Chris Arteaga (left) and Val Burke (right) of Force Elementary after receiving their COVID-19 vaccines through our partners at SCL Health. Read Chris' vaccine experience in the Voices of the Vaccine section below! |
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Have you CollaboRATE'd? Team members have until midnight tomorrow to participate in CollaboRATE. Click here for more information.
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"My Principal Val Burke and I were fortunate to get our first dose of the vaccine at the National Western Complex. We ended up with the same appointment time and made sure to wear our Force Elementary gear. I feel incredibly relieved to have my first vaccine. I'm optimistic for the future and grateful to work with the awesome team at Force."
-- Chris Arteaga, Force Elementary
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If you've received your vaccine and want to share your experience and what getting the vaccine means to you, please email your story to newsletters@dpsk12.org! |
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Additional COVID-19 Vaccination Opportunities |
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As an employee of a K-12 education provider in Colorado, all DPS team members are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. We want to make sure everyone who wants to receive the vaccine can get one as soon as possible, so as it becomes more available, please note you do not have to get the vaccine through Children's Colorado or another DPS partner provider and may work with other health care providers.
Please be mindful that signing up for multiple vaccine waiting lists and making multiple appointments can create inefficiencies. If you have multiple appointments, please make sure to cancel in advance those that you will not attend.
Below are some available waitlist options. We recommend bringing your DPS badge and/or a pay stub to your appointment if you schedule directly through these providers.
- Call your personal health care provider
Note, you may receive very short notice prior to an appointment.Learn more about the vaccine and how we're supporting Team DPS on The Commons.
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Top 5: Favorite Kid Quotes |
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Our kiddos really have a way with words, leaving us speechless at times. Thanks to the team members who submitted their favorite kid quotes! Congratulations to this week's winner, Jennifer Holtzmann at Lincoln Elementary! For a good laugh, read more kid quotes here.
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5. “Every day for ELD I ask my students to practice writing sentences and then record themselves reading them out loud. One day, a student of mine forgot to record herself, and told me, ‘Be right back, I'm gonna vlog myself.’” -- Kaitlyn Comstock, Barnum Elementary
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4. “Last year I cut my finger while making dinner, so the next day I had a bandaid on. One of the kindergarteners came for their medication and noticed my bandaid. He asked me what happened:
My response: ‘I'm okay, I just had an accident.’
His response: ‘Oh no! Did you go potty in your undies?’” -- Lauren Bell, School Nurse
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3. “A four-year-old student approached me, ‘Ms. Arango, my mask is clumsy.’ ‘Clumsy?’ I asked, perplexed. ‘Yeah, it keeps falling down.’” -- Meagan Arango, Inspire Elementary
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2. “At dismissal, I called out to a student leaving who had forgotten an item on the carpet. Another student close to me said, ‘Whoa there! Little quieter, big guy.’ I laughed and she said, ‘What? You are way bigger than me.’” -- Mathew Easterwood, Stephen Knight Center
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1. “When working with a kindergartener on the difference between quiet and noisy sounds, I asked him to put his hand on his throat while he said different sounds to feel the vibrations. He felt around his throat and then shouted, ‘I found my neck nugget!’” -- Jennifer Holtzmann, Lincoln Elementary
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Top 5 Callout: Black History Month |
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All month long, our students have been learning about, connecting with, interpreting and celebrating Black History Month. Whether through writing, artwork, music, photos or videos, how have your students recognized Black History Month this year? Submit your response through this form and we'll share it in next week's edition!
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Updated CDC Guidance Recommends Weekly COVID Tests |
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Last week, the CDC released guidance recommending weekly proactive COVID screening tests. Thanks to our partnership with COVIDCheck Colorado -- with generous funding from the Governor and CDPHE -- all students and Team DPS members can register for free COVID tests here. This is available both for ongoing weekly screening tests as well as tests scheduled due to a known COVID exposure or for those experiencing COVID symptoms. Team members who have received their vaccine are still eligible for testing. We'll share more updates and guidance on testing post-vaccination as information is available.
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Dependents and Your Health Insurance |
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Are you responsible for covering others with your health insurance plan? Aetna and Kaiser Permanente offer coverage for two types of dependents:
- Children (under 26 years old)
- Spouses, common law spouses, and civil union partners
When making your benefit selections for your family, keep these things in mind:
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Deductibles: Family deductibles do not change based on the number of dependents on your plan.
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Individual vs. Family Maximums: individual maximums count toward your family maximum.
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Double check that your pediatrician and primary care provider are in network.
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Child Medical Health Plans may include dental coverage -- check your plan documents.
Learn more about common terms here. To learn about specific plan details, click here and select Plan Summary Documents.
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Unwind and Refresh with a Mindfulness Class This Afternoon |
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Relieve stress, practice self-compassion and feel connected to the DPS community during a guided practice led by a mindfulness expert from Passage Works from 4:30-5 p.m. today. Sign up here!
And don’t forget about the free, 60-minute virtual yoga classes offered every Wednesday in February! Complete this waiver and you’ll receive an email to confirm your virtual yoga class registration. If you have any questions, contact the Employee Wellness Team.
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Upcoming Virtual DPS Skills Events: Leading with EQ and Nutrition |
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Leading with EQ: 2-5 p.m. Feb. 23
Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is the ability to recognize and manage emotions to enhance our ability to build relationships and strengthen our capacity to make good decisions. Learners will explore theories and models of EQ, as well as the physiology of emotions. We will learn how to identify “triggers” and apply tools to successfully manage interactions with others.
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Nutrition: 2-5 p.m. March 1
Create your own recipe for success! During this workshop, you will learn some new tips and tricks on planning, buying, preparing and eating delicious meals to meet your goals. We will debunk common nutrition myths and learn the facts about carbs, protein, fat and label reading.
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Ana Kim
Lead Nurse Services Specialist
Collaboration
"In the remote world we are working in, Ana now has a Google Meet for nurses. This helps us feel less isolated as nurses and gives us the opportunity to share ideas that make our care more coordinated. Ana also listens very well to team members and validates feelings we experience. She follows up with concerns so that we are collaborating together as nurses in our Google group. I really enjoy this group and I appreciate Ana for doing this." -- Natasha Bluhm, Nursing
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Denver Public Schools sends all district newsletters and critical employee communications through Constant Contact. Please do not unsubscribe your dpsk12.org email address from any message; if you unsubscribe from one newsletter or one communication, you will be removed from all other district-managed email lists in Constant Contact. If you have any questions, please email newsletters@dpsk12.org.
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