Please join us for three upcoming Winter Magic Events, beginning this Friday. We created socially-distanced events to connect with students and families and rekindle a glimmer of winter magic and spark some holiday cheer.

Winter Magic at CSS

Friday, December 4, 2020

6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

Campus Carline Parade

Winter Arts Celebration Rev Up

Saturday, December 12, 2020

10:00 - 11:30 a.m.

Campus Carline Parade

{Virtual} Winter Arts Celebration

Saturday, December 12, 2020

6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

Safely at Home in Your Living Room

Please be sure to RSVP by Monday, December 7, 2020, for the complimentary family appreciation dinner on December 12.

As it gets chillier and chillier, our community wishes to help those in need. The National Honor Society at CSS is organizing a gently-used clothing drive for children and adults through the Springs Rescue Mission, a local homeless shelter.

Donations may be dropped off at the NHS table at the campus parades during the Winter Magic at CSS events: Friday, December 4, from 6:30-8:00 p.m., and Saturday, December 12, from 10:00-11:30 a.m. We deeply appreciate any donations your family can offer. Please clean items prior to donating.

The children and adult clothing that are needed most: coats, sweatpants and jeans, warm shoes, sweatshirts, warm sweaters, hoodies, gloves, mittens, and winter hats (no ball caps). They also need new underwear and new socks. Donations of face masks, hand sanitizer, nitrile gloves, and disinfectant spray are also being accepted.

Thank you so much from the Ursa Major Chapter of the National Honor Society for your generosity!

Fifteen Upper School students have been creating a radio play with theatre teacher and play director Jonathan Andujar.

Senior Madeline K. '21 voice acts for several characters and is also a member of the team working to bring sound to the radio play to make it a more immersive experience. For example, Madeline creates and records sounds such as keys jingling and someone walking on gravel.

"I really like that this radio play is a lot of things we have never done before. In my time at CSS, we have never done a radio play. We have never done a sci-fi, horror, mystery play, and especially, we have never had to work under the conditions of a pandemic. But all of these factors have made the process of making the radio play that much more challenging and interesting," Madeline said. "In the past, I have just had to learn lines, lyrics, dances, and blocking and had to just go up on stage and do it. Now I have the chance to work on my voice acting, my sound recording, and my sound editing skills. It's such a different creative process than typical theatre productions, but that is what has made it so fun."

Mr. Andujar chose the radio play format as a way to adapt to COVID-19, allowing students to explore a creative outlet that they haven’t experienced before.

Click here to read al feature story on the radio play, which will soon be released digitally.

If you missed Dr. Leon Kelly's presentation before Thanksgiving break, you may view it through the link below. A special thank you to Dr. Kelly P'30, P'27, a pathologist and the Deputy Medical Director of El Paso County, for an insightful presentation on COVID-19, including the rising case numbers.

During the weeks that we are in e-Learning and during winter break, Dr. Melissa Hocate, CSS Health Coordinator, will continue to serve as the contact tracer for the CSS community (students, parents, and family members) due to the overwhelm from local contact tracers.

Please don't hesitate to reach out to Dr. Hocate about symptoms or concerns. She may be reached at melissahocate@css.org or (719) 434-3530. We encourage you to make a daily health assessment and keep track of your interactions with others.

There are known and unknown risks in navigating these uncertain times. But individuality and isolation from one another are not long-term solutions to the adversity presented by our current world. Instead, we aim to build and promote a community that is solution-minded, embraces the mindset and practice of "we before me", and collectively adheres to the guidelines of medical professionals and elected officials. The Community Pledge has been written in the spirit of developing a common language and understanding by which we will all commit for the 2020-2021 school year.

#GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world. And this week, CSS launched its Gratitude Bucket List to extend the spirit of #GivingTuesday for the entire month. We invite you to click off a few items on the bucket list or complete the entire 30-day challenge. Share photos or reflections of your experience on social media to inspire others. Whether you are a student, a current or past parent, faculty/staff, grandparent, alumni, or friend we encourage you to participate.

Every day is a good day to make a gift to The Colorado Springs School! During this season of giving, we hope all families will consider making a meaningful gift by December 31, 2020. We are still working to reach the Claremont Leadership Giving Challenge. So far, we've secured 50 gifts of our stated goal of 60 gifts at the $1,962 level or more, and the challenge donors extended the deadline for reaching the $50,000 incentive. Colorado Childcare Tax Credits (50% tax credit) are still available and may allow you to increase your charitable gift.

On Tuesdays around noon, Head of School Tambi Tyler has been reading some of her favorite childhood books in our historic library. The readings are being streamed on Facebook Live, as well as recorded. Upon reading the book, Ms. Tyler offers a brief reflection of her childhood or a lesson inferred from the story. We hope you take a moment to watch and get to know our Head of School as she shares some of her children's literature. The first two readings may be viewed here:

The Parents Association Board will hold virtual meetings for the foreseeable future on the first Thursday of each month. Anyone is welcomed to join.

Next Meeting: Thursday, December 3, 2020, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Where: Google Meet. Let's get together for a holiday happy hour!

Join by phone: 540-680-4396 (PIN: 349712789)

Click here to learn more about the role of the Parents Association in building community in our school. Email the Parents Association at parentsassociation@css.org.

Third grade students recently learned about the Swiss Artist Paul Klee and used one of his paintings as inspiration to draw a Cubist-style fish. After a review and discussion about the color wheel, students colored the fish with oil pastels using warm colors.

How well would you compete against the CSS Matchwits team? These are a few questions our Kodiaks recently answered correctly in Round 2 of the virtual Black Forest League Matchwits competition before Thanksgiving break. Answers are below.

1. Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote the music for Cats based on the words of T.S. Eliot. Aristophanes wrote "The Frogs." What French existentialist wrote "The Flies," as well as the treatise "Being and Nothingness?”

2. The Amur River forms part of the border between Russia and what other nation?

3. In his dictionary, he defined OATS as: in England, food for horses; in Scotland, food for men. Name this famous lexicographer.

4. This element makes up the greatest percentage by mass of Earth’s crust. It is present in sulfates but not in sulfides. With its discovery, the phlogiston theory became obsolete. Lavoisier called it Vital Air. What is it?

5. Math Computation. The sides of a quadrilateral are in the ratio of 2 to 3 to 4 to 5. Find the longest side if the perimeter is 98 cm.

It was an exciting night indeed for our Kodiaks! They came into the tournament with a razor-thin one-point lead against Vanguard, a team that was one of the top 3A schools in the state last year. Our Kodiaks battled it out for 2 rounds against Vanguard and two other schools.

Our varsity team - captain Aadi N. '21, Owen W. '21, Nathan G. '23, and Micah R. '24 - earned 2nd place. Our Junior Varsity Team also had a fantastic night. Led by team captain Dane C. '21, the team included Alex H. '24, Oliver P. '24, and Finnegan T. '22. They dominated the competition taking first place currently in the league with an 11-point lead ahead of 2nd place Miami-Yoder. Congratulations, Kodiaks!

Answers: 1. Jean-Paul Sartre, 2. China, 3. Samuel Johnson, 4. Oxygen, and 5.35 cm.

Parents, teachers, and students are encouraged to submit nominations and digital photos of student achievements to Anslee Wolfe, Communications and Marketing Manager, at awolfe@css.org. These extracurricular achievements make us a well-rounded school and highlight the many unique talents and passions of our student body. A diverse selection of achievements is highlighted in ROAR and shared on social media. We also welcome alumni achievements!

Due to COVID-19 we will continue to make adjustments to the Major Dates calendar. We will continue to update school's google calendar as we progress from week to week. We are adhering to local, state, and federal guidelines regarding on-campus, in-person learning. As a result, planning for the 2020-2021 school year is ongoing and requires the school to respond with agility, grace, and a heavy dose of patience. View the calendar here.

As a result of COVID-19, CSS applied for and was subsequently funded with a Payroll Protection Plan (PPP) loan through the CARES Act. We're proud to put these dollars to work for our school. As a result of this loan/grant, CSS is a Federal Funds Recipient for the next several weeks. Members of the CSS administration have participated in several training sessions on Title IX (and Section 504, Title VI, and the Age Discrimination Act among other pieces of relevant Federal legislation), which apply to us as temporary federal funds recipients. Read the full notice here.