportation options, after-school activities, parent socials, and more!
Weekly Newsletter for Parents, Staff and Students
August 24–30, 2017
WELCOME TO ALL!
(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 ...
School Beautification Tours: Friday, Aug. 25, 8 am, noon, 3 pm, 6 pm. See sign-up link below.
PTSA Back-to-School Taco Night/Social: Friday, Aug. 25, 3-5 pm, MOVIE for students in the auditorium; 5-7:30 pm, TACOS! (plus chili and dessert competitions)
PTSA Cultural Enrichment and Inclusion Team Meeting: Friday, Aug. 25, 7-7:30 pm, meet at benches by east entrance to DCIS
Summer 2018 New York City Trip Parent Meeting: Monday, Sept. 18, 5:30 pm, DCIS Auditorium
Collaborative School Committee (CSC) Meeting: Thursday, Sept. 21, 4:30–6:30 pm, DCIS Community Room (103)
DCIS Homecoming: Friday, Sept. 29, 7–10 pm. Details to come.
Parent Social — Santa Fe Art Walk: Friday, Oct. 6, 6-8 pm, meet at Alliance Française de Denver, 571 Galapago St., Denver
BACK-TO-SCHOOL TACO NIGHT
Friday, Aug. 25 3–5 pm Movie in the auditorium for students 5–7:30 pm Tacos for the whole family!
Enter the optional Homemade Chili and Dessert Competition. Bring a pot of your best chili and/or dessert by 5:45 pm to be judged by the DCIS community. Winners of the challenge will not only earn bragging rights, but will win a trophy to be displayed in the school trophy case!
Coming to Taco Night? If you haven't already, please take a minute right now to RSVPhere (or at dcis.dpsk12.org). We need to know how much food to prepare, and your RSVP will be a big help.
Financial donations at the event will be appreciated to help with the cost of food.
Hope to see you there!!
LETTER FROM THE PRINCIPAL ...
Dear DCIS Parents, Thanks for a successful first week of school! We are off to a great start. We began the week with an "Eclipse Event," with 750 students out on the field to witness the momentous occasion. Very exciting.
We now are getting into the groove of school routines and policies, and students have done an excellent job all week of following the rules. We are making an intentional effort this year to focus on clear systems, The DCIS Way, and it is working. Ask your child about The DCIS Way.
Looking ahead, we have Taco Night on Friday, Aug. 25, and Back to School Night on Thursday, Sept. 14, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Hope to see you at both of these events.
Theresa McCorquodale DCIS Principal
Congratulations to Alison Gaty and Sophia Tribelhorn for winning the Poetry To Go Competition through the Columbine Poets of Colorado. They were two of only eight students from around the state to win the contest. Their poems will appear on RTD buses for the rest of 2017, so keep an eye out for them when you're riding the bus!
RAISE YOUR HAND ...
SCHOOL BEAUTIFICATION TOURS If you would like to see what the school beautification team has been up to and what their vision is for the future, sign up for one of their tours this Friday, August 25.
ADULTING 101 Do you have a skill or trade? Are you great at budgeting or thrift shopping? Can you woodwork, cook or garden? Would you like to share your superpower with a wonderful group of young people? Ms. Iversen's advisement is looking for community members to teach us how to adult! We will choose topics such as budgeting, interviewing and bike maintenance (and more!) and try to learn these skills so we can be more self-sufficient adults. Contact Ms. Iversen if you or someone you know is interested in helping out!
TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS ...
If you're still trying to figure out whether your child can ride the school bus, check out the guidelines from the DPS Department of Transportation here. For bus routes and schedules, click here.
CARPOOL CONNECTION
Eight parents responded to last week's questionnaire about carpooling. If you didn't answer the questionnaire but are interested in carpooling, first check the map here to see whether you're near any of those who have already signed up. If you are and would like the contact info for any of these parents, email us. If you'd like to carpool and none of the mapped locations is near you, please complete the questionnaire found here, and we'll add your location to the map and your contact info to our list.
Also be sure to check out the Youth Transit Pilot Project ad below, a new initiative that allows students ages 14–18 to ride RTD buses and the light rail for FREE. HURRY ... only 1,500 preloaded bus/rail fare cards are available. Click here to find out where to pick up a card today.
PARENT SOCIALS ...
The PTSA is trying something new this year! Since DCIS families are spread all over the Denver metro region, we thought it would be nice to give DCIS parents a chance to get to know their neighbors at regional small-group socials at various parents' houses. Please join us on one of the following evenings:
Northwest:Sunday, Sept. 10, 6–8 pm, Edmond Horsey's home, 4540 Raleigh St., Denver. Please call/text 303-641-4146 or email edmond.horsey@gmail.com to RSVP.
NYC THEATER TRIP All theater fans! Caroline Kerswill is organizing a trip to New York City for summer 2018. There will be a preliminary informational meeting, Monday, Sept. 18, at 5:30 pm in the auditorium.
ADOLESCO YOUTH EXCHANGE Adolesco Youth Exchange is a flexible and affordable nonprofit program that facilitates short-term family-to-family exchanges to France, Germany and Spain for qualifying U.S. students ages 9–18. Applications are due by Tuesday, Oct. 31. Start by submitting the free pre-application (available here). Find upcoming informational events in your area here. Sign up for the Adolesco newsletter here. Contact Marie Meyer, Exchange Coordinator, at 303-913-4845 or marie@adolesco.org for more info.
BRAZILIAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT HOSTING Open your home to a Brazilian student this Thanksgiving! US-Brazil Connect is looking for 10-12 host families for a two-week exchange with exceptional Brazilian high school students. This life-changing opportunity enables these students to see snow for the first time and experience the uniquely American tradition of Thanksgiving, as well as any other family traditions or activities you'd like to share with them! In return, you'll learn about life in the recent Olympic host country, and build a relationship that will last a lifetime. The visit will be Nov. 18-Dec. 2. Check out this website or email for more information.
AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES ...
Know about other after-school or extracurricular opportunities for DCIS students? Email us and we'll include them in this section next week!
ART WORKSHOPS Check out this fantastic, FREE, after-school opportunity, right in our neighborhood! The MSU Denver Center for Visual Arts offers studio time and exhibitions:
Young Artists Studio: Free hands-on workshops for youth ages 11-21 Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:30–5:30 pm(new days and times) An inclusive and diverse community, we welcome youth from throughout the metro area who are interested in learning a variety of media and exploring contemporary themes through art. In the studio we practice the skills and self-efficacy of creative leaders and encourage each other to make great original work. Exhibitions at the CVA inspire the themes, media and cultures explored in the workshops. Participants may drop-in or register on-line. More information and session dates available here.
The studio is located at 965 Santa Fe Drive, about a 15-minute walk from the school. If you're interested in your student being part of a buddy system to walk over there after school, please email Mili Sandoval, DCIS parent of a 6th grader.
EXHIBITIONS, TOURS AND EVENTS Visit the CVA to see spectacular exhibitions during First and Third Friday art walks, public events and programs for youth and families. Immersive tours and hands-on workshops for students, educators, families and community groups encourage curiosity, playfulness and creativity. Please register to bring a community group or class to visit our gallery.
We begin this fall with Water Line, an exhibition focused on the loaded issues of water to promote stewardship, advocacy and activism. Artists address the Colorado River basin, the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, pollution in our oceans and rivers, rising sea levels, the Antarctic Ice Sheet, and more! (Aug. 4–Oct. 21)
In November and again in April we welcome MSU Denver's culminating BFA student exhibitions. The work is fresh and exciting and not to be missed!
In early 2018 we are proud to host an exhibition of the work of Carlos Fresquez, a celebrated Denver Chicano artist and professor at MSU Denver. CVA will be draped with murals as well as smaller pieces from throughout his career. (Jan. 12–March 24)
Congratulations to Alison Gaty and Sophia Tribelhorn for winning the Poetry To Go Competition through the Columbine Poets of Colorado. They were two of only eight students from around the state to win the contest. Their poems will appear on RTD buses for the rest of 2017, so keep an eye out for them when you're riding the bus!
RAISE YOUR HAND ...
ART WORKSHOPS
