Beach Court Elementary students and Marcos Campos, owner of Campos EPC, celebrated new SmartLabs at three schools on Oct. 10. "It's exciting for me to see these kids," he said. "I was one of these kids growing up." 
Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016
Top 5: What Makes Your Principal Special?     

In honor of National Principals Month, we recently asked you to tell us what your principal does to encourage you or your team to help Every Child Succeed. We were overwhelmed by the heartfelt submissions! We randomly selected this week's Top 5 and will continue to share out more in coming weeks:
  1. "I nominate Lynn Heitzman, principal at Brown International, because of her many qualities! She is the most motivating administrator I have ever worked with. She greets you with respect and joy when she interacts with you. I've been at Brown International for two years, and she was the deciding factor when I made my decision to be a part of this great staff." -- Loretta Martinez, Brown Elementary, random prizewinner!
  2. "I would like to nominate my principal, Jessica Downs. She supports staff on so many levels and encourages staff by giving us positive notes, gifts, pins (DPS values) and shout-outs during staff meetings. She always offers words of encouragement to students during Friday announcements and acknowledges positive behavior with "Tiger Stripe" rewards. She knows the name of EVERY student!" -- Chris-Anne Giordano, Teller Elementary
  3. "WOW! We are blessed to have Mr. Nick Dawkins as our principal here at Manual High School, and in my opinion, one of the greatest high schools in all of Colorado. Mr. Dawkins is more than just a principal, he's a visionary, mentor, coach, teacher, guide and inspiration. He constantly tells us that he believes in us, he believes in our team and he believes in our students." -- First Sergeant Eric Posey, Manual High School JROTC
  4. "My principal, Sara Goodall at McGlone, is AMAZING. She ensures that the whole school feels like a FAMILY, and this is even included within our mission statements. We have shirts that say 'McGlone Elementary: I believe in our kids' or another shirt that says our mission statement on the back. Every Friday nearly every staff member wears their McGlone shirt, which really contributes to the feeling of community and our collective desire for every child to succeed." -- Tasha Hanley, McGlone Elementary
  5. "Grant Varveris, the principal at University Park, will always step in and help out whenever and wherever he is needed. His leadership style is collaborative in nature and whenever discussing an idea or situation he always keeps the needs of the students in the forefront by asking, "Is this the best option or idea for the student(s)?" -- Wayne Gerke, University Park Elementary
Please Verify and Update Your Personal Information Nov. 1

On Nov. 1, you will receive an email from the Human Resources Department ([email protected]) asking you to verify the personal and demographic information we have on file for you, including:
  • Mailing address
  • Personal email address   
  • Personal phone number(s)
  • Emergency contact(s)
  • Race and ethnicity
It is critical for you to review and, if needed, update this information in the Global Human Resources (GHR) system, which must be done using a DPS workstation. Not only is this information necessary to communicate effectively with you, the district also needs the information to generate reports required by federal law.
 
The email you receive Nov. 1 will provide a link to detailed instructions on how to make updates to your information and contact information to help answer questions. Please be assured that this email is not spam. You can see a sample of the email by clicking here.
Last Chance to Register for Passport: Round Trip to Health
Have you registered for Passport? The enrollment period ends Oct. 24. Don't miss your chance to be part of this exciting wellness journey.

In this six-week, virtual international journey to feeling your best, your Passport goal is to accumulate 600 points by recording exercise minutes, fruit and vegetable servings, and hours of sleep each day. You can earn bonus points by answering a Country Quiz correctly, and joining a weekly Tour Bus. By taking part in the virtual adventure, you also could win a real-world trip to the mountains. Sign up for your passport to health, now.  
 
Benefits Terms Decoded: Dispatch Health for DHMP Members  
 
Team DPS, are you ready to play Benefits Terms Jeopardy? Here's how you play to win: 
  • Benefits Terms Decoded: We'll "decode" one new benefits term in Team DPS Weekly each week through Oct. 20 (that's four new terms), and tell you more about how you can save time and money utilizing services provided by Kaiser and DHMP.
  • Starting Oct. 27, we'll test your knowledge of those terms. We'll ask a question. If you email us the correct answer, you'll be entered to win a prize. Winners are selected at random.

Now, for our third "decoded term": Dispatch Health, the modern equivalent of a house call. Use the Dispatch Health app (available on Apple's App Store or on Google Play) for on-demand healthcare.

If you're a DHMP member, you can avoid a trip to urgent care or the emergency room by using Dispatch Health to schedule a home visit with a trained medical professional who can order lab testing, administer an IV and test for infectious diseases. You can save yourself a trip and get treated in the comfort of your home.  
Review Critical Dates for Lawson Upgrade, Now!

Hey Team DPS, the Infor Lawson S3 application will be updated to a new version (V10) effective Oct. 31, 2016. This update requires immediate action on your part to ensure timely processing of transactions. Please go to our Critical Dates - Infor Lawson V10 Upgrade page to see all deadlines and restrictions for position reclassifications, purchasing and payroll related processes. Deadlines are upon us!
 
In addition to the link to critical dates above, an upgrade outage will occur as follows: 
  • Infor Lawson (ESS and Financials) will be unavailable Oct. 28 to 30.
  • The new Infor Lawson application will be available Oct. 31 at 8 a.m.
  • GHR Talent Management WILL be available over the weekend and this upgrade will not impact the DPS Pcard program.  
You'll soon get the chance to experience these V10 enhancements firsthand when you log into Infor Lawson as a result of this upgrade:  
  • New Look and Feel - The refreshed design is clean and more contemporary.
  • Simplified Navigation - You'll be able to access ALL applications for ESS, GHR Talent Management and Infor Lawson Financials from a new main page.
  • Enhanced navigation lets you access your ESS and Infor Lawson Financials bookmarks from the same menu.
  • Easy Setup - All of your access from the current version will be set up in the new version.
  • Smarter Organization - Financial Service staff and other Power Users will have additional views into related transactions.
Learn more about what's new: General User V10 Basics or Power User V10 Basics for additional details. 
Living Our DPS Honoree:
Ian Jones
Principal, Denver Online High School
Collaboration

Denver Online High School's Principal, Ian Jones, recognizes the strength of working as a team and how Collaboration is key to reaching our goals and vision. What better way to recognize Principal Appreciation Month than by showcasing this awesome principal!

Nominate one of your colleagues to be featured as a Living Our DPS honoree and read more about what makes Ian a champion of Collaboration!

"Ian Jones, our principal at Denver Online High School, embodies all of the DPS Shared Values, but this past year he has been rocking Collaboration. Ian knows that it takes a community to raise a student and is relentless in building and growing relationships that enable students to grow. Recently, Ian has developed an exclusive partnership with CSU-Global that allows our students to be the first high school students to take online college courses through their program as part of concurrent enrollment.   
 
Ian cares deeply for the social and emotional needs of our students, continually collaborating with outside organizations in order to support the whole child. He has initiated face-to-face workshops for our students. They can work with a variety of community partners including Art from Ashes, Lighthouse Writers Workshop, a 3-D Game Designer and even a local yoga instructor.  Ian has also helped build relationships for students to get involved with outside groups, including Project PAVE and the Balarat Outdoor Education Program, where students can take part as group leaders.
 
Ian's impact is obvious. We have the most caring faculty who love their jobs, students that are HAPPY and parents who continuously express positive feedback. Those things don't happen without an amazing team made possible by a phenomenal leader."
- Kaci Sintek, Denver Online High School
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