2300 S. St. Paul St., Denver, CO 80210
720-424-3410
IN-PERSON HEALTH SCREENING: All in-person families must fill out the Safe Access Health Screening each day before arriving to school. 

Please DO NOT linger on campus. Drop your student off and then please head home. We have specific adults supporting classrooms at arrival and want to reduce exposure to additional people as much as possible. 
DO NOT SEND YOUR STUDENT TO SCHOOL IF THEY HAVE ANY SYMPTOMS OF ILLNESS!
Principal
You may notice some slight changes to the format of these weekly emails. The template was updated to be more mobile friendly. This updated format no longer allows for a table of contents, but we hope you will still scroll through the whole email each week to ensure that great information is not missed!

We know that in these times of many quick and drastic changes that communication with our community needs to be efficient and thorough. We want to make sure that we are communicating in an effective way. We pride ourselves on the communication channels that we have established, but know that we can always do better. If you would like to provide feedback on how we are communicating in these ever changing times, please let us know how we are doing by filling out this form.

Sincerely,
Eric Atonna
Team UPark
PTA-Apple Campaign
Help us earn a BONUS DONATION!
There is one more day to help the Apple Campaign earn a bonus donation. Your donation of $500 or more before tomorrow, November 6th will help the Apple Campaign realize a bonus donation of a sizable amount from an anonymous donor. We don’t want to miss out on this generous offer so please visit bit.ly/apple-upark to give. Next week we will publish our updated overall and grade-level competition totals so be on the lookout for your grade!
Morning Kiss and Go is BACK!
In an effort to make things more convenient for families and to lessen the number of adults on the playground during arrival, we will be opening up our Kiss and Go lane starting on Monday 11/9 for our students in grades K-2. Our Kiss and Go Lane travels North on St. Paul street and the drop-off is directly in front of the kindergarten playground. You may start dropping off students at 8:40 and the lane will close promptly at 8:50. Due to the Kiss and Go Lane, there will be NO PARKING on the east side of St. Paul street in the morning. School staff will be managing Kiss and Go and will ensure students get to their classrooms. We will monitor our Kiss and Go process to ensure it’s working within our strict health and safety guardrails.
Traffic Safety at Morning Arrival
For the safety of our students and community please adhere to all traffic and parking laws around the school.
  • Obey all posted traffic signs
  • No drop off or parking in the staff lot
  • Do not drop off in the alley 
  • PLEASE do not block the crosswalk when you park
The west side of St. Paul is posted with "No student pick-up or drop-off this side" signs. Due to the high volume of traffic during school hours, it is unsafe and illegal to drop children on the west side of St. Paul. Please do not drive south on St. Paul during morning arrival or drop students off on the west side of the street.

The east side of St. Paul is a posted Passenger Loading Zone. Cars left unattended for any length of time are subject to ticketing by Denver Police.

Always use marked crosswalks to cross the street with your students.
Social and Emotional Screener
Here at University Park, we are dedicated to helping every child succeed by creating an equitable and inclusive environment both virtually and in-person, where our students feel socially and emotionally supported. 

In order to create a learning environment that is equitable, supportive and welcoming, we will incorporate social and emotional screening for our students during the school year. The social and emotional screener used throughout Denver Public Schools is an online tool that takes approximately ten minutes to complete and consists of 28 questions for students in third grade and higher. Repeated screening helps us determine if the supports we provide to students are effective in meeting their needs.

Please click here to review the passive permission form and read more about the social and emotional screener. 

If you choose to request your child not participate in social and emotional screening and therefore OPT OUT, please notify your child’s teacher via email by 4pm on Friday November 13, 2020.

If you have a child in Kindergarten, 1st, or 2nd grade, please be on the look out for more information about parent screening next week.

We thank you for collaboration as we work to support all of our students. 
Modern Market Restaurant Night
Please join us for another restaurant night to-go at Modern Market in Cherry Hills (3475 S University Blvd)! On November 12th, from 5-8pm, make a take-out order from Mod Market and they’ll give 30% back to UPark. Orders can be made over the phone (dial 303-789-7454 and mention the UPark fundraiser) or online at modernmarket.com (enter our promo code: giveback005). Great food for a great cause—we hope you'll join us in supporting our community!
Calling all 3rd-5th Grade Parents and our 2nd Grade Remote parents!
We are working on a plan for a drive through library book distribution for the week of November 16th, but we want to gauge interest. Please fill out this quick survey to let us know if this is something that you and your child would enjoy!
Yearbook Photos
We need your photos! Did you take pictures at your virtual Fun Run? Have you been snapping pics while your kids learn remotely? Did your kids dress up for Halloween at home? We want to fill our yearbook with memories of this unique year and need your help. Email your photos to photo@uparkelementary.org for a chance to be included in the 2020-21 year book.
UPark Semantics Program Update
Good news! The Semantics Team program is going VIRTUAL! If your child enjoys spelling, language and gets excited about learning new words and vocabulary, then your linguaphile would enjoy UPark's Semantics Team! 

The Semantics Team will be on Seesaw and open to interested UPark first through fifth grade students.

Also, in past years, our Semantics Team included in person district wide spelling bees...more good news! These will continue (virtually) with more details to come...

If your child is interested in participating on the Semantics Team this year, please email me (heather_wise@dpsk12.net) by TODAY, Thursday, November 5th and I will add your child to my 
Seesaw class roster. 

Thank you! Heather Wise, UPark GT Teacher
UPark Health Office
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.
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.
Food Distribution and DPS Meal Information
In-Person Breakfast and Lunch
Denver Public Schools is providing free breakfast and lunch through December 31st to any student that would like it. View the menu options by downloading the SchoolCafe app here.

*Families can always choose to bring their own lunch to school as well. If you choose to send a lunch with students, please be sure to pack utensils. 

DPS Food Distribution 
Click here for information about DPS food distribution

Mobile Food Pantry
Food Bank of the Rockies is distributing food through a mobile food pantry. Click here for details.
Discovery Link
Discovery Link families, 

As COVID-19 conditions change in Denver, we are adjusting our programming to prioritize the health and safety of our students and families. DPS announced a return to remote learning for our 3rd through 5th graders, which means that Discovery Link programming will only be offered to ECE through 2nd grade students after Friday, Oct. 30. 
 
Discovery Link will NOT be offered to grades 3-5 until further notice -- families can receive credit for future Discovery Link programming. This video describes how to remove days from your child's calendar on SchoolCare Works and receive credit.
If you have questions, please contact discovery_link@dpsk12.org. 
University Park Elementary Calendar

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