News from the Nest — January 12, 2024

Posted January 12, 2024

REMINDER:
NO SCHOOL on Monday, 1/15 or Tuesday, 1/16!

A reminder that we have NO SCHOOL on Monday, January 15 (MLK Day) or Tuesday, January 16 (McKinley Staff Planning Day). See you on Wednesday, January 17!

You’re Invited: PTA Chili Cook-Off Is Friday, 1/26!

Our PTA’s annual Chili Cook-Off is coming up on Friday, January 26 from 5:30pm to 7:00pm in our school cafeteria! We’ll have food and fun for the whole family, including $1 cake walk entries, other free activities, and free ice cream samples thanks to the Stir-Pan Creamery! 

RSVP for the Chili Cook-Off online using our Google form or by calling our main office at (720) 424-5600!

Want to Bring a Chili or Donate a Sweet Treat to Our Cake Walk? 

Attendees can enter a chili to compete for prizes or donate to our cake walk using our SignUpGenius or by returning the paper form in your child’s January 12 Friday Folder to the main office.

See full event details, including chili guidelines, on our website!

Round 1 SchoolChoice Applications Now Open!

Just a reminder that Round 1 of the 2024-2025 SchoolChoice Application Window opened yesterday (Thursday, January 11) and runs through 4:00pm on Monday, February 12!

All families with students entering ECE, kindergarten, 6th grade, or 9th grade next school year should complete a SchoolChoice application during the Round 1 window to sign up for a space at their preferred school. Visit schoolchoice.dpsk12.org to learn more and to start your application! 

Current McKinley families with students going into 1st through 5th grade do not need to complete a SchoolChoice application in order for their student to continue at McKinley-Thatcher next year.

To see more SchoolChoice information, including Frequently Asked Questions and application guides, visit our website! To see this information in Spanish, click here. To see this information in Arabic, click here.

Donation Request: Big and Small, We Need Them All! 

Our PTA needs donations for our upcoming auction, Shine, on Friday, March 1, 2024. This is our largest fundraiser of the year, and we need you all to help make it a success! Handmade items, sharing a skill, fine wine or liquor, time at a vacation home – whatever it is you have to give, we’re so grateful!

Can You Help?

Please let us know using this Google form.

We’re happy to take donations until February 9, and request donation items in hand by February 14 so we can get them posted to our auction site.

We have some great volunteers helping us solicit local businesses but could always use extra help. We’ll provide the tools, but we need your feet and voice! Email mctauction@gmail.com and we’ll get you set up.

Other School News

  • Every January, our school receives our budget for the next year. How do you think we should spend the money? Come tell us at our next CSC meeting on Tuesday, January 23! This is the most important CSC meeting of the year, and we’d love to see you there. Join us Tuesday, January 23, 5:00pm to 6:30pm online via Google Meet using this link. See you there! 

Community News & Resources

  • We have a special message for our school community from the DPS Planning, Design, and Construction Office! As some of you may know, McKinley was selected to receive construction upgrades to help improve our school when DPS’s school bond measure passed in 2020. To celebrate our school’s upgrades, the Planning, Design, and Construction Office created a special video message about our field’s new athletic turf and landscaping and the improvements inside our building, including brand-new smartboards, stage curtains, bottle fill stations, and replacement tread on our stairs!

  • DPS Discounts Days: tickets for the National Western Stock Show are available until January 21 – $2 from each ticket purchased using our special discount code (DPSF) will be donated back to Denver Public Schools Foundation! Use this code to buy tickets here!

Upcoming School Events

Click here to view the McKinley-Thatcher school calendar.

  • Mon., 1/15 & Tues., 1/16 – NO SCHOOL: MLK, Jr. Day & McKinley Staff Planning Day
  • Tues., 1/23 – January CSC Meeting, 5:00pm-6:30pm, online via Google Meet
  • Weds., 1/24 – Eagles Basketball Game, 4:30pm, in our gym (enter through the alley door!)
  • Fri., 1/26 – Monthly School Value assembly, 7:45am, in our cafeteria
  • Fri., 1/26 – PTA Chili Cook-Off, 5:30pm-7:00pm, in our cafeteria  

Upcoming DPS & Community Events

  • None at this time!