2300 S. St. Paul St., Denver, CO 80210
720-424-3410
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Dear UPark Families,
Late last week the Colorado Department of Education released its annual School Performance Framework (SPF) ratings. I am happy to say that this year UPark has received a Green rating from the state! State SPF data is based on students who took CMAS last school year in grades 3-5. UPark received a blue or exceeds rating for both growth and academic achievement and a green rating overall.
Over the past few years UPark's professional development has focused on our Black Excellence Plan as well as on Culturally Responsive Education (CRE). That being said, I am also very happy and proud to say that we received a green rating for the number of Students of Color performing at or above grade level on CMAS! We know how hard our teachers have worked over the past few years to keep our students learning and thriving during the most difficult of times, and our data reflects all of the great teaching and learning going on at UPark! Please make sure to celebrate our staff when you see them next. If you'd like to view the state SPF spreadsheet, you can access our Preliminary SPF linked here.
UPark Strong and Green!!!
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Eric Atonna
UPark Principal, Team UPark
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The Apple All-Stars Grade Level Competition! |
By supporting the Apple Campaign this week you could help your student’s grade win a popsicle party! The grade with the highest number of donations (not the highest dollar amount) by September 24th will be rewarded with popsicles! The leaderboard for the Apple All-stars competition will be posted next week in the Thursday newsletter so check it out and see how you can help your grade win!
Apple Campaign Progress update: We have only 3 weeks left, and are 26% towards our goal! Here are some creative ways to help us get to $75,000:
Non-cash securities gift (stock transfer) - The PTA can accept a stock transfer from your personal portfolio. Contact your financial adviser to learn about the potential tax benefits of a non-cash securities gift to a non-profit organization. Once you decide which stock and the number of shares you’d like to transfer, email uparkpta@gmail.com to receive routing information. You get to keep your cash in your pocket and support UPark at the same time!
Corporate matching - Inquire at your employer about matching funds. You can potentially double your impact as the PTA is a non-profit that qualifies for most corporate matching programs. Email uparkpta@gmail.com for assistance with any corporate matching forms.
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Restaurant Night (and Day!) at Chook Chicken |
Join us for restaurant night all day on September 19th AND 20th from 11am to 8pm! Grab lunch, dinner, or both from Chook at 1300 S. Pearl (in Platt Park at the corner of S Pearl and Louisiana) and earn 20% back for UPark! Make sure to mention UPark when ordering via phone or enter code "SCHOOLS20" for online orders.
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We are excited to have Douglas Wells photograph our students and staff this fall. He is a local independent photographer with many years of experience photographing schools.
Pictures are scheduled for September 20th. There is no prepayment required. Families will receive an online gallery via email the day after pictures are taken and families can choose a yearbook pose and order prints and digital files. Picture Day Retakes will be taken on October 6th.
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BESS Social Emotional Screener |
Dear parents/guardians,
As part of our effort to support the Whole Child, our school is implementing the BESS social/emotional screener, which is a universal social and emotional screening for students. This screener will be completed 3 times throughout the school year, with our first screening occurring between Monday, September 26th and Friday, October 7th.
Universal social and emotional screenings can provide a fair and impartial way of looking at how students are progressing in their social and emotional development. Screenings can also help identify areas where school personnel can improve or adjust our supports. Please understand that screening is NOT an assessment or an evaluation.
For students in grades K-2, we will utilize a parent form. The parent form will be accessible from now through October 7th. Please click here to access the online form.
The survey is 29 questions and will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. You will need your child’s six-digit student ID and birth date to log in. Only one survey can be completed for each student. If you have multiple children in grades Kindergarten through 2nd grade, please complete one survey for each child. Information from this survey will be used to help our staff identify the supports our students need during this time.
For students in grades 3-5, we will utilize a self form. Students will be administered the self-form in their classrooms. Some sample questions include: "My school feels good to me", "I feel safe at school", and "I am good at making decisions." Teachers will select a day to administer the screener between 9/26 and 10/7. Teachers will be sending home an opt out form with your child for your review. You can also access it here. If you would like to opt out your child, please return the completed form to your child's teacher or Alicia Vega no later than Friday, September 23rd at 3:30pm.
If you have any questions regarding the social/emotional screener, please reach out to Alicia Vega (alicia_vega@dpsk12.org or 720-424-3458). We appreciate your assistance as we work together to educate and support your student(s)!
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Field Day and Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration! Save the Date! |
Please join us for Field day on Thursday, September 29th. We will start with an opening ceremony at 8:35 including a parade of Latin American countries around our track to help celebrate Hispanic Heritage month. Feel free to stay after morning drop off to watch the ceremony and your child participate in field day.
- Session One for 3 - 5th graders will be 9:00-11:00
- Session Two for Kinder - 2nd grade will be 1:00-3:00.
Please check the newsletter next week for information on how you can volunteer.
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Corporate Sponsors are community businesses that support UPARK and receive recognition at school events, with fence banners, on our marquee, website, social media and/or in the school directory. If you know of a business that might be interested, please reach out to uparkpta@gmail.com for more details.
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Our amazing Sharon Rusin has accepted a new position outside of DPS and will be starting there in a couple weeks. Sharon became a member of the University Park community, first as a parent and then as a member of the office team 6 years ago. We are so happy for Sharon and want you all to join us in offering her a huge congratulations on this next adventure. We cannot thank Sharon enough for all of her time and dedication here at UPark!
We also want to welcome Sydney Olson to the University Park staff as our new school nurse. Megan Dineen is no longer at University Park. If you have medical or health related questions please contact Alexis Matter in the main office or our Health Technician Diana Bell as we get Sydney on-boarded.
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Be Sure to Complete The Meal Application By October 3rd! |
ALL families should to fill out an application to either qualify for or opt-out of free or reduced cost meals. Complete the application here! Please note, that you must complete an application for each student you have enrolled at University Park.
If you do not qualify for free or reduced cost meals, lunch money can be added to student accounts to pay for lunch using MySchoolBucks. Visit payonline.dpsk12.org/ for details.
What will meal prices be in the 2022-2023 school year?
- Universal breakfast = FREE breakfast for all, regardless of eligibility status
- Elementary Lunch $2.60
- Milk Only $0.75
*Please note – DPS is required to keep track of all meals (breakfast and lunch) served using student ID numbers. Please help your child memorize their student ID if they do not already know it. This number can be found in Parent Portal.
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UPark Owl Ticket Students |
Congratulations to this week's Owl Ticket students! They were recognized by their teachers for above and beyond positive behavior. |
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Owl Tickets are given to students for going above and beyond in one of our five core values: caring, cooperation, responsibility, respect and joy. Owl Tickets focus on the school's trait of the month, give students a chance to participate in the weekly "Owl Tickets" photo and will be posted on the "UPARK" letters in our main hallway. |
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University Park Elementary Calendar
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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.
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Looking Ahead
September 20: Picture Day
September 29: Field Day and Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration
September 30: NO SCHOOL-DPS Planning
October 6: Picture Retake Day
October 11: CSC Meeting
October 11: PTA Meeting
October 14: NO SCHOOL
October 17: NO SCHOOL-DPS Planning
October 28: Fall Festival Costume Parade
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University Park | 720-424-3410 | 2300 S. St. Paul | Website
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