A warm welcome to our new 2024-2025 families!

News from the Nest — April 29, 2022

Posted April 29, 2022

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Vol. 6, No. 32

McKinley-Thatcher School Auction Is Coming Soon!

It’s almost time for our auction to start, and our virtual auction site is now open at ourschool.auction/McKinleyThatcher2022! Visit the auction site now to log in or create a new account, register as a bidder, and check out some of our amazing auction items. Bidding begins on Friday, May 6 and runs through Friday, May 13!

Our in-person auction celebration is Saturday, May 14, 10:30am-1:30pm on school grounds. All families are invited, and assume liability for their children’s safety during the event. Please, no unsupervised kids.

Our students have been working hard on a special musical performance for our celebration, and will be joined by a jump rope demo, bounce obstacle courses, ice cream truck, and special guest DJ Cyn. We can’t wait to celebrate with you all! Please RSVP here if you haven’t already!

Grown-Ups, You’re Invited!
Learn about “The Importance of Talking to Children about Race!”

McKinley-Thatcher is excited to host a special version of our annual Social/Emotional Learning (SEL) Night on Wednesday, May 4! This year’s SEL Night topic is “The Importance of Talking to Children about Race,” delivered in an in-person 2-hour session hosted by Eric Elmore, DPS Culturally Responsive Educator Specialist. This event is intended for adult family members only (no childcare is provided), and you MUST be pre-registered to attend!

  • WHO: adult family members of McKinley students
  • WHAT: Social/Emotional Learning Night: “The Importance of Talking to Children about Race”
  • WHEN: Wednesday, May 4, 5:30pm-7:30pm (light pizza dinner served beforehand at 5:00pm)
  • WHERE: McKinley cafeteria
  • WHY: join Eric Elmore, DPS Culturally Responsive Educator Specialist, for a 2-hour session to learn about best practices for talking to children about race.
  • HOW: RSVP using this Google form by Monday, May 2!

SPECIAL REMINDER:
Teacher & School Staff Appreciation Week Is Next Week!

Teacher & School Staff Appreciation Week is this coming Monday, May 2 to Friday, May 6! Join our PTA in thanking our teachers and support staff members by choosing a day or two (or all five!) to participate in.

Teacher & School Staff Appreciation Week Daily Celebrations

  • Monday, May 2 — You make us BLOOM!
    • Bring a flower – fresh, fake, potted, or hand-drawn.
  • Tuesday, May 3 — There are memories that time does not erase!
    • Write your teachers a note and tell them about your favorite school memories.
  • Wednesday, May 4 — We appreciate YOU!
    • Help us create an MCT End-of-the-Year Memory Video.
      (Video message submissions were due Sunday, April 24.)
  • Thursday, May 5 — Handmade gifts are the BEST!
    • Use your creativity & imagination and make a gift from paper, clay, or anything else you can think of!
  • Friday, May 6 — You are SWEET!
    • Bring your sweet smile or a little sweet treat.

In Other News…

  • In case you missed it: check out our most recent Principal’s Update to learn more about our commitment to equitable teaching and learning and to see our list of May school events!

  • Class picture ordering is now open on Bloom’s website here! To place a picture order, families will need to enter a valid email address. If you’d like to order your student’s individual portrait, you will also need their student ID number. If you don’t have your student’s ID number, visit studentidretrieval.dpsk12.org or call our main office at (720) 424-5600!

  • Please click here to see our May 2022 lunch menu!

  • On Friday, May 6, we are holding our annual Cultural Festival, which has been redesigned as a special day of learning for students only. Our students will complete a special identity journal project, share their projects with students across grade levels, and enjoy a unique story-telling experience focused on acknowledging and celebrating our cultural similarities and differences.

  • Save-the-Date: our next Fishing Day with Mr. J, our PE teacher, is coming up on Saturday, May 7 from 11:00am to 1:00pm at Wash Park! Join the McKinley-Thatcher community and Mr. J for fishing, biking, and scootering activities at Smith Lake (on the north side of Wash Park). Be sure to bring a water bottle and healthy snack. Families may also bring their own fishing poles, bikes, scooters, skateboards, footballs, etc. (Denver Parks & Rec will also have fishing poles for children to use, too!)

  • 2nd Grade Celebration of Learning: our second graders are excited to share their final projects on pollinators with our community on Thursday, May 5 from 1:15pm to 2:15pm in our cafeteria. If you can attend, come learn about beetles, moths, butterflies, and wasps from our second grade experts!

  • A note from Ms. Geerdes: the week of May 23-27, we are hosting our annual end-of-year SURVIVOR game for our staff. We need your help providing  prizes and treats each day. We have creative ideas and special privileges for many of the prizes, but we also need gift cards and small presents. If you would like to donate one, two, or a few, in any amount, please drop them off at the office by Wednesday, May 18. You may email e-gift cards to sonia_geerdes@dpsk12.net. (These are cards we will use as prizes for the Survivor game, so please don’t let this take away from anything you might normally do for your individual teachers.) Thank you for your support!

  • If your family would benefit from free food assistance, consider checking out Colorado Food Cluster, which offers free, fresh meals delivery for families with kids ages 0 to 18!

Upcoming Events

Click here to view the McKinley-Thatcher school calendar.