News from the Nest — February 17, 2023

Posted February 17, 2023

Vol. 7, No. 23

RSVP for our Social-Emotional Learning Night on Tues., 3/7!

McKinley-Thatcher families are cordially invited to our Social-Emotional Learning Night on Tuesday, March 7 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm! We’ll have free pizza dinner for families, free childcare for McKinley students, and eight different learning sessions for adults to choose from! To see our session topics, visit our website.

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is the development of self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills that are vital for success in school, work, and life. Our Social-Emotional Learning Night is focused on SEL specifically for parents and caregivers, with the goal of helping our families learn about a variety of important topics to best support their children at home and at school.

An RSVP is REQUIRED to Attend SEL Night!

Please help us get an accurate attendance count for dinner and childcare needs by filling out our Social-Emotional Learning Night RSVP form here. RSVPs are due by Friday, March 3. We may close our RSVP form early if we reach our maximum capacity for childcare!

We are happy to provide interpretation services to our multilingual families! Families can request interpretation by filling out our Social-Emotional Learning Night RSVP form or by contacting Ms. Ingrid Hoff (she/her), our community liaison, on ClassDojo or by email to Ingrid_Hoff@dpsk12.net.

IMPORTANT:
Help Us Keep Our Alleyway Safe & Respectful!

We have heard from several community members about some ongoing issues caused by pick-up/drop-off happening in the alleyway behind our school building. 

Our alley parking spots are RESERVED FOR STAFF from 7:00am to 3:00pm. Discovery Link & enrichment families may use these spots after 3:00pm. Please remember, our designated parking spots in the alley each have a concrete marker. Do not park between these spots or by the dumpsters. 

Please, help us be safe and respectful to our neighbors by following these rules!

  • Please drop off your student in our kiss-and-go lane at the front of our building or find parking elsewhere on Louisiana, Logan, or other streets and walk from there.
  • Look where you are going! We’ve had several near-accidents when families did not check for incoming cars and pedestrians. 
  • DO NOT park in front of garage doors or fence gates. This prevents our neighbors from being able to access their own cars and yards.
  • DO NOT move our neighbors’ trash, recycling, or compost bins. This prevents trash removal services from picking up the bins. 

Eat at Park Burger on Pearl on 2/22 to Fundraise for McKinley!

Our PTA’s February Restaurant Day fundraiser is ALL DAY this coming Wednesday, February 22 at the Pearl St. Park Burger location! Dine in (1890 S. Pearl St.) or order online through Park Burger’s website using our special code (thatcher23) to have 15% of sales donated back to our school! 

Check out this flyer for full details and remember that our code is not valid through third-party delivery apps like DoorDash.  

In Other News!

  • In case you missed it: strep throat update from our school nurse! There have been several cases of strep throat at our school over the last several weeks. Please keep an eye out for symptoms of strep in your kids!

    Symptoms of strep throat include:
    • Pain, discomfort or raw feeling of the throat.
    • Pain is made worse when swallowing.
    • Other symptoms include sore throat, fever, headache, stomach pain, nausea and vomiting.
    • Cough, hoarseness, red eyes, and runny nose are usually not seen with strep throat. These symptoms point more to a viral cause.

      The School-Based Health Centers (SBHC) run by Denver Health have FREE strep tests for all DPS students. To schedule an appointment, call (303) 602-8958. The SBHC clinics are located in many DPS schools (including South High School, which is just a few minutes away from McKinley!). The clinics offer free medical care and advice. More information can be found on the Denver Health website.

  • REMINDER: we have NO SCHOOL this coming Monday, February 20 or Tuesday, February 21! We’ll see you again on Wednesday, February 22!

  • REMINDER: DPS is providing free vision, hearing, and dental screenings for all McKinley-Thatcher students in ECE, kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th grade (not 4th grade) on Thursday, February 23 and Friday, February 24. The screenings are not an assessment or an evaluation and do not replace professional exams. Instead, the screenings help identify students who may be at risk for health concerns affecting their ability to learn. For more information, including how to opt out, click here.

    To read this information in Spanish, click here. To read this information in Arabic, click here.

  • We have two community resources to share with families this week!

Upcoming School Events

Click here to view the McKinley-Thatcher school calendar.

  • Mon., 2/20 & Tues., 2/21 – NO SCHOOL!
  • Wed., 2/22 – Restaurant Day Fundraiser @ Park Burger (1890 S. Pearl St.)
  • Thurs., 2/23 – DPS vision / hearing / dental screenings (ECE-3rd & 5th grade)
  • Fri., 2/24 – DPS screening recheck day for absent students
  • Fri., 2/24 – Monthly School Value Assembly, 7:45am-8:15am
  • Mon., 2/27 & Tues., 2/28 – School Science Fair
  • Mon., 2/27 – Science Fair projects DUE, 7:15am-7:45am
  • Mon., 2/27 – Science Fair OPEN to families, 2:30pm-3:30pm
  • Tues., 2/28 – 1st & 2nd Grade Field Trip: Denver Museum of Nature & Science
  • Tues., 2/28 – 3rd-5th Grade Field Trip: Colorado Symphony
  • Thurs., 3/2 – March PTA Meeting, 7:30am in our library!
  • Fri., 3/3 – Free Book Friday, 2:30pm on our playground

Upcoming DPS & Community Events