News from the Nest — October 12, 2023

Posted October 12, 2023

REMINDER:
October CSC Meeting Is Next Week!

A reminder that our Collaborative School Committee (CSC) will meet virtually next Tuesday, October 17 at 5:00pm! We’ll be electing new officers and discussing our priorities for our school budget. Come make your voice heard – join us at this Google Meet link: https://meet.google.com/efu-aria-ejf.

What’s the CSC?

McKinley-Thatcher’s Collaborative School Committee (CSC) consists of all our school stakeholders (educators, families, and community members) and serves as a leadership body for school accountability.

Our CSC is an opportunity for all stakeholders to have a voice in building the school we want for our community. Our meetings are always open to the public, so anyone can participate at any time!

For more information and to see recent CSC meeting minutes, please visit the CSC page on our school website!

Submit Your Information for the PTA Contact Book!

The McKinley-Thatcher PTA creates annual Contact Books for each classroom to help families schedule playdates, birthday parties, and other events. Each contact book is shared only with families in the same classroom. 

If you’d like to have your contact information included in the contact book for your student’s class, please share your contact information in any of the ways below!

  • Complete and return the Contact Book Information form that went home in our October 11 Friday Folders.
  • Download, print, and return the Contact Book information form here.
  • Send the following information to PTA volunteer Julia Prokopovych at julia.prokopovych@outlook.com or (720) 388-8484. (Share only what you’d like to have included in the Contact Book.)
    • Student’s name
    • Student’s grade & teacher
    • Parent/Guardian 1 name
    • Parent/Guardian 1 email
    • Parent/Guardian 1 phone
    • Parent/Guardian 2 name
    • Parent/Guardian 2 email
    • Parent/Guardian 2 phone

Please submit your information digitally or return your form to the main office by Monday, October 30.

Have Questions or Need More Information?

Contact PTA volunteer Julia Prokopovych at julia.prokopovych@outlook.com or (720) 388-8484!

REMINDER:
October Restaurant Fundraiser Is 10/16 & 10/17!

Our PTA’s October restaurant fundraiser is Monday, October 16 and Tuesday, October 17 at Chook (1300 S. Pearl St.)!

Families can order from Chook in-person or online to have a percentage of the proceeds donated to our school! Be sure to mention McKinley to your server if you’re ordering in-person. If you’re ordering online, use the code “SCHOOLS20” when you check out!

Check out Chook’s website for menus and online ordering!

In Other News!

  • Save-the-Date: we will be celebrating Halloween at school on Tuesday, October 31! We’ll host a school-wide costume parade for families on our field right after drop-off, and teachers will hold classroom parties for students on Halloween morning. We’ll share more event details next week!

    Due to space limitations, classroom parties are for students ONLY. Thank you for your understanding!

    If you do not want your child to participate in our school Halloween celebration, please complete the opt-out form that we’ll share next week!

  • Did you enjoy our donut dance party? Did you juuuuust barely miss out on it? We’re stepping up our game for October with THIRTY MINUTES of extra recess for anyone who has perfect attendance. That’s right, if you come to school every single day this month, then you’ll get some extra fun and celebration outside. There will be races around the track, a kickball game run by Mr. Alex, free play opportunities, and maybe even an extra little surprise. You can do it!!!

  • We are excited to share translated versions of our 2023-2024 school year calendar! All families received our English calendar in this week’s Friday Folders, and multilingual families received a double-sided copy with the English version and a version translated into their home language. In case you missed it, click on the links below to find all versions of our calendar!

Community News & Resources

  • We are so excited to share that Miles Noble, a former McKinley-Thatcher student, is the author of the newly published book Bunny and the Stuffed Animal Squad! He began writing his book when he was in 4th grade at McKinley and published it in July 2023.

    On Sunday, October 15, Miles will be doing a book signing at the Pearl Street Farmers Market from 10:00am to 12:00pm. He will be in a booth in front of the Second Star to the Right bookstore which is located at 1455 S. Pearl St. Stop by to support our McKinley alum and author!

  • FREE STEM Program: Students of Color in Technology (SOCIT) is a non-profit after-school STEM program founded in 2016. Every month, SOCIT teaches and empowers 3rd to 12th grade minority inner city students across the Denver Metro area through FREE Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) workshops. Check out this flyer and the SOCIT website for more information!

Upcoming School Events

Click here to view the McKinley-Thatcher school calendar.

  • Thurs., 10/12 – NO SCHOOL: DPS Planning Day
  • Fri., 10/13 – NO SCHOOL: DPS October Break
  • Mon., 10/16 – NO SCHOOL: DPS Planning Day
  • Mon., 10/16 & Tues., 10/17 – October Restaurant Fundraiser: Chook
  • Tues., 10/17 – October Collaborative School Committee meeting, 5:00pm on Google Meet
  • Wed., 10/18 & Thurs., 10/19 – 5th Grade OVERNIGHT Field Trip: Balarat
  • Thurs., 10/19 – 2nd Grade Field Trip: Bear Creek Park 
  • Mon., 10/23 – Bloom Make-Up School Picture Day (more information coming soon!)
  • Tues., 10/24 – PTA RIF Day for ECE-1st Grade 
  • Wed., 10/25 – PTA RIF Day for 2nd-5th Grade
  • Fri., 10/27 – Monthly School Value Assembly, 7:45am

Upcoming DPS & Community Events