Happy Friday Park Hill Families,
I wanted to point out a few opportunities for families and students to contribute to some of our neighbors who could use some extra support as the weather gets colder. Our 4th and 5th grade students are doing a ‘Warm Fuzzies’ drive for gloves, wool socks, beanies, hand warmers, and blankets for our unhoused neighbors on Colfax. They are collecting new (amazon link) or lightly used items from November 13 - December 5.
Additionally, there has been an increase of Central/South American migrants that have settled in Denver recently. Often these families arrive with only what they have been able to carry on their backs after a dangerous journey. A Central Park and Park Hill Venezuelan Migrant Support Facebook group has been set up to help collect essentials (clothing, diapers, medications, warm items) for these families. Their needs change from day to day so please take a look and see if you can help.
After Thanksgiving break there will be opportunities for a gift card drive for Park Hill families as well. All of these opportunities are optional of course, but I think are excellent ways to show students the importance of helping others in our community.
Wishing everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving break!
Ken Burdette, Principal
The Panther Players Present:
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Down, down, down the rabbit hole…. follow Alice on their zany, weird, and marvelous adventures in Wonderland with the likes of the White Rabbit, Caterpillar, Hatter, Cheshire Cat, and the royalty court of Hearts and more! Join Park Hill Elementary’s inaugural Panther Player’s production of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Wednesday, December 6th at 6:30PM. Doors open at 6:00PM.
Tickets are free and can be reserved here:
Equity Corner
New MSU Denver program aims to train more male educators of color
https://denverite.com/2023/11/16/new-msu-denver-program-aims-to-train-male-educators-of-color
By Jason Gonzales
Add to your calendars - Monday Dec 4th (4pm) - Join us for our next Black Excellence Meeting (in person and virtual options)
Office Need
Thank you for the pants that were dropped off in the office. We are already putting them to good use! We have started to run low on younger students' underwear. If anyone has some clean spares, please feel free to drop them off during office hours.
Reminder: Park Hill Cares Share "WARM FUZZIES" This Holiday Season
Our 4th and 5th graders' Care Committee are pairing with a foundation called Lovewell who serves our unhoused friends on Colfax. We will be collecting gloves, wool socks, beanies, hand warmers, and blankets. We ask that these are preferably in adult sizes and are either New or very lightly used.
We will be collecting items from November 13-December 5. If it is easier for you to donate in a faster way, we have also set up an Amazon Wishlist that will have these items sent directly to the school. The link for the wishlist is here.
Mindfulness at Park Hill
This week we are focusing on Disappearing Anxiety. The technique we are focusing on uses breath work, a focus point and visualization to reduce anxiety. Children are invited to imagine the sensation of anxiety as an ice cube melting ~ a very effective technique to return to calm.
As a supplement to the in-person sessions, you can watch the video "Disappearing Anxiety” with them: https://youtu.be/0IAbjzxqv1A?feature=shared. You can access the entire video library HERE. If you have questions or suggestions, reach out to me at SustainableThree@gmail.com or #303-898-9496. ~"Miss Liz"
Liz Rutledge
Middle School Tours
Bill Roberts K-8 school Denver Green School -(720)424-7480
PTSA Park Hill Auction - Feb 23rd 2024
WHAT? A PARTY to raise money for Park Hill Elementary. This year’s auction theme is PROM, Enchantment Under the Sea (think Back to the Future’s Prom). Admission is free...so are food and drinks (skip the restaurant beforehand, and save your $ for the fundraising!).
WHY? This is the major fundraiser for Park Hill Elementary and directly supports our school’s ability to have paraprofessionals, intervention support staff, and our nurse and mental health teams. Overall, it helps close the per-student budget gap for PHE.
WHAT HAPPENS THERE? Fundraising through buy-a shares, silent & live auctions, vacation rental homes and paddle raises. You'll also be able to connect with parents and staff members of PHE and continue to build relationships in our community.
WHEN? Friday, February 23, 2024 from 6-11pm
WHERE? DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Denver (@ MLK & Quebec)3203 Quebec St, Denver, CO 80207
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: The auction is executed by PHE parent volunteers. Bring your neighbors, bring your friends, this is for everyone (not just Park Hill parents).
SILENT AUCTION: Introducing Mobile Bidding for those present! Bid against your friends for fabulous items and experiences ranging from health & beauty and food & spirits to memberships and tours.
GREAT GETAWAYS: Also via Mobile Bidding! Use of a vacation home donated by a family or friend of PHE.
BUY-A-SHARE: a party hosted by a family (or families) for kids, adults or families. At the auction, a specific number of tickets (or “shares”) to the event will be sold. Dates and an explanation of the party will be described on the sign up sheet at the auction.
TEACHER TIME: Our teachers and staff donate experiences that you can purchase, giving your child and their favorite faculty an opportunity to have fun outside the classroom. Again, dates and descriptions will be on the sign up sheets.
LIVE AUCTION: Unique items and experiences will be bid on during our live program, hosted by Emcee / Auctioneer Debbie Scheer.
PADDLE RAISE: Upon entering the auction, you will be given one bidder number per household. Our paddle raise, hosted by Emcee / Auctioneer Debbie Scheer, is the most impactful giving opportunity.
IT'S A DATE! Skip the restaurant date night and let us feed you! We’ll have hearty party food (GF/V options) and drinks, so whatever money you would have spent on dinner can be donated to PHE instead!
Call for Committee Service!
Yearbook: Not as scary as you’d think! A small crew that can do some simple things like solicit photos from school events, and/or meet a few times to help decide on format for the yearbook pages is all we need! Sound fun? Who’s creative (or wants to pretend they are)? Contact Emily at president@parkhillptsa.com
Book Fair Update!
We’re excited to share that we'll be partnering with The Bookies for an online book fair this year! The Book Fair will take place from Dec 8th - Dec 17th, and books can be purchased in person at the Bookies brick and mortar AND online through their website. You’ll have opportunities to purchase for yourself, for gifts, and even to purchase books off teacher wishlists! Anything purchased during that sale week using our special code will be credited to the school, and 15% of sales will come back to PHE. Details on how to purchase will be in the NEXT Panther Pages- we’ll share the code that gets Park Hill credit for a purchase as well as the link to the online sale! For now, check out The Bookies to start your own list… www.thebookies.com
Milk Caps for Moola!
Did you know we collect Longmont Dairy milk caps as a fundraiser for the school? If you have any of these milk caps, you can drop them in the collection box located just outside the school’s Main Office! How easy is that?
Another easy way to help the school is through the Cashback and King Soopers programs in the right hand column. Have you signed up yet?
Teacher Holiday Gifting:
A letter will be coming to you through your classroom leaders. An ask in that letter will be for two volunteers who can help collect cash donations (digital transfers, cash and check) for the teachers, paras and for support staff (each grade will also be asked to remember a different group of support staff so that no one is forgotten.) If you choose to participate in cash donation, you can give directly to those volunteers. We are asking for two to maintain checks and balances. Cash donations can then be turned into Visa gift cards and distributed. This activity will run independently of the PTSA, though we are helping develop the structure, and can answer questions/troubleshoot, because we know cash gifting has been popular in the past. You can also choose to still give gifts on your own if preferred. Any gifting is optional.
2023 - 2024 PTSA Calendar
Dec 8-17: Book Fair; The Bookies
Dec 11th: PTSA Meeting, School Library, 5:30 pm
Dec 15th: Coffee with Ken, 8:20, School cafeteria
Feb 23rd 2024: The Park Hill Elementary School Auction!
April 26th: Super Mega Awesome Dance Party!
Members’ corner:
We are looking at how to set up our chapter to participate in the National program. Check out the information below in case your child would like to work on some reflections during the break! We’ll have more info on how we (as Park Hill PTSA) submit art after break.
Reflections is a National PTA cultural arts recognition program that helps students explore their own thoughts, feelings and ideas; develop artistic literacy; increase confidence and creativity; develop critical thinking and problem solving skills; and find a love for learning that will help them become more successful not only in school, but in life.
Students in pre-K through Grade 12 create original works of art in response to a theme. The theme for the 2023-2024 program year is “I am Hopeful Because…” Students submit their completed works of art in one, or all, of the available arts categories: Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography, and Visual Arts. This is a wonderful opportunity for all of our brilliant, beautiful, and talented kiddos to express themselves through the medium of Art. Here's the link.https://copta.org/reflections.
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