2300 S. St. Paul St., Denver, CO 80210
720-424-3410
Principal
I hope that you have all had a restful and rejuvenating summer break with your families and loved ones. I spent a wonderful week in Montana at Glacier National Park with my family and I am looking forward to seeing all of our Wise Owls back in the building soon. I am excited and ready to jump into what will hopefully be a more traditional school year than we have had in the past couple of years! 

I am looking forward to reconnecting as a community and welcoming families back into our school building! We have two important upcoming events. Next Thursday, August 18th we will have our School Supply Drop-off from 4:00 to 5:00. Families and students are encouraged to come by UPark, tour their new classrooms, meet their teachers and drop off school supplies. Feel free to come even if you don't have your supplies yet. We can't wait to see all of our Owls back in the building! We will also have a Kona Ice truck on the playground from 4:00-5:30 and they will be donating 20% of their sales back to UPark if you want to stay, play and reconnect! 

The following week, we will be hosting Back to School Night on Thursday, August 25th from 5:00- 6:30. We will start together on the playground blacktop at 5:00 to introduce our staff and welcome everyone back. Teachers will then be offering two sessions, both in-person and virtually to share important classroom information with parents and guardians. Back to School Night is an adult-only event, so please secure your babysitters early and make a night of it! 

Here is the schedule breakdown for Back to School Night:
  • 5:00 Welcome and staff introduction on the blacktop 
  • 5:15-5:45 Classroom Session #1: In-person and Google Meet Option 
  • 5:45-6:00 Transition and Community Time; Stop by the Gym, Art Room and Auditorium to connect with our Specials Team or say hello to our SPED, ELA, and Intervention teachers!
  • 6:00-6:30 Classroom Session #2: In-person and Google Meet Option

As I start my fifth year as Principal of University Park, I feel so lucky and proud to be part of this warm and welcoming community! I can't wait to see you all next week. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions!
Eric Atonna
UPark Principal, Team UPark
UPark Enrichment Registration OPENS NEXT WEEK!
Fall enrichment registration begins this coming Wednesday, August 17th at 6am and closes on Tuesday, September 6th at 6pm.

Enrichment programming begins the week of September 12th and goes through December 9th. 

Visit the UPARK FALL ENRICHMENT BROCHURE for registration instructions and course offerings.
2022-23 UPark Calendar and Important Dates
(Please remember that our hours this year will remain 8:20-3:20)
University Park has updated the calendar for the 2022-23 school year to include 2 UPark Specific Planning Days: November 28th and May 8th. You can find these days indicated by the UPark owl logo on the updated calendar listed here. There will be no school on these days. See below for additional important dates.

July 26 - August 31: Online Registration-Required for all families unless you completed during the Early Bird window. Information here.
Thursday, August 18: School Supply Drop Off from 4:00-5:00pm
Monday, August 22: First Day of School for 1st-5th Grades
August 22-23: Kindergarten Orientation and Half Day (sign up went out in this email)
Wednesday, August 24: First Day of School for Kindergarten
Thursday, August 25: Back to School Night
Complete Your Online Registration Today!
Please visit the link below to get started! 

Online Registration opened July 26th and closes on August 31st. ALL FAMILIES must complete online registration to update student information before school starts each year. If you completed Early Bird Online Registration this past spring you do not need to do it again.

To complete Online Registration you must have an active DPS Parent Portal account. 
Log into your Parent Portal Account here
New families create a new Parent Portal Account here.
If you do not know your student ID # you can find it here.

For FAQs and step by step instructions click here.

Please reach out to Alexis Matter and Sharon Rusin if you have questions or need support.
2022- 2023 School Meals Update
After three years, the federal law providing pandemic-era child nutrition expired on June 30. This means starting this fall, students are expected to pay for their lunch at the time of service unless designated eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Free breakfast will still be available to everyone. To be considered for free lunch, families will need to fill out an application to qualify kids for free, reduced-price or paid meals. DPS encourages families to complete a meal benefits application as soon as possible to determine eligibility for free and reduced-price lunch and will send out a robo call to all families until your application has been completed.

What can families expect for the 2022-23 school year?
  • Lunch is no longer free for all students. Students must have a qualifying meal benefits application on file to receive free or reduced cost lunch.
  • DPS will still offer free breakfast for all students regardless of eligibility status.
  • Lunches will be charged based on free, reduced and paid meal eligibility.
  • 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!
  • 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
  • Middle Lunch $2.75
  • High School Lunch $3.00
  • Adult Breakfast $3.00
  • Adult Lunch $4.50
  • 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.
2022-23 DPS COVID-19 Information
As the country moves from pandemic to endemic when it comes to COVID-19, DPS is following the guidance of local, regional and national health experts. Endemic means that, while there is no clear end to the pandemic, the virus is generally significantly less life-threatening. COVID-19 is now being treated as other reportable, communicable diseases that appear in schools and communities. Effective vaccines and booster shots as well as medicines for those who contract the virus are available and a far better understanding of how to protect ourselves with public health measures like wearing masks and improving building ventilation creates safer learning environments for all. DPS is shifting restrictions because there are now no mandates or public health orders in place. Anyone who chooses to wear a mask may continue to do so. All students may request a mask from their school or program if they need one. Masks are strongly recommended for any staff member or student who knows they have been exposed to COVID-19 within the previous 10 days.

The district will continue to follow the guidance for schools provided by the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE). The Nursing Services team will continue to monitor information daily and will take steps to ensure the safety of students, families and educators, as necessary. Nursing Services will continue having regular meetings with local health officials, the Denver Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE), CDPHE and Denver Health, regarding outbreaks and/or any upward-trending COVID-19 case rates. And, all COVID-19 cases must still be reported to state health officials. DPS will no longer maintain a COVID-19 dashboard. Please visit the CDPHE and DDPHE websites for age-related case rates across the state. If there are any outbreaks and/or any unusual cases, Nursing Services will notify those impacted communities and will work directly with them on next steps.

COVID-19 vaccines are available at no charge to protect all children six months and older. Medical officials have shared that vaccinations provide the best defense against serious outcomes related to COVID-19. Families can get immunizations and sports physicals at Denver Health's 19 School-Based Health Centers located on school campuses throughout Denver.
Information on Potential Early-Release Heat Days
During the late summer, Denver can occasionally experience extreme heat. 55 schools within DPS have partial or no air conditioning and may experience increased temperatures within the building. 

As we make every effort to ensure that our school stays open and that our students and educators feel comfortable, our number one priority is the safety and well-being of them all. If the temperature within our facility rises to a degree that we feel is unsafe to host classes, there is a possibility that our school may have an early-release Heat Day. 

In the past few years, Denver Public Schools has put a number of solutions into place to reduce the impact of extreme heat within our schools.
We have invested in cooling solutions in our schools over the last seven years.
We have purchased portable cooling units for schools without air conditioning.
We have provided additional training for staff on how to manage excessive heat. 
We have created a process to allow schools that do not have air conditioning to call an early release day after an extended forecast of extreme-heat conditions. 

In the event that we do need to declare an early-release Heat Day, we will make the decision by 5 p.m. the day prior to the early release. An early-release Heat Day notice will immediately be posted on our school’s website and the DPS website. An email and automated robo-call will be sent out to alert our families of the change in schedule for the following day. 

We understand this is short notice and an inconvenience for many of our families, and that child care may be an issue for some. We are working closely with DPS Transportation to ensure that a modified bus route will be implemented on an early-release Heat Day, and that students will be dropped off at their normal locations. Parents who do not wish for their student to ride the bus home earlier in the day will have the option of picking up their students at the school building. 

Eric Atonna is available to answer questions you may have regarding the possibly of an early-release Heat Day. As always, thank you for your continued support of our school, and we very much appreciate your patience as we successfully navigate through the first weeks of the school year.
University Park Elementary Calendar

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