News from the Nest — September 12, 2025

Posted September 12, 2025

REMINDER:
Back-to-School Night Is Next Thursday, 9/18!

Please join us for Back-to-School Night on Thursday, September 18 from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM! This is an opportunity to sit down with your child’s teachers to learn about classroom rituals and routines, curriculum, and school policies. 

Teachers will offer two identical presentation sessions. Families can attend the one that works best for them, and families with multiple students can attend both!

• Session #1: 4:00 PM to 4:40 PM
• Session #2: 4:45 PM to 5:25 PM

Does Your Family Want Interpretation?

We are happy to provide interpretation services to families who would like them! Please contact Mrs. Erin Thiagarajah on ClassDojo or via email at Erin_Thiagarajah@dpsk12.net to request interpretation.

We’re Offering Back-to-School Night Childcare!

To support our families, we are offering free childcare during our Back-to-School Night event! For details about childcare, please click here to visit the Back-to-School Night post on our website. 

Submit Your Information for the 2025 – 2026 PTA Contact Book!

The McKinley-Thatcher PTA creates annual Contact Books for each classroom to help families connect. Each contact book is shared only with families in the same grade. 

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! We will then create and share the contact book with you.

Please Complete ONE of the Following Steps

• Complete and return the Contact Book Information form that went home in our September 12 Friday Folders.
  
  
• Fill out the online Contact Book Google Form by clicking here.
  
  
• Download, print, and return the Contact Book information form by clicking here.
  (This is the same form that went home in Friday Folders!)  
  
  
• For questions about contact books, please contact our PTA Secretary, Dan Droller, at McKinleyThatcher@gmail.com.

Please submit your information digitally or return your form to the main office by Monday, September 29.

Other School News

• Mark Your Calendars: we have NO SCHOOL on the following days in September.
  • Friday, September 19 – NO SCHOOL (McKinley-Thatcher Staff Planning Day)
  • Monday, September 22 – NO SCHOOL (DPS Staff Planning Day)
    
    
• Library Book Checkout: students began checking out books from our school library on Monday, September 8. Library books will come home in your student’s backpack each week. To help us keep our collection in great condition for everyone to enjoy, please remind your child to:
  • Keep library books in a safe place at home, away from younger siblings and pets.
  • Make sure water bottles are secure and carried separately when possible.
    
    Thank you for partnering with us in building strong, joyful readers while keeping our library books safe and ready for the next student!

• Save-the-date: our 5th Annual PTA Movie Night is Friday, September 26! Arrival time is 6:00 PM and showtime is 7:00 PM. Please click here to RSVP on PTA’s Google Form!
  
  
• Save-the-date: our School Picture Day is Monday, September 29. Students will have their individual and class pictures taken this day by Bloom School Pictures. To see more information about how picture ordering works with Bloom, please visit the Bloom Family Dashboard by clicking here. We’ll also share more details about Picture Day next week!

Community News & Resources

• Community event: Platt Park’s Annual Movie Night is Friday, September 19 on the field of Platt Park. Denver Municipal Brass Quintet will put on a free concert at 5:30 PM, Fire Engine #16 will give tours of the fire truck to children, and the Denver Public Library bookmobile will also be present. The movie, Wicked, starts at 7:00 PM.

Share Your Feedback with Us!

Please let us know how we are doing! Send us a shoutout, an idea you have to help us get better, or a concern that you would like addressed. Responses can be submitted using this Google form. Thank you! 

Upcoming School Events

Click here to view the McKinley-Thatcher school calendar.

• Tuesday, 9/16 – 2nd Grade Field Trip: Bear Creek Park
• Tuesday, 9/16 – 3rd Grade Field Trip: Hammond’s Candies
• Thursday, 9/18 – Back-to-School Night, 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM
• Friday, 9/19 – NO SCHOOL: McKinley-Thatcher Staff Planning Day
• Monday, 9/22 – NO SCHOOL: DPS Staff Planning Day
• Friday, 9/26 – Monthly School Value Assembly
• Friday, 9/26 – PTA’s 5th Annual Movie Night, 6:00 PM – click here to RSVP on PTA’s Google form!

Upcoming DPS & Community Events

• Friday, 9/19 – Platt Park’s Annual Movie Night, 5:30 PM on the Platt Park field