News from the Nest — January 28, 2022

Posted January 28, 2022

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Vol. 6, No. 20

From the District:
Information on Winter Weather & Delayed Starts

With winter weather in full swing, DPS is bringing back the option of having a delayed start instead of closing schools for a full snow day. A “delayed start” means that schools will start two hours later than normal. For McKinley, this means our school day would begin at 9:30am and end at our normal time, 2:30pm. Choosing a delayed start gives road crews time to plow and gives our Transportation Department time to prepare buses for students.

If DPS calls a delayed start, families will receive a message by robocall and/or text message by no later than 5:00am. You can also check your local TV and radio stations or the DPS website. 

For more info on DPS’s weather delay and cancellation procedures, check out this flyer!

Denver Public Schools (DPS) Healthy Start Times Initiative

DPS is making changes to allow middle and high schoolers to get more sleep! In May 2021, the DPS Board of Education passed a resolution to have all middle schools and high schools start no earlier than 8:20am each day to support healthy sleep habits in adolescents. Please see this short video for more information!

This shift to Healthy Start Times will happen in fall 2023, and it will impact elementary school schedules by extension, so DPS needs your input on what scenarios work best for the community in implementing this change. Please join the upcoming Healthy Start Times virtual community events to help shape the future of DPS by providing your input about which scenario may be best for you! (Events hosted in Spanish, Arabic, and Vietnamese are available!)

In Other News…

  • 3rd-5th Grade Families: Girls on the Run (GotR) is coming back to McKinley for a spring season! Girls on the Run is ready to help all students who identify as a girl, non-binary, or gender-expansive thrive and shine. Girls on the Run begins the week of March 7. Our team will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30pm to 3:45pm.

    GotR registration opens Monday, February 7! For more information about the program, visit www.girlsontherunrockies.org. For questions or more information, contact Ms. Ingrid Hoff (she/her) at Ingrid_Hoff@dpsk12.org or (720) 424-5605. Thank you!

  • Families with students entering ECE, kindergarten, & 6th grade next school year: please remember to fill out a 2022-2023 SchoolChoice application during Round 1 of SchoolChoice. Round 1 is open now through Tuesday, February 15. For more information, visit our McKinley SchoolChoice info page here or check out the district’s Choice website!

  • From DPS Nursing Services: At-Home Oral Survey!
    To support DPS Nursing Services’ efforts to identify health issues that may impact your child’s success and ability to learn, we are resuming our health screening program with in-person vision and hearing screenings at school.  These screenings were completed at McKinley-Thatcher in October 2022. 

    Due to the impacts of the pandemic, we were unable to provide in-person oral health screenings. Since good oral health is important for concentration, we are asking that you please complete the Oral Health Screening At-Home survey on the Parent Portal. A few minutes and a flashlight or good light source is all you need to complete the screening! For full information and instructions on how to complete this survey, click here.

Upcoming Events

Click here to view the McKinley-Thatcher school calendar.

  • Tues., 2/1 – Eagle Club BEGINS!
  • Mon., 2/14 – Valentine’s Day celebration (students ONLY) – more details coming soon!
  • Tues., 2/15 – SchoolChoice Round 1 CLOSES @ 4:00pm!