2300 S. St. Paul St., Denver, CO 80210
720-424-3410
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UPark is excited to be hosting a BESS Social Emotional Screener Parent Information session this coming Wednesday, September 27th from 8:30-9:00am in the gym. We would love to invite you all to join us for coffee and to learn more about the BESS and how it helps support our students social emotional wellbeing here at University Park.
As a school we utilize many tools to support our students social emotional development including Positive Action social emotional curriculum as well as the Owl's Nests each of our amazing teachers have created in their classrooms. The BESS screener is another important tool that Denver Public Schools uses to ensure that our students are happy, healthy and thriving in all aspects of their development. Join us next week to learn all about the screener and how we use it here at University Park.
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Eric Atonna
UPark Principal, Team UPark
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PTA
Don’t forget - donate to the Apple Campaign by October 1st and enter to win Nuggets tickets!
In case you missed last week’s announcement, all donations made to the Apple Campaign by October 1st will be entered to win tickets to a Nuggets game. The tickets are center court, row 2, and include one parking pass.The winner can choose one of the following games:
- November 6th vs New Orleans
- December 14th vs Brooklyn
- January 14th vs Indiana
- February 28th vs Sacramento
To enter, donate at http://bit.ly/apple-upark, venmo @uparkpta, or mail or drop off a check to the main office Attn: PTA Apple Campaign.
*Special thanks to the Stallworthy Family for sponsoring the Nuggets tickets prize. Donations made earlier in the campaign will be automatically entered to win. For alternative methods of entry, please email uparkpta@gmail.com.
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UPark Garden Farmers Market!
Hello UPark community! The garden has more produce ready to go home. We will hold a Farmers Market on Monday 9/25. Please stop by starting at 3:45pm to grab fresh herbs and veggies.
We will need 4 children to help run the table. Email ralitza.arafin@gmail.com if your kiddo is interested and we can coordinate.
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Picture Retake Day Monday, September 25
UPark retake day will be this coming Monday, 9/25. We will have helpers coming to each classroom to grab students that were absent on the original picture day or that want a new photo taken. Guardians should have received an email from our photography company, Wells Photography, with the images taken as well as links to order. If you were not satisfied with the original picture of your child, please contact the main office at 720-424-3410 or alexis_matter@dpsk12.org so we can be sure to have a retake done.
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BESS Social Emotional Student Screening
Hello UPark Families,
It is hard to believe that these first weeks have flown by and it is already time for the school-wide social emotional wellness screener; the BESS!
BESS stands for Behavioral and Emotional Screening System and it is ~20 questions long aiming to assess our student’s behavioral and emotional wellness at school. Students in 3-5th grade will fill out a self-report form. Their teachers will also fill out a teacher rating form. Parents are also welcome to also fill out the parent rating form. Students K-2 will have their teachers fill out a form for them and we ask that parents also fill out a form for them. This is because K-2 students are too young to participate in a self-report of the BESS.
If you would like to learn more about the BESS, we are excited to announce we will have a parent info session surrounding the BESS on 9/27 at 8:30-9am in the gym. This will be an in-depth look at the BESS and how we use it at UPark.
Guardians of students in grades K-2
Please use this link to fill out the parent form - when you follow this link it will bring you to Review 360 and ask you for your students DPS ID number and date of birth.
All parent rating forms are due before October 13th. Teacher forms will be completed by teachers before this date as well. Student rating forms will be completed in your child’s classroom on October 3-5.
Guardians of students in grades 3-5
When you registered your child for this school year, there was a passive consent option with opt-out capabilities for the BESS self-report form. If you believe that you meant to opt your student out and are not sure you did, please contact Alexis Matter in the front office.
If you have any questions please contact jordan_mcelligott@dpsk12.net
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DPS Count Day Monday, October 2nd - Attendance Important!
The Colorado Department of Education completes an official student count day for all Colorado school districts. This day determines the amount of funding each district receives from the state and is scheduled this year for Monday, October 2nd. Please do your best to have students at school on Monday as this is the easiest way to get an accurate count of the students attending Denver Public Schools for these important funding purposes. If you have any questions, please contact the main office at 720-424-3410.
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Get Ready for a Doubleheader at Modern Market - Cherry Hills and Little Man - Kent Place on October 4th!
On Wednesday, October 4th, from 11am-9pm, Modern Market - Cherry Hills (3475 S University Blvd) will be donating 30% of UPark sales back to our school. For dine-in or phone orders, please mention "University Park Elementary PTA". For online orders, please use promo code "giveback005".
From 4-8pm, Little Man - Kent Place (3455 S University Blvd) will be donating 20% of sales at the shop back to UPark. No need to mention any codes, they are simply basing their donation on ALL sales during the time period.
Please note that this is only for the Modern Market and Little Man locations at Kent Place (at the northwest corner of University and Hampden).
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Review the Attendance Policy and Submit Absence Requests Online!
Save time by letting us know that your student is going to be absent or arriving late through the Parent Portal! Starting this year, DPS families will be able to use their computers or smartphones to know about absences or late arrivals so they can focus on taking care of their children. Guardians of DPS students must have an active DPS Parent Portal account to use this new feature. Visit myportal.dpsk12.org to sign up, or to check that your account is active and ready. Directions are available in English or Spanish. Visit the Attendance webpage for more information.
The UPark and DPS attendance policy follows the Colorado School Attendance Law. Based on this law only the absence reasons listed below will be marked as excused:
- Temporary illness or injury (doctor’s note is not required until chronic)
- COVID Quarantine
- Physical, mental, or emotional disability
- Legal custody by public agency
- Religious holiday or observance
- Death in the family
PLEASE NOTE: Under the Colorado School Attendance Law, family days and vacations taken while school is in session are not an excusable absence and are therefore recorded as unexcused.
For full attendance information visit our 2023-24 Student & Family Handbook here.
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National Walk and Roll to School Day October 4th
Mark your calendars for National 'Walk and Roll to School Day' on Wednesday, October 4th! We encourage all UPark Owls to participate in this FUN and HEALTHY event. If you are able to ride your bike or walk to school, please go for it!
Do you drive to school? Try to park a few blocks away and ride/walk the rest of the way! Or do you ride the bus? Do kiss and go? Have before-school enrichments or Discovery Link? All students are welcome to meet on the track before school to walk/run a few laps to participate in the event. All participants will get a sticker, granola bar, bookmark and a small toy. Plan ahead, leave early, pump up your tires and be safe!
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GT Testing Information
GT testing is coming up for all Kindergarten and Second grade students. The Second grade students will be taking the NGAT and the Kindergarten students will be taking the NNAT3. In the next few weeks letters will be sent home with students that will inform parents of these assessments. Ms. Turrettini will be administering it starting September 25th for Second grade and mid October for Kindergarten.
Cognitive testing for grades 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th, the CogAT, that parents can sign their child up for is also available. This application is due by Oct 13th and will be administered in November. Here’s the link to the application: https://studentequity.dpsk12.org/gifted-talented/. Once you are on the site, click the red cognitive testing application link.
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Green Team Members Needed! |
The Green Team is a fun, simple way for students to gain leadership skills and build experience working with a team! Green Team members should expect to spend an average of 1.5-2 hours per month. Our plan is to meet twice per month (the first and third Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m.) and then to have individuals spend a little more time helping around the school each month. To sign up, click this link! To learn more or ask questions about Green Team, please email uparkgreenteam@gmail.com today.
We are also looking for parent volunteers to help get our recycling and composting systems up and running. If you have 20 minutes to spare during the first weeks of school and want to help out in the cafeteria and be a Lunch Hero, please sign up here:
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Backpacks for Kids Food Program |
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The UPark "Backpacks for Kids" food assistance program provides bags of nutritious food once per week to UPark families who may need a little extra help with rising food costs. We believe every child should be prepared for an active and healthy lifestyle, full of learning and curiosity. We help with this by providing fresh fruit and vegetables, bread, healthy meals, and nutritious snacks for UPark children who may not have access to such food on the weekends.
If you would like your family to receive food, or if your family participated in this program last year and would like to continue to receive food, please complete this form.
We will begin food distribution at 3:30 PM on Thursday, August 31, 2023. Families may pick up their bags every Thursday from 3:30 PM-3:50 PM in the UPark parking lot. If your children ride the bus, your bags will go home with your children on the bus every Thursday. If your children are in Discovery Link, the bags will be brought to the Discovery Link staff for distribution. If you have any questions about the program, or would like more information, please reach out to our School Psychologist, Jordan McElligott, by phone at 720-424-3458 or by email at jordan_mcelligott@dpsk12.org.
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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. | 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. | |
University Park Elementary Calendar
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Looking Ahead
September 22: NO SCHOOL-District Planning Day
September 25: Retake Picture Day
September 26: 4th Grade Field Trip
October 12-16: NO SCHOOL-Planning and Conference Days
October 18: Kindergarten Field Trip
November 20-24: NO SCHOOL-Fall Break
November 27: NO SCHOOL-UPark Specific Planning
November 30: 1st Grade Field Trip
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University Park | 720-424-3410 | 2300 S. St. Paul | Website
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