News from the Nest — November 22, 2024

Posted November 22, 2024

In Case You Missed It:
McKinley’s Upcoming Transition to the “Enrollment Zone” SchoolChoice Model

Earlier today, we shared an important update with our families via email and ClassDojo regarding our transition to the “Enrollment Zone” SchoolChoice model beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. You can see this update on our website here.

We know this is a lot of information, and that it may be confusing or overwhelming. If you have questions or need help, please stop by our main office, call us at (720) 424-5600, or email us at McKinley_Thatcher@dpsk12.org. We are here to assist our families! 

REMINDER: Our Glow Dance Is TONIGHT!

It’s finally here! Join us for our Glow Dance TONIGHT (Friday, November 22) from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in our cafeteria! Admission to the dance is FREE, and we’ll have food, glow accessories, face paint, and other fun available for sale by purchasing raffle tickets at the door. You can also visit our book fair, which will be open until 6:30 p.m.!

Colorado Gives Day is Happening NOW – Support McKinley!

Just a reminder from our PTA – we’ve launched our very first Colorado Gives Day campaign!

What is Colorado Gives Day?

It’s Colorado’s largest day of giving when donations to Colorado nonprofits like McKinley-Thatcher are boosted by the Colorado Gives Foundation!

Early Giving is Happening Now!

From now until December 10, all gifts are boosted by a $1 million Incentive Fund. Plus, start a new monthly donation, and your first gift will be matched up to $100, doubling your impact!

How to Give:

Visit our donation page and make a donation to help us reach our goal of $10,000. Let’s make this first campaign a success – thank you for supporting McKinley!

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

  • REMINDER: we have NO SCHOOL next week (Monday, November 25 to Friday, November 29) for our fall break! School resumes on Monday, December 2.

  • 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

  • The City of Denver’s Tasty Food sites are open all next week (November 25-29) to serve free meals and snacks for all kids ages 3-18. No registration or ID needed. Click here for details!

  • Families are invited to sign up for the Annual Holiday Toy Shop offered by Kenzi’s Causes on Saturday, December 7 from 8:45 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the National Western Complex (4655 Humboldt St.). Each registered child will receive a NEW toy, a stuffed animal, and a card game! Registration is REQUIRED and will open on Thursday, December 5 at www.kenziscauses.org.

  • DPS Discount Days: get tickets to the December 27 Nuggets game through this special link and have a portion of each ticket purchased donated back to the DPS Foundation!

Upcoming School Events

Click here to view the McKinley-Thatcher school calendar.

  • Friday, 11/22 – Free Book Friday, 2:30 p.m. on our playground
  • Friday, 11/22PTA Glow Dance, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
  • Monday, 11/25 to Friday, 11/29NO SCHOOL: Fall Break
  • Monday, 12/2 – 3rd Grade Field Trip: Denver Museum of Nature & Science
  • Friday, 12/6 – December PTA Meeting, 7:30 a.m. in our library

Upcoming DPS & Community Events

  • None at this time!