Kindergarten students and teachers at Westerly Creek kicked off their beginning of the year assessments in a new, creative way.
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COVID-19 Updates and Resources |
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Dear Educators,
As we continue to welcome more students and team members back to our buildings, it’s never been more important that we are all following our health standards and utilizing available resources to keep our DPS community safe. We know there is a lot of information being shared now, and a lot being asked of you -- so we hope these highlights of a few key resources and updates regarding a safe return are helpful:
Free COVID-19 Testing
As you know, DPS has partnered with Gary Community Investments to provide access to free COVID-19 testing for all DPS employees. We ask that team members who will be reporting back to the building please take a test two weeks prior to their return, and every two weeks after that.
While this test is optional, we strongly encourage all team members to take advantage of this free service, keeping in mind that 40% of those who test positive have no symptoms. As of Oct. 1, more than 17,000 individual tests have been completed at our DPS sites, and 1.02% have been positive.
Practice The DPS 5
The DPS 5 are evidence-based health protocols designed in partnership with health officials, and following these guidelines is the best way to ensure we can continue in-person learning and access to our buildings. Please continue to practice these protocols. As a reminder, these guidelines are: Complete your daily health screen, wear a mask or face covering, maintain physical distance, meet virtually and practice good hygiene.
Our new COVID-19 Response Team is continuing to work hard to create and align resources to prioritize the health and safety of our students and staff as we respond to COVID cases. Stay tuned for a dashboard to track COVID cases across DPS, as well as the Safe Access health screening for students, and more.
Many thanks,
Tamara and Mike
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This Week's Top Things to Know |
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Required SSP GPS Training for 2020-21 |
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As a follow up to the information we shared regarding required evaluation training for all SSPs evaluators, the Growth and Performance team created a short asynchronous training to support your understanding of the changes to evaluations this year and share the new COVID Awareness Guide.
All SSPs Evaluators have been pre-registered for the "SSP Observer: GPS Evaluation Training." To get started, log in at schoology.dpsk12.org, then go to Courses > My Courses for a full list of all of your courses. (SSP Team Leads, please register for the SSP Evaluator Training linked above, not the SSP Training.)
The course should take about 20 minutes to complete, and the deadline to take the course is Oct. 19. If you have questions, email SSPGPS@dpsk12.org.
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PDUs Now Available for Registration |
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Professional Development Units (PDUs) beginning this semester are now available on the Professional Learning page on The Commons. View the 2020-21 PDU course list and register now! Quick links to the 2020-21 course list, PDU calendar and PDU leadership information can be found on the PDU webpage. If you are interested in leading a PDU this year, there are two more application cycles. Contact carmen_stagg@dpsk12.org with questions.
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Oct. 19 Teal Day Registration |
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Teal Day professional learning supports the success of every student by building educators’ understanding of content and best practices with a focus on the district cornerstones and Return to School priorities. The content of this October Teal Day is additionally focused on supporting the Quarter 2 return. Secure your spot for the Oct. 19 virtual Teal Day sessions. Find session descriptions, outcomes, registration links, and more in the Session Guide.
Please note, Elementary Science Teal Day is required learning for elementary teachers whose schools utilize the Amplify Science curriculum, and the Social Studies Teal Day is required learning for all 6-12 social studies teachers. Please see the Teal Day Session Guide for the required SEO sessions.
Registration will close at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15 to ensure a successful virtual experience for all participants. Please work with your school leader to identify the sessions that are best for you to attend. For questions, please contact professional_learning@dpsk12.org.
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Share Student Work and Art for Disability Awareness in October |
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During October, we want to feature how our students are developing self-determination by learning about, connecting with, interpreting and celebrating their own identities in relation to disability through their writing, artwork, music, photos and videos. We’ll share the submissions on our website and social media channels at the end of the month. Please email your submissions to DPSEquity@dpsk12.org by Oct. 16 for consideration.
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Join Upcoming DPS Aspire Session |
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The Culture, Equity and Leadership Team offers programming to help you learn and grow in your role. We invite you to participate in a DPS Aspire session this year on Oct. 14-15. Aspire is a two-day, values-based program designed for all DPS team members to build and strengthen their existing leadership capacity. A strong leader has the ability to manage and problem solve, skillfully lead, and empower their team and others. Graduates of the program can tell you that DPS Aspire is transformative! For additional details and to register, click here. (Sign in using your DPS username: first name_last name and password). Questions? Contact CELT at dpsequity@dpsk12.org.
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Celebrate Career and College Success Month |
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Help DPS celebrate Career and College Success Month virtually this year! While school might look a little different right now, it is as important as ever to encourage our students from all grade levels to prepare for success after graduation.
To help celebrate this month, please initiate career and college conversations with your students, take part in the “My Plan” campaign by highlighting your students’ career and college plans through this linked form, participate in designated College Spirit Days at your school and utilize the graphics in the provided toolkit. DPS will also be hosting different events, including an ICAP Day, College Application Days and DPS College Spirit Day. For more information, please email Gary Cooper, gary_cooper@dpsk12.org.
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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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