2300 S. St. Paul St., Denver, CO 80210
720-424-3410
REMINDER: There is no school December 21-January 1 for Winter break. There is also no school on January 4th for a DPS Planning Day and no school on January 5th for a UPark specific planning day.
Principal
As you may know Denver Public Schools sent a communication on Tuesday evening with the return to school plans and timeline. These plans indicates that as long as health guidance allows, all elementary school students that are planning for in-person learning will return on January 11th. Please read the DPS communication here.

University Park is in the full throws of planning for in-person learning in the new year. You might notice that we have two planning days after the winter break which we will be utilizing to plan for in-person and virtual programming for the second semester. We are also going to be using this time to review the latest health and safety guidelines as a staff to make sure that we are all doing our part to keep each other and all of our Owls safe and healthy when we return. Please know that we are trying to make minimal changes to rosters and our staffing and that all of our planning is rooted in providing consistency and in maintaining the highest health and safety precautions possible.

We thank you all for your continued support and look forward to the next semester of learning!

Sincerely,
Eric Atonna
Team UPark
Apple Campaign
Apple Campaign: Help Keep UPark Class Sizes Small

We have a TIE! Congratulations to both first grade and third grade for winning the Apple Campaign grade level challenge with 43% of families making donations. You will receive your take home popcorn treat in the new year. Thank you to all families who helped the Apple Campaign raise $51,090 so far.

We have not met our fundraising goal yet and are still $19,000 short. If every family who has not yet donated wes able to donate $75 per student, we would raise the additional money needed to meet our goal. We realize not everyone is able to make a donation, but if you are considering an end of year, tax deductible gift to charity, please consider giving to the Apple Campaign to support our UPark students and small class sizes. The Apple Campaign donation link will remain active all school year! Thank you again to all UPark families, your generosity is appreciated! Click here to give: bit.ly/apple-upark
Multilingual Family Information Session Today!
Mrs. Ritz will be having an Informational Meeting on Thursday, December 10th
at 5:00PM!  This meeting will be on Google Meet. To join the meeting use code: uparkesl

Translations will be available via Closed Captioning during the Google Meet!

Topics:
How to help your students at home with your native language.
Multilingual Program Process.
Resources for your family!

Click here for meeting information translated into multiple languages.
DPS Surveys: Family Survey (all families) and 3rd-5th Grade Student Survey
Due Tomorrow!
Dear Families,

Last week parents and students in grades 3-5 received a survey regarding well-being and learning. All families also received a survey asking for feedback on the remote learning experience. Through these surveys the district hopes to understand student and family experiences with remote/in-person learning and to gather feedback and progress monitor the DPS crisis priorities and equity measures.
 
Information regarding parent and student surveys can be found below. Please complete them by December 11th.

Student Survey Participation Information:
  • Students in grades 3-12
  • Excludes students whose parents/guardians opted them out of this survey 
  • Students received an email on November 30th inviting them to take the survey via their DPS email address (studentnumber@dpsk12.net). Links are unique to each student and should not be forwarded. Reminder emails will also be sent to student DPS email accounts. Email surveys@dpsk12.org if a student needs a new link. 
  • Email Subject Line - Remote learning in DPS: Please complete our student survey by Dec. 11
 
Parent/Family Survey Information:
  • All parents/guardians of students in grades ECE-12
  • The parent/guardian survey is anonymous and parents/guardians can use this link (https://survey.k12insight.com/r/VABGQM) to take the family survey. Since the family survey uses an open access link, this can be forwarded. 
 
Thank you for your time and your feedback,

University Park Elementary
Final Restaurant Night of 2020 - Take Cuba Cuba to-go TONIGHT!
On December 10th, from 11am to 9pm, Cuba Cuba (654 S Colorado Blvd) will be donating 20% from UPark supporters’ take-out orders back to our PTA. Grab a tasty lunch, dinner, or both! Orders must be placed by phone or in-person (no app orders, please). 
Holiday Adopt A Family Gift Cards
Dear UPark Families,
 
We are excited to announce the continuation of the UPark Holiday Adopt-A-Family program!
 
In our UPark community, we have a number of families who benefit from the generous donations provided through this program. We started this tradition three years ago, and we received a lot of support. Our families receiving these gifts appreciated the opportunity to shop for their children, and it was easy for donors to participate!

If you would like to participate in the Adopt a Family program, we ask that you do so by
purchasing a gift card to Target in an amount that is comfortable for you and your family. If that amount is over $25, we ask that the additional amount be put on separate cards for ease of distribution (For example: If you would like to donate $50, purchase 2 gift cards with $25 on each card). You can purchase cards in one of two ways:
  1. Purchase Target gift cards online and email card details to alexis_matter@dpsk12.org.
  2. Purchase physical Target gift cards and drop off at the UPark main entrance during the following times:
  • Monday 12/7 11:30-2:00pm
  • Tuesday 12/8 8:30-11:00am
  • Wednesday 12/9 1:00-3:00pm
  • Friday 12/11 1:30-3:30
  • Monday 12/14 9:30-12:00pm
  • Call the main office if none of these times work

The deadline to get cards to us is Monday, December 14th.
 
Thank you in advance for giving what you can. Your generosity will make this season brighter, and bring joy to others in our UPark community! 

If your family would benefit from receiving gift cards this year please fill out this Google Form or call the main office at 720-424-3410. Please let us know no later than December 14th. We will then be in touch to schedule the card pick-up or drop-off.
 
May you and your loved ones share a warm and wonderful holiday season!
 
Sincerely,
Alicia Vega
UPark Psychologist
University Park Scholastic Book Fair Open Now!!
This fall University Park is hosting a Virtual Book Fair from December 3 - December 16 that will be loaded with all your child’s favorite authors, series and characters! Find the perfect books for your student and support our school at the same time! Click here for the UPark Scholastic Book Fair web page to start shopping. View the interactive flier to see just some of the thousands of books that are available.
New School Spirit Store!
We are excited to launch our new UPark School Spirit Store! Please check out our new merchandise at www.uparkowls.com. University Park will receive a portion of the proceeds from your purchase. More items will be added in the future but we wanted to get started with a few items before the holidays. Happy shopping!
Holiday Gift Community Resource-Registration Deadline Today!
The Denver Santa Claus Shop is a holiday gift community resource for residents of Denver, which provides toys for the holidays to families in need. Children ages 0-11 are able to benefit from the program. This year, toy distribution will occur via mobile distribution during December 11th-December 15th. Families who receive services from DHS or other social services automatically qualify to participate. To see if you automatically qualify and/or pre-register by December 10th, click here. If you do not automatically qualify, but require support for this holiday season, please reach out to our school psychologist, Alicia Vega (alicia_vega@dpsk12.org) for a referral by December 8th. 
Remote Learning and Technology Support
Colby, our UPark technology partner will be in the building for in-person support Tuesdays from 1:30-4:00pm and Fridays from 7:30-10:00am. To schedule technical support on one of these days call please call our technical support line at 720-423-3822.

If you need immediate support you can call the main office at 720-424-3410 or check out resources on this UPark Community Resources document.
Support UPark by Ordering Through Minted!
UPark friends and family get 20% off all holiday card and gift orders from Minted, October through December, when you use our unique promo code. Minted will donate 15% of each order amount back to us!
Social/Emotional Learning Information
Social/Emotional learning is a critical part of the work that we are doing at UPark, especially in these unique times. Please check out the Social/Emotional Tips of the Week, by clicking the links below. 


If you'd like to access the Positive Action family kit, visit the website linked below, and create a log-in. From there you'll be able to digitally access lessons to use with your child at home. Positive Action Family Kit.
UPark Health Office
Free COVID Testing Available for All Community Members
Now through the end of December, free COVID-19 testing is available to all community members. Through a partnership with Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment, COVIDCheck Colorado -- which has been providing free testing to all DPS employees -- is offering free tests for all employees, their families and members of the Denver community to help slow the spread of COVID.

Community members can use this link to schedule a free test at one of several locations throughout the Denver-metro area. Please register for a test in advance to help manage testing flow and reduce wait times.

Denver Health School Based Health Clinics
Covid-19 Testing is Available
Denver Health is excited to offer testing to ALL DPS STUDENTS when they are sick. Denver Health currently DOES NOT do any testing for anybody who does NOT have symptoms even if they are asked to quarantine because they were in contact with a case. In summary:
  • Testing available for all students who are sick and evaluated by a provider
  • NO contact tracing testing
  • NO testing for anyone without symptoms
  • NO testing for exposure without symptoms
  • NO screening testing (ie a back to school test)

School Based Health Clinic Information Line at 303-602-8958
Please click here for specific clinic locations and information.
Student Meals Available During Remote Learning
Free breakfast and lunch meals are available to DPS families at 37 DPS school locations during remote learning. Visit the food distribution website for details and locations. Meals will be available Monday-Friday from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

DPS Food Distribution 
Click below for fliers with additional details.
Discovery Link Offering Remote Learning Support Camps to Elementary Students
With the shift of all K-12 grades and programs to remote learning through Dec. 18, Discovery Link will not offer before and after school programs and will shift to offering Remote Learning Support Centers for elementary school students.

Remote Learning Support Centers will be available at multiple locations for families who need support, available from 7 a.m.-4 p.m with a capacity of 30 students per site. The majority of locations will cost $16 per day, with eight grant-funded locations being provided free to families who attend those schools. Spots at Remote Learning Support Centers are limited, and available on a first come, first-served basis. You can choose the site closest to you during registration, which is now open.


If this cost is prohibitive to your family, contact discovery_link@dpsk12.org to see how we may be able to support. Please note that cost is subject to change after December if remote learning continues.
University Park Elementary Calendar

To access additional calendar information click here or visit the calendar link on the University Park Website.
Thursday Extras

This is where you will find a list of flyers that DPS or approved organizations have asked we pass out to our community. Simply click on the flyer name to view in its entirety. Please ask our office staff if you need a paper copy.
Looking Ahead

December 10: Restaurant Night
December 3-16: Virtual Book Fair
December 21-31: No School-Winter Break

January 1: No School-Winter Break
January 4-5: No School-Teacher Planning Days
January 18: No School-MLK Day
January 19: Restaurant Night


Click here for past newsletters.