Table of Contents   
Principal
Principal
Silent Auction THANK YOU

Thank you to the entire UPark Community for making the 2016 UPark Auction an all-around success! Hundreds of you supported the event (in so many ways) and the end result was a super fun way to raise substantial funds for our school. Your donations, online shopping, ticket purchases, art project coordination, purchases at the live event, hosting of experiences and hours of volunteer time all contributed to its success! Thank you!
 
Select Teacher and Parent Hosted Experience Slots Open until 10pm Tuesday
If you were not able to attend the live auction event last Thursday, you may have missed out on some of our fun teacher and parent hosted experiences. We still have some slots open and now until Sunday at 5pm is your chance to get in on the fun!
Auction Experience Confirmations and Dates
You will receive an email from your experience host(s) before your event with exact details.
All dates for Experiences have been posted on our  website.

Grant Varveris
Team UPark
720.424.3410

*Don't forget to download the UPark App  here!

restaurant
Restaurant Night
Potbelly Sandwich Shop (Colorado & Yale)

Eat at Potbelly (2720 S. Colorado Blvd.) on Thursday, May 5th from 5:00 to 8:00 PM and they'll give money back to UPark. Click  here   to see the flyer for details. Make sure to mention UPark at checkout!   

imagination
Attention UPark - It is official! Destination Imagination is back for the 2016-2017 school year!
 
Is your child...
  • Creative?
  • Curious?
  • Enjoy hands on learning experiences?
  • Does he or she enjoy collaborative and competitive team experiences?
If so, DI might be a good fit! Please complete the following Google Form by Friday, May 27th! Also, the DPS GT department is hosting an informational night in May - click here ( Spanish version) for details! 


Spelling
It's time for the UPark School Wide Spelling Bee!

Teachers in first through fifth grades are distributing spelling word lists this week to those students interested in participating in the spelling bee process. All classroom spelling bees will take place by Friday, May 6th (please reach out to your child's teacher for details). Once all three classrooms in each grade level have completed their bees and they have their TOP FIVE from each classroom, I will hold a grade level spelling bee in my classroom for each grade level's TOP 15 students on Monday, May 9th (schedule TBD). The TOP FIVE from each grade level spelling bee (25 students total from grades 1-5) will participate in the school wide spelling bee after school on Monday, May 23rd from 5-6:30pm!

A link to all grade level lists on my website is below - please email me with any questions. Thank you! Heather Wise, UPark GT Teacher


Yearbook
Or der Your 2015-16 Yearbook Today!

Yearbook order forms went home with students last week. More are available in the main office. Please fill out your order form and return it to school no later than Friday, May 13th. 

Thank you to all families that sent in photo submissions for the yearbook! 

pjday
Help Put Homelessness to Bed

Wear your PJ's to school May 3rd to help raise money to support Denver's homeless population.  PJ day gives students the opportunity to give back to their community by helping the homeless. Students may get involved by donating $1 on May 3,  2016. Students will turn their donations in to classroom teachers on PJ day. 

PJ day is Denver's Road Home annual fundraiser to help the homeless and a reminder that not everyone has a place to put on their pajamas and sleep at night.

*The 3rd grade will wear PJs on Wednesday, May 4th due to a field trip on May 3rd.
merrill
Merrill International Day Celebration May 6th

We are so excited to extend our Merrill International Day Celebration into the evening for our very first Merrill ALL IN! fundraiser (21+ over), and would like to include incoming UPark 5th grade parents. Please RSVP and register for the event here.

ONLINE BIDDING OPENED April 22nd! Check out the amazing items that the Merrill Community has contributed to us. Start your BIDDING!
If you are unable to make a donation at this time, we would still love for you to join us. Please RSVP in the office or online. We have received an overwhelming amount of silent auction items, but we are still taking donations; please contact Emily Brouillette if you would like to contribute.

Are you ALL IN?
greenteam
Green Team News
 
The Green Team raised awareness on Earth Day by creating colorful chalk drawings surrounding the school. Each team member created their own message, which can also be seen on the tree in the entryway. Please take a moment to check out the display case by the office, where we give a special THANK YOU to Mr. Doyle Lea and his team, Marzuk and Samantha. Their help has been a big part of the success in the lunchroom recycle and compost program.

Waste Free Wednesdays 
We are challenging the school to participate in "Waste-Free Wednesdays." Team members spoke to their classes about making the choice to bring only reusable containers for lunches on these days, as well as to reduce the pieces of trash in their classroom. The goal is recycle or compost only on these days!
 
The next Green Team meeting is Friday, May 6th at 8:15.

staff
UPark Staff Updates

We are excited to announce that Sarah Holdeman  will move  from her 2nd grade teaching position to a Personalized Learning Coordinator role next year at UPark! This position is new to the school.
 
At the end of this year Katie Snyder, a current Special Education Para,  will move  back to Michigan to be with her family. John Neuhalfen will move  from his Kindergarten Paraprofessional role to the Special Education Paraprofessional position.
 
In addition, both Asma Alayeb (Kindergarten Paraprofessional) and Jamie Gentry (Library Paraprofessional) will be moving on from UPark at the end of this year. We wish them all the best next year.

We will provide updates as we hire a 2nd Grade teacher and new paraprofessional staff. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to Grant Varveris.
bandcamp
If you are in 3rd-8th grade and want to join band next year, this is your chance!  

Join us for Summer Band Camp to learn how to play the flute, clarinet, trumpet, french horn, saxophone, trombone, tuba or drums (and for daily water balloon fights)! You don't need to know how to play an instrument and you don't even need to have an instrument! We will have a blast learning how to express the music inside us that is just waiting to get out!  
 
These week-long camps are taught by our Upark Band Director, Ms. Christmas and will provide your child with a fabulous start on their musical journey.  Although each camp has a different theme, you can learn to play an instrument at any of them. Rock Band, World Music (Peru and South Africa), Folk Music and Composition Camp await! Please see the attached brochure to read the fun descriptions and register at:  BigasLifeMusic.com.  Feel free to contact Christmas at: Christmas.BALM@gmail.com

Neighborhood

Kaleidoscope Corner 2016-2017
 
New Family Registration
 
@ UPARK May 2nd 2pm - 4pm 
 
@ACOMA May 2nd - 6th 9am - 4pm
1617 S Acoma St

Golf Tournament 

University Park is holding its first Golf Tournament on Saturday, May 14th. All proceeds will benefit the UPark Neighborhood Center. For more information click  here. To register click here.
 

calendars   
University Park Elementary Calendar

3 ways to access calendar information! Go to the University Park Website,  click on the CALENDAR ICON, or look below!  
  
  

  


BlueOrange
5 Star Wizard Hat Students

Congratulations to last week's 5 Star Wizard Hat students! They were recognized by their teachers for positive behavior. 

Last week's students include: Grace Kittelson, Liam Kovac, Maia Ottenbrite, Jacob Nederveld, Eve Robinson, Adam Johnson, Isabella Figueroa, Harlan Konwinski, Crosby Stutz, Aisha Alassani, Adeshina Alassani, Salvador Aceves, Raphael Chitwood-Monrroy, Jace Gustafson, Luciana Salgado, Aspen Rain Chaidez, Gabriella Santaella, Drew Finley, Grace McFarland, Everett White,Emily Steward, Nola Lake.

Wizard Hats are given throughout UPark to celebrate students' good choices and positive behavior. We use a common vocabulary and teach Critical Thinking skills using the BrainWise curriculum.  Each week there is a random drawing of 2 students done by classroom teachers. These children are photographed and receive a token of our appreciation.
*At the end of each month we will be donating all clothing in the lost and found and anything left in the halls(all clothing will go into our little red school house in our parking lot).