News from the Nest — April 25, 2025
Posted April 25, 2025
COMING SOON: Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week
Join our PTA as they celebrate Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week from Monday, May 5 to Friday, May 9! Choose a day or two (or all five!) to show our teachers & staff members how much they are loved and appreciated. Participation is optional!
Two Reminders From Our PTA:
- Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week is not limited to classroom teachers. McKinley has an amazing staff that supports our students every day; be sure to include them. Click here to see the staff directory on our website!
- Please note, gifts of appreciation can be sent in with students or dropped off at the front office, but may not be delivered to the classroom by visitors during school hours. Thank you!
Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week Celebrations
- Tuesday, 5/6 – “NOTABLE Memories” – write a note of appreciation for a teacher or staff member.
- Wednesday, 5/7 – “You make us BLOOM” – bring a flower – fresh, fake, or hand-drawn.
- Friday, 5/9 – “It’s no SUPPLIES that you are awesome” – help stock the classroom with supplies or items from their wish list.
REMINDER:
Get Your Tickets For The McKinley-Thatcher PTA Auction!
The McKinley-Thatcher PTA Auction is almost here, and we can’t wait to celebrate with you on May 9, 2025 at Moss Denver! This is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and your participation makes a huge impact on our school.
SECURE YOUR TICKETS TODAY! Join us for an evening of catered bites, refreshing beverages, and an exciting live auction—all in support of our students and teachers. Get your tickets now on our auction site!
Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with our school community and help make a difference. We can’t wait to see you there!
McKinley-Thatcher Elementary Yearbook – We Need Your Help!
Do you have photos from school events that we can include in the yearbook? We’d love to include your photo submissions so we have the best chance at representing the whole school community! We’re looking for pictures of specials, library time, staff appreciation, snow days, field trips, Movie Night, Glow Dance, International Night, and more!
Parents, guardians, caregivers, students, staff – please submit photos here! If you already have a Shutterfly account, you might have to log in with that account, or try using a different email address altogether.
If you get prompted for a passcode for our school, it’s MKT-YEARBOOK-25.
The Lifetouch link above is the preferred way to submit, but, if that doesn’t work, feel free to upload your photos via Dropbox here!
The submission tool is easy to use, but, for any questions, please reach out to Matt, one of our volunteer yearbook coordinators, at matthew.l.safran@gmail.com. Thank you!
Other School News
- School Garden Work Day TODAY! Our Garden Club is holding a work day today (Friday, 4/25) from 2:45 PM to 4:15 PM. Please join us – gardening experience is not required! Email our Garden Club coordinator, Liza Queen, at Liza@potlikkerbrooklyn.com if you have questions or need more information!
- 2:45 PM to 3:30 PM – FREE “Intro to the Garden” class with Denver Urban Gardens – open to all students, but parents / guardians MUST BE PRESENT!
- 3:30 PM to 4:15 PM – planting cold weather seeds & seedlings!
- Mark your calendars: we have NO SCHOOL on Friday, May 2. This is a McKinley staff planning day!
- Save-the-date: everyone is invited to join us for Mr. J’s annual spring Fishing Day at Wash Park on Saturday, May 3 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM! Meet up with Mr. J on the north side of Smith Lake anytime between 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM. Denver Parks and Rec will have free fishing poles that kids can take home after the event!
If you have questions or need more information, please email Ron Joutras, our PE teacher, at Ronald_Joutras.dpsk12.net.
- Volunteer with Our Free Book Friday Giveaways! We are looking for help with our Free Book Friday giveaways on most Fridays from now through May. During Free Book Friday, we hand out books from our donation boxes for FREE to our students after school, and we need volunteers to make this possible! If you’d like to assist, please sign up here.
- Help Our PTA Stock the Lounge! Our PTA’s Wellness Committee is asking for your help to stock the McKinley staff lounge with goodies. The Wellness Committee created an Amazon wish list here that has all of our staff’s favorite foods. Please take a look and make a purchase if you are able to. The items will be set up in the staff lounge as they arrive! Thank you!
Community News & Resources
Upcoming School Events
Click here to view the McKinley-Thatcher school calendar.
- Monday, 4/28 – 4th Grade (Ms. Hoffmann) Walking Field Trip: Decker Library
- Tuesday, 4/29 – 4th Grade (Mrs. Jones) Walking Field Trip: Decker Library
- Friday, 5/2 – NO SCHOOL: McKinley Planning Day
- Saturday, 5/3 – Fishing Day with Mr. J at Wash Park
- Monday, 5/5 to Friday, 5/9 – Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week
- Friday, 5/9 – May PTA Meeting, 7:30 AM
Upcoming DPS & Community Events
