REMINDER: There is no live instruction today 9/24 and tomorrow 9/25 to allow teachers time to set-up classrooms for in-person learning. All instruction for these two days will be asynchronous through Seesaw. 

There is no school this Monday, September 28th for a DPS Planning Day.


Table of Contents  
 principal
Principal

As we prepare for a return to in-person learning for many of our students we are working to help our UPark owls understand what school will look like when they are back in classrooms. We have created this presentation that teachers will be showing students in preparation for our return to school and wanted to share it with you as an additional resource for teaching your children what their day will look like. Teachers will be using this to create their own class presentations that will be shown to students as their grade level prepares to come back to our beautiful school. The theme of this is:
  • OWLways wear your mask-It is absolutely necessary for all students and staff to be wearing masks all day long, except for when eating, drinking or on outdoor mask breaks. View the DPS mask guidance here
  • OWLways wash your hands.
  • OWLways practice social distancing
Also please keep your questions coming! I have really appreciated engaging in the Question and Answer sessions and hope to be able to answer your additional questions on a ongoing basis. It is always helpful to hear what our community is thinking about as we navigate these new experience together. Enter your questions on the Google Form and view responses to questions at the links below.

In addition, our virtual teachers are very excited to be teaching our virtual owls. Look for more information about programming from your teachers in the coming weeks. 

Thank you so much for your support as we prepare for our first week of in-person learning with health and safety as our number one priority. 
  

Thank you,
  
Principal
Team UPark

Click here to submit your jokes!
 

pta
PTA: Apple Campaign
 
The donations are trickling in but we want them to come rolling in! It's time to flood our mailbox and inbox with your support. You all have contributed $9,200 so far, thank you! Can you help us double that by the end of the month?
 
Please give today by mailing a check made out to UPark PTA to 2300 S. St. Paul St Denver, CO 80210 or visit bit.ly/apple-upark to give online. Remember, the grade level with the highest number of donations will receive a popcorn gift! Check out our leaderboard, where is your grade? 


directory
UPark Student & Family Directory DEADLINE!
 
Please click on this link to verify* your directory data or to OPT OUT by tomorrow, Friday, September 25th:  https://upark.ptapal.com/directory/verification_request.asp  
 
Each year, the UPark PTA publishes a school directory. This valuable parent resource is done outside of DPS by parent volunteers. Unless you choose to OPT OUT, all student/parent information will be listed in the school directory including:

Parent first and last names
Parent mobile phone numbers
Parent emails
Primary home phone number
Home mailing address
Student first and last names
*The verification link asks for the email you used for last year's directory. If this is your first year at UPark, enter the email address at which you receive communications from UPark. If you encounter any issues, please email Becky Limanni at beckylimanni@gmail.com

funrun
This Year the Fun Run is Coming to You!
 
The annual UPark Fun Run is a wonderful tradition and an integral part of our school's award-winning Wellness Program. This year, for the safety of our students and community, we're hosting a virtual version of the Fun Run.
 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10th at 10 AM
 
We hope you'll join us at 10 am on the morning of Saturday, October 10th to spread some UPark spirit around your very own neighborhood. We'll put on our 2020 Fun Run t-shirts (t-shirt orders now closed) and meet in our living rooms via Google Meets. Ms. Hartin will lead us through some stretches and then send you off on a run around your block (or whatever space feels safe and convenient for your family).

kinder
Kindergarten Drop-Off and Pick-Up Details

In-person Kindergarten families, please make sure to drop your students off right at the the arrival time listed below. Students will stand on marked socially distanced spots until their health screening has been completed and the classroom teacher has picked up the class. There will be no playing on school grounds before or after school hours. 


chook
Restaurant Night (and Day!) at Chook Charcoal Chicken
 
Tuesday, September 29th from 11 am to 8pm. Grab lunch, dinner, or both from Chook (in Platt Park at the corner of S Pearl and Louisiana)! They'll be donating 20% of sales back to our school on delivery, curbside pick-up, and dine in orders. Mention UPark or enter code "SCHOOLS20" online to make sure your order contributes to Chook's donation. View the full Chook menu here.

healthoffice
UPark Health Office

As we plan to return to the building this year, the threshold for when a student will be sent home has changed drastically.  Symptoms of COVID, such as shortness of breath, runny nose, persistent cough, difficultly breathing, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, just to name a few, will all be reasons your student will be sent home from school. In order for a student who has any symptoms to return to school: 
  • symptoms must have resolved within 24 hours of onset without the use of medications OR
  • at least 10 days since the symptoms appeared, AND symptoms resolving, AND no fever for 24 hours without use of medicine OR
  • there is a known medical diagnosis with documentation from a medical provider (i.e. chronic conditions, asthma, allergies or other)

Allergies or Asthma
We understand that students with chronic medical conditions may have daily symptoms such as a persistent cough with asthma or runny nose with allergies. The Colorado Department of Education has provided the suggestion to parents and the school's registered nurse that letters from a student's provider would need to be submitted for a student to be present at school with specific allergy or asthma symptoms.  
 
This letter will need to specify your student's diagnosis, what your student's symptoms are expected to be with a student's "normal/healthy" baseline.  For allergies this letter would also include what triggers and what time of year your student will have these symptoms.  
 
Please understand, this is optional, however as we return to in-person school all students with COVID symptoms such as runny noses and coughs will be sent home and do require documentation from a medical provider to "explain" symptoms if symptoms have not resolved in 24 hours without the use of medications.    
 
Thank you for your diligence as we start this school year, 

Antoinette Schmitz, APRN, MSN, RN
University Park Registered Nurse

techsupport
Technology Support - Centurylink Service 

Many families have been experiencing slow Internet speeds, or are being dropped constantly, when using DPS Chromebooks with Centurylink's service. DoTS has been working closely with Centurylink to get these issues resolved. Centurylink has set up a mailbox specifically for DPS Chromebook issues, if you are experiencing these issues please reach out to them at chromebook@centurylink.com.

resources
UPark Technology and Remote Learning Resources Document
Bookmark This Document!

Click here for a one stop resource document with links to technology support, UPark schedules, COVID-19 resources and more. This document will also be linked in the quick links at the bottom of each Thursday newsletter. 

socialemotional
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. We will be sharing a Social/Emotional tip of the week each week to provide information and resources that can be used at home to support your students. Please check out the Social/Emotional Tips of the Week, by clicking the links below. 
food
DPS Food Distribution

Denver Public Schools is providing breakfast and lunch meals to any person, 18 years and under, whether they attend a DPS school or not through December 31, 2020. 
  • DPS can serve free meals to all children, 18 years and younger, through the end of the year.
  • Parents and guardians can pick up meals for their children at any school or bus delivery location, Monday - Friday, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm. Click here for a list of the meal pick-up sites.
Click here for the September lunch menu. These menu items are served at all (86) distribution sites and (16) bus meal locations.


DL
Dear UPark Families,

Our Discovery Link Team at University Park is very happy to be reunited with our kids during Remote Learning! Check out the information below to see what Discovery Link has to offer families!

Registration re-opens
  • We will let you know soon when the before and after school programming begins for Kindergarteners. Discovery link Before School (Early Risers) program opens at 6:30 am for morning drop off and students are released to school at 9:00 am. After School DL programing will start at 3:30 PM Monday-Friday. Pick up for After School will be at 6:00 PM.
  • Registration for Remote Learning Support remains open for students in grades other than Kindergarten that don't return to in-person learning until October 21st. Remote Learning Support registration is open until the end of remote learning on October 15th. 
    • Remote Learning Support will take place Monday-Friday from 7:40 a.m. to noon.
  • Don't forget that families now have the ability to choose as many or as few days of childcare on a monthly basis as they need. I encourage all to visit the How to Choose/Remove Day Resource below for support!
Model:
Discovery Link (DPS's in-house before and after school program) and the comprehensive partners who have been running programs since July will return to the typical before and after school program model but with a reduced capacity.
  • Capacity of 60 kids per site, including ECE (10 ECE max)
  • Cohorts of no larger than 15 kids, with cohorts split by grade when possible
  • Cohorts will be outside as much as possible, weather permitting
  • Only children who attend in-person learning can come to before and after school

Safety:
Discovery Link and the comprehensive partners will maintain the safety procedures implemented over the summer and during Remote Learning Supports (currently occurring 8:00-noon daily in 55 buildings) 
  • Temperature checks and documentation prior to allowing children into programming
  • No adults permitted inside - drop off and pick up will occur outdoors
  • No enrichment partners, limiting the number of adults (except partners who can operate fully outdoors and go through Community Use to schedule)
  • Staff health protocols including temperature checks and daily health screens.

The Links To Register For Discovery Link Programs Are Below!

calendar
University Park Elementary Calendar

Click on the calendar icon to the right, look below, or visit the University Park Website to access calendar information!