DCIS Connect (November 1-7, 2018)

Weekly Newsletter for Parents, Staff and Students November 1-7, 2018 (Leer en Español usar el traductor de Google aquí.) HAPPENING THIS WEEK ... Open House for Prospective Students: Thursday, Nov. 1, 8–9:15 am Japanese Culture Day: Saturday, November 3, 1-5 pm, University of Denver Sturm Hall School Picture Retakes: Monday, Nov. 5, 8 am–3 pm 8th Grade Career Fair: Tuesday, Nov. 6, 7 am–3 pm, National Western Complex SPF Forum with Principal McCorquodale: Learn about our most recent School Performance Framework results and related plans, ask questions and hear what other parents have to say. Wednesday, Nov. 7, 6–7 pm, DCIS Auditorium. Spanish interpretation provided.  MARK YOUR CALENDAR ... PTSA Board Meeting:  Sunday, Nov. 11, 2-4 pm, Pizzeria Locale, everyone welcome SOS: 9th Grade, Monday, Nov. 12, 2 pm, DCIS Community Room Drama Club Fundraiser: Monday, Nov. 12, 4-8 pm, Pizzeria Locale, 550 Broadway, Denver (mention the DCIS Drama Club when ordering and the club will get 33% of the proceeds) Open House for Prospective Students: Wednesday, Nov. 14, 8–9:15 am Collaborative School Committee: Thursday, Nov. 15, 4:30-6:30 pm, DCIS Community Room DCIS Drama Fall Play: "Nosferatu: The Legend of Dracula," Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 15-17, 6-8 pm, DCIS Auditorium Thanksgiving Break – NO SCHOOL: Monday-Friday, Nov. 19-23; school resumes Monday, Nov. 26 Parent-Principal Coffee: Wednesday, Nov. 28, 8-8:45 am, DCIS Community Room Cafe con la Directora: Thursday, Nov. 29, 8:30-9:15 am, DCIS Community Room Open House for Prospective Students: Thursday, Nov. 29, 6-7 pm 8th Grade Open House: (for current 8th grade students and families) Tuesday, Dec. 4, 6-7:30 pm, DCIS Auditorium  PTSA Board Meeting: Sunday, Dec. 9, 2-4 pm, Pizzeria Locale, everyone welcome FROM THE PRINCIPAL...  Dear DCIS Parents, Thank you to those of you who were able to attend the Coffee with the Principal meetings last week. I always enjoy hearing what's in the hearts and on the minds of our parent community, plus I always learn something. Our next coffees are coming up at the end of November. The meeting in English will be held Wednesday, Nov. 28, 8-8:45 am, and the one in Spanish will be held Thursday, Nov. 29, 8:30-9:15 am, both in the Community Room.  Speaking of meetings, we will have a meeting for all DCIS parents on Wednesday, Nov. 7, at 6 pm in the DCIS auditorium to discuss our school's School Performance Framework (SPF) rating and our plans to address some of the issues. We will discuss both the rating our school received from the state, which was green, as well as the rating we received from DPS, which was orange. Please make plans to attend this important meeting. All are welcome. Hope to see you there. Does your child need some help with academic work? Is your child failing or close to failing one or more classes? If so, DCIS can help! We offer free after-school tutoring Monday-Thursday, 3-4 pm. We even provide snacks! All you have to do is make sure your child is picked up at 4 pm when the tutoring ends, as we unfortunately do not have any late buses, nor do we have any student supervision after tutoring ends. Many teachers also offer tutoring during their lunch hour, so if your child cannot stay after school, please have your child ask their teachers directly for alternative times to get some help. Our goal is to have every student pass every class by the end of the semester on Thursday, Dec. 20. Looking ahead ... We will have a Thanksgiving break the week of Nov. 19th. School will be closed that entire week, Nov. 19-23. Classes will resume on Monday, Nov. 26. Our winter break isn't far away either! Students will have Monday and Tuesday, Dec.17-18, to review for final exams, then we will hold semester finals on Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 19-20. There will be no classes for students on Friday, Dec. 21, which will be a makeup day for any student who missed a final exam or needs to complete missing work in order to pass classes. School will be closed for winter break from Monday, Dec. 24-Friday, Jan. 4, and classes will resume for students on Monday, Jan. 7, 2019. Please ask your child about their final exam schedule and their plans to make sure they have all of their worked turned in prior to the end of the semester, and encourage them to attend tutoring if they need any extra support. We are here to support your child! Here is the tutoring schedule, for your reference. HS Math and Literacy Tutoring After School Grade Math (Monday and Tuesday 3-4 pm) Room Literacy (Monday 3-4 pm) Room 9 Ms. Ryan 214 Mr. Beins MUN 10 Mr. Krummel 205 Mr. Beins MUN 11 Mr. Krummel 205 Mr. Wilson-Moses 217B   MS Math and Literacy Tutoring After School Grade Math (Tuesday and/or Thursday 3-4 pm) Room Literacy (Tuesday/Thursday 3-4 pm) Room 6 Ms. Johnson (Tuesday and Thursday) 202A Mr. Sandschaper 122 7 Mr. Krummel (Thursday only) 205 Mr. Sandschaper 122 8 Mr. Krummel (Thursday only) 205 Mr. Sandschaper 122   Theresa McCorquodale RAISE YOUR HAND ... HOST FAMILIES NEEDED FOR ONE WEEK Looking for families to host students from Brazil, Nov. 17–25. Please email Linnea Chruscielski at US-Brazil Connect or call her at 720-338-8839 if interested. You can also sign up online here. COMMUNITY & FAMILY PARTNERSHIPS Hey parents! If you're a business owner who'd like to partner with the school or you're interested in helping us launch a program to approach area businesses as partners to support the school with monetary or in-kind donations; shadowing, internship, mentoring, summer job or community service opportunities; provision of guest speakers; and more, please join us at the PTSA board meeting on Sunday, Nov. 11, 2-4 pm at Pizzeria Locale, where community and family partnerships will be the focus. Whether or not you can attend the meeting, if you're interested in being involved with this group, please take a moment to RSVP here (even if you can't make it, we'll at least get your email address to keep you in the loop on future meetings, volunteer opportunities, etc.). Questions? Email Terri. EXTRACURRICULARS ...  DAY OF THE DEAD  Building on the success of last year's Dia de los Muertos carnival, Su Teatro's Cultural Arts Education Institute (CAEI) will host Altares Vivos (Live Altars) for the Day of the Dead on Friday, Nov. 2, 721 Santa Fe Drive, Denver. All the events for Dia de los Muertos are family-friendly and will include performances by local musicians, El Teatro VolARTE and Aztec dancers. Youth-oriented activities will include games, face painting, theater workshops, performances, and arts and crafts for all (including sugar skull decorating and papel picado creation). There will be plenty of Mexican hot chocolate, pan de muerto, and other candy and treats on hand. Su Teatro needs your help to make this event as successful as it can be. Join us Nov. 2, 4–9 pm, for some FREE fun (and special event credit for students!) and to help out if you can (community service credit for students!)! If you'd like to volunteer, please email Mayra or call 303-296-0219. FAMILY AND COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER DAY A day of giving is a great way to start off the holidays while benefiting your community, earning community service credit and having fun! Join Philanthropy Field Trips and History Colorado on Saturday, Nov. 17, 10 am–noon, to: Decorate bags used to deliver meals to people with life-threatening illnesses for Project Angel Heart Make kindness cards for families torn apart by immigration detention, who are being reunited by Casa de Paz Make toys for rescued dogs through 2 Blondes All Breed Put together care packages for the Close to Home Network Create thank-you cards for firefighters and others The Blue Bench will have a resources table where older kids and their families can learn more about healthy relationships and boundaries through games and information.  All participants will receive FREE admission to the museum, which has some wonderful exhibits, including Play Ball! Sign up here to get all the details, or call Michelle at 720-854-8401 for more information. FAMILY ACTIVITIES The November DenverRAP (Resource for Awareness and Prevention) Activity Calendar is out. Take a look at their calendar for all sorts of free family activities around town. You can also have information about free activities happening in Denver sent directly to your phone by texting "DenverRAP" to 67076. COUNSELORS' CORNER ...  COUNSELORS Tami Schmidt: Middle school Melisa Springsteen: High school last names A-J Ted Brugman: High school last names K-Z CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT Registration for current CE students started Oct. 22. New students can start registering as of Thursday, Nov. 15. Funding is limited, so please have your student speak to Mrs. Springsteen if they are interested in taking a college course off campus. Seniors can take up to two classes. Juniors can take one course. We are also offering an on-campus course, Theater Appreciation. 8TH GRADE  Parents: Your 8th-grade student recently took a Career Cluster assessment in Naviance, which enabled them to discover careers and opportunities in a field of interest. These results are going to be used in the coming weeks as all DPS 8th graders will attend the districtwide career fair on Tuesday, Nov. 6. There, they'll have a fantastic opportunity to meet with various businesses and organizations and to visit with representatives from various DPS high schools, as the time to decide where they'll enroll for 9th grade is quickly approaching. They'll also be able to talk with postsecondary institutions and colleges at the fair, so they can begin to connect how their interests, aptitudes and pathways can be applied to their education after graduation from high school. SENIORS  Missed FAFSA Night? Check out other FAFSA Nights in the district.   Senior Stuff Folder November 15, 16, 17 at 6 pm in the Auditorium   Buy your tickets online or at the door. Students $5, Adults $8 DCIS DRAMA PRESENTS   DCIS TRAVELS ...  DCIS-SPONSORED TRIPS  The following trips are on the books and looking for participants. Please email any of the teachers listed for more information. Morocco/Spain - Sonia Burns and Patrick Garvey - This one is filling up! Italy - Dave Tabano (see below for information meeting date and time) Germany - Brian Powell and Kit Hinders  New trips forming! Costa Rica or Thailand - Kristen Miller and Sam Wilson-Moses Peru - Jesse Sandschaper and Virgilio San Andres China - Peggy Liu  Washington, D.C. - Gwen Holmes Also, CIEE is looking for participants for its high-quality programs for high school students. Last year, DCIS, currently the only CIEE partner school in Colorado, sent eight students to France, Ghana, Ireland and Japan and gave them a total of almost $25,000 in scholarships! Follow this link to learn more. TRAVEL FAIR SPOTLIGHT ... GAPP (German American Partnership Program) GAPP opens hearts, minds and borders by enabling cultural exchanges between schools in the US and Germany. GAPP is one of very few exchange programs based on long-term, sustainable partnerships. Annually, about 9,000 American and German students travel with their teachers to visit their partner schools. Our belief is that when travel is paired with community, truly incredible things can happen. Congratulations to Mr. Hinders, winner of the teacher prize from GAPP!   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 © 2018 DCIS Connect Newsletter, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email newsletter because you are a member of the DCIS community. 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