DCIS Connect Newsletter (April 19-25, 2018)

Weekly Newsletter for Parents, Staff and Students April 19-25, 2018 (Leer en Español usar el traductor de Google aquí.) IMPORTANT NOTICE!! With apologies for the inconvenience, in light of DPS scheduling an early release on April 27, we will be postponing the Celebration to a date in May. We will get word out about the new date very soon! The Reunion/Auditorium Dedication will still take place on Saturday, April 28, 5:30–8 pm. MARK YOUR CALENDAR ... DCIS Foundation Passport Dinner: Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 6–8 pm, Museum of Nature & Science DCIS Reunion/Auditorium Dedication: Saturday, April 28, 5:30–8 pm, DCIS Coffee with the Principal (in English): Wednesday, May 2, 8:15–9:15 am, DCIS Community Room (103) DPS Superintendent-Parent Forum: Family Leadership Awards and Conversation with Board of Education Members, Thursday, May 3, 9:30–11:30 am, PPA Event Center, 2105 Decatur St., Denver; register here DCIS Musical: Beauty and the Beast: Thursday–Saturday, May 3–5, 6 pm, DCIS auditorium Dine Out for DCIS PTSA: Thursday, May 10, 4–8 pm, Chipotle, 550 Broadway, Denver (50% of proceeds benefit the PTSA!) "Navigating Adolescence" Parent Presentation/PTSA Meeting: Thursday, May 10, 6–7:30 pm, featuring Larry Botnick, MSW, LCSW, a DPS social worker DCIS Powwow: Friday, May 11 Drama Club Banquet: Friday, May 11 Prom: Saturday, May 12, 8 pm–midnight CSC Meeting: Tuesday, May 15, 4–6 pm, DCIS Community Room (103) Café con la directora (en español): Wednesday, May 16, 8:45–9:45 am, DCIS Community Room (103) Senior Awards Night & Dinner Reception: Thursday, May 17, 6–8 pm  Senior Checkout Days (last day for seniors): Friday, May 18 Graduation: Thursday, May 24, 6–8 pm, Newman Center for the Performing Arts at University of Denver, 2344 E. Iliff Ave., Denver Final Exams (Green Day): Friday, May 25 NO SCHOOL: Monday, May 28, Memorial Day Final Exams (Blue Day): Tuesday, May 29 LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR GRADES 8–11: Tuesday, May 29 8th Grade Continuation: Tuesday, May 29, 6–8 pm, DCIS Auditorium LAST DAY OF SCHOOL for GRADES 6–7, Field Day, Final Exams Makeup Day: Wednesday, May 30 LETTER FROM THE PRINCIPAL ... Dear DCIS Parents, Student attendance incentives are here! We have been encouraging improved student attendance all year, and now we are instituting an incentive program. There are different incentives for different grades, but all are aimed at the same goal: 100% attendance from now until the end of the school year. Here's the breakdown: Grades 6-8: Any middle school student with perfect attendance April 9–May 25 will have their name entered into a drawing for a $25 gift card. There will be 10 winners! Grades 9-12: Any high school student with perfect attendance April 9-May 25 will have their name entered into a drawing for a $100 gift card. There will be 5 winners! Grades 9-12: Any high school student with 99%-96% attendance April 9-May 25 will have their name entered into a drawing for a $25 gift card. There will be 10 winners! (For seniors, the window for this promotion ends on Senior Checkout Day, May 18). Seniors only: Any senior with four class period absences or fewer from April 9 until prom on May 12 will receive a FREE PROM TICKET! Given the frowned-upon but very real "senior skip day," we decided to allow four class period absences (the equivalent of the skip day), but perfect attendance other than that one day is required to earn the free prom ticket. Seniors who have 5-6 class period absences between April 9 and prom will receive a prom ticket at half price. Already our attendance is improving! In the past week our middle school attendance rate was 95%, up from 93.4% prior to the incentive, and our high school attendance rate was 93.6%, up from 92.3% prior to the incentive! Please encourage your students to attend every class every day and to be on time. Meanwhile, we have been in testing mode. Last week all our 6th and 7th graders took their CMAS tests, and our 9th and 11th graders took the PSAT/SAT. This week our 10th graders took their PSAT, and our 8th graders are taking CMAS. In every grade, students have been doing a great job taking the test seriously, using their time well, and showing so much respect for each other by remaining silent in the testing rooms until the last student finishes. I am so proud of our students! Even students who were not testing on any particular day helped the school by remaining quiet in the hallways during passing period. We asked our whole school community to honor the testing environment, out of respect to each other, and they did! Wow. Yet another proud moment for me as DCIS principal.  Looking ahead, DPS has announced a half day of school on Friday, April 27, in order to support the rally for increased state funding for education. Students will not be allowed to remain on campus after the half-day ends around 11:30 a.m., as there will be no classes, no teachers on campus and no supervision of students. Details on the exact release time, buses, etc. will be coming soon.   Theresa McCorquodale 2017-18 YEARBOOKS Yearbooks will be here soon! Have you ordered yours? Yearbooks are arriving in a matter of weeks, and they're selling fast! Order yours now, because once they're gone, they're gone. Yearbooks are available for $50 in room 216A, payment by cash or check. PROM DONATIONS NEEDED This year the Student Council is working to create a more affordable prom so that every student can attend. To this end, it is holding several fundraisers as well as reaching out to parents for help. Here is an Amazon wish list of the decorations they are hoping to get for the "Golden Gala" themed prom on Saturday, May 12. Please consider purchasing one or more items on the wish list (please donate high-priority items first). If you already have something on the list you would like to lend or donate, please let them know so they can remove it from the list. Also, they can always use extra hands to help set up on prom day. If you'd like to donate an item you already have or would like to help with setup, please email Student Council at dcisprom@gmail.com. Thank you! DCIS FOUNDATION PASSPORT DINNER   This year the DCIS Foundation's annual fundraising event will take place at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science! Please join us for "DCIS Foundation Passport Dinner: Igniting Global Understanding, Shaping Tomorrow's Leaders," Thursday, April 26, 6 pm. Order tickets here. **Own a business or have connections with one?** We are seeking sponsorships! Please view our sponsorship packet for our Globetrotter, World Traveler, Domestic Destination Explorer and Travel Bug sponsorship levels. Thank you for helping us get more kids out of the classroom and into the world! SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES ... BAKERY INTERNSHIP  Have nothing to do over the summer? Want to learn the ins and outs of a business? Intern at Azucar Bakery! Email sabinefjhoff@gmail.com for an application or inquiries. Or find Sabine Hoff (11th grade) in Mr. Rounds' room (120) during advisement. STEM ACADEMY DCIS FUNDRAISER AND FAMILY DISCOUNT Silicon STEM Academy is offering DCIS families a 5% discount when registering for its award-winning Summer STEM Camps (ages 8-18). As a bonus, for every camp registration, DCIS will receive $25! This is an easy way to raise money for our school while getting a great deal on STEM camps for your kids! To register, use coupon code DCISBAKER at checkout.To learn more, visit the website here, view the flyer here or call 303-800-0011 for more information. A big THANK-YOU to Silicon STEM Academy for donating a half-day summer camp to our upcoming Silent Auction! LOW-COST AND FREE CAMPS/ACTIVITIES With summer vacation quickly approaching, many parents are tasked with the overwhelming responsibility of making sure their children are safe, fed and well cared for. In addition, you want to find something for your child to do that is low cost (or better yet, free!), and will match their hobbies and interests. This may seem like an impossible task, but DenverRAP has made life a little easier for you with a list of low-cost and free summer camps and activities for Denver youth. For the full list, visit this site.   STEAM! CHILDREN'S THEATRE PROJECT Join DCIS's own Caroline Kerswill and several other great educators at Sky Vista Middle School for a summer program that focuses on proving the relevance of theatre arts in a STEM-focused world. At this science center with an arts education emphasis, students will create original theatre productions based on stories that need to be told in our community. Our mission is to provide young adults with the opportunity to make genuine connections with valuable content to help them grow in self-discovery, confidence and citizenship. Click here for more information and to register. STUDENTS SEEKING HELP WITH POWWOW   The Native American Student Alliance Club at Denver Center for International Studies will be hosting a powwow (a social gathering for sharing culture and dance) on May 11, 2–6 pm, in the courtyard on the DCIS campus. This powwow will allow Native American students to share their culture and dance with staff, students and their families as well as the community. If you'd like to help out in raising funds to support this effort, check out the club's gofundme page here.  GT APRIL NEWSLETTER... Check out this month's GT newsletter, which includes summer opportunities, information about the upcoming GESTEM field trip and a link to the new DPS Gifted and Talented Department's Facebook page. Denver Center for International Studies Drama Club presents   DCIS Auditorium 574 W. 6th Ave Denver, CO 80203   May 3, 4  |   6 pm May 5  |   2 pm, 6 pm $5 students, $8 adults, $10 first three rows Click here to purchase advance tickets COUNSELORS' CORNER ... COUNSELOR ASSIGNMENTS Tami Schmidt: Middle School Ted Brugman: 9th and 10th Grades Melisa Springsteen: 11th and 12th Grades FRESHMEN If you were unable to make the March 1 presentation for 9th graders and their parents, the PowerPoint presentation regarding graduation requirements is available here, and information regarding the Spring 2019 10th grade Canyonlands trip is available here. SOPHOMORES AND JUNIORS If you were unable to make the March 1 meeting, "Graduation and Beyond," the PowerPoint slides are available here. SENIORS  89% of our senior class has applied to a university, community college and/or technical school 30% of students who have applied have been admitted thus far 84% of the senior class has completed their FAFSA 94% of the senior class is remediation-free in Math 91% of the senior class is remediation-free in English Congrats to Evan Tribelhorn on receiving a full ride to Seattle University!  Congrats to our DPS Retired Teachers' Scholarship winner… $40,000! Congrats to our four Daniel's Fund Scholarship recipients, who'll be getting a full ride to college: Sierra Romero, Imad Rashed, Mohammed Rashed and Yaseen Rashed. Check out the piece that 9News did on the Rashed siblings. Senior Parent Night — View the presentation from the Feb. 15 meeting here.          Check out the latest scholarship opportunities 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 10 am on the Tuesday preceding the issue date. Email submissions to dcis.connect@gmail.com.  Copyright © 2018 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