Happy Friday PHE Families:
On top of everything else, our teachers are working on class placements for next school year. This is a very thoughtful, intentional, and collaborative process at PHE. Your child's teacher often has the most keen insight and knowledge of your child's strengths and interests and will place students according to what we believe will best set them up for success in the 2024-25 school year. I want to provide a reminder to parents and guardians that the child we see at school is not always the child you see at home. What do I mean by this? Sometimes a child can be very outgoing at school, and quiet and cautious at home. Or vice versa. We take our past 9 months of knowledge and observation to determine the best fit for your child(ren) next year. *If you are the parent or guardian of a child who has or has had an older sibling at PHE, and you specifically want us to consider the same trajectory of teachers, please reach out to your classroom teacher and CC either Ms Bixby or me. Thank you for your understanding and support with this process.
Our bike to school event is Wednesday, May 8. Please check out all the details on where your student can meet up to ride with other students. Also, take a look at the local news video about our amazing traffic guard, Nicole. Please thank her for all the work she has done to keep our kids safe (despite a few Internet trolls).
-Ken Burdette, Principal
Early Bird Registration
Early Bird registration for families will begin on Monday. Registration is the annual process of providing and updating student and family information on file, including emergency contacts, health information and more. Registration can only be completed by the parent/guardian listed in the primary household of the student record. Registration is mandatory for all families. If you miss the early bird registration dates above, there will be another opportunity to complete registration in August.
Steps for Completing Online Registration:
Login to Parent Portal at https://myportal.dpsk12.org/
(this login is separate from your SchoolChoice login)
Click 'See All Apps'
Click 'Online Registration'
You will bring up the Infinite Campus website - click 'More'
Click 'Online Registration'
School Supply ordering for next year
Supplies are shipped to the school and students will receive school supplies on the first day of school.
2. Enter the school ID, PAR387 (3 letters/3 numbers)
3. Follow the directions to complete your order. Choose the grade level your student will be
next fall
4. Keep your online confirmation as your receipt.
Supply lists are available through the link above as well if you would like to purchase them on your own. Every student must have their own supplies. If you are able, please consider supporting another family who might need supplies. The front office is collecting donations or you can purchase an additional package for your child’s grade level and put ‘donation’ as the student name.
Bike to School Day on Wednesday, May 8
Bike to school day is coming up! Bike to school day is a day in the school year where kids bike and walk to school on Wednesday, May 8th. The 5th Grade Sustainability Grant Committee will have meet-ups and prizes. All you need to do is read and decide how to get involved.
Meet-Ups
Meet-ups are where kids and adults meet-up at a certain spot and bike to our school. We have three locations set up:
Spinelli’s (4621 E 23rd Ave.)
McAuliffe International School (Holly and 25th, Meet on the corner of 25th)
Nuggs (Colfax and Fairfax).
If you are out of the borders of Park Hill, don’t worry. You can drive to the closest meet up with your bike then bike from there. The meet-ups leave between 7:40-7:45 so be there a little early. From there you will bike to school and get a prize. (You can also ride from your house, if that works).
Prizes
Like every special day at Park Hill, we will have prizes! We will have toys, no homework days and much, much more. First, you will bike to school and park your bikes. Then you will head to the first prize table you see. Once you are over there, the fifth graders will ask you what grade you are in. Once you say your grade they will tally your grade and you can pick a toy and head off to class. There are bigger prizes too! We will announce the class in each grade who biked the most and they can choose a cool class prize.
Please come and support Park Hill’s environmental sustainability efforts and enjoy a morning walking or biking to school!
- 5th Grade Sustainability Grant Committee
Reminder: New Attendance System for 2024-25
Next year we will be implementing a new Attendance system that the district rolled out last year. We encourage parents to start using the system now, but the Google Form on the Park Hill website will still be active for the remainder of the year.
We’ve found that the mobile app is the easiest way for families to access the attendance system. Here is a quick guide on how to get this setup for the first time on your mobile device. Note: This attendance system should work for other DPS schools and also gives access to grades and student related items.
Please take a moment to get the app setup on your phone now so you’re ready to use it when needed!
Not returning to PHE next year?
If you know that your student is not returning to a DPS school in the fall we ask that families complete a Withdraw Form for the next school year. Please email completed forms to Ann Kurth (ann_kurth@dpsk12.net).
Anti-Idling Campaign
As part of our Engines Off anti-idling campaign, we’re asking that all persons operating vehicles at or near the school turn off their engine when parked for more than 10 seconds. Turning your engines off will help reduce harmful air pollution in our region.
Car engines release a wide variety of air pollutants. One of the most visible pollutants, particulate matter, is made up of microscopic debris small enough to lodge in lungs. Carbon monoxide is also released from vehicles, and it can reduce oxygen flow to organs. Several pollutants released from cars react with UV rays to form ground-level ozone pollution, which is one of our region’s worst environmental and health problems. According to the American Lung Association, Denver and Aurora have the sixth highest average number of days in the U.S. with unhealthy ozone pollution. In the summer of 2021 the Front Range broke a record: there were 65 ozone alert days, meaning ozone pollution was severe enough to warrant canceling outdoor plans and hunkering down indoors.
Ground-level ozone pollution is a health threat; experts have compared breathing ozone pollution to a “sunburn of the lungs.” It irritates the respiratory system, exacerbates COVID symptoms, can trigger heart attacks, causes lower birth weight and may even reduce gut microbiome diversity. It’s estimated that ozone pollution causes 1.04-1.23 million premature adult deaths each year. And unfortunately, children are the most susceptible to ozone’s dangerous health impacts. That’s why it’s so important that we all do our part to reduce air pollution in our community - especially at schools around kids. Please, turn your engines off when they aren’t in use.
Mindfulness at Park Hill
This Mindfulness meditation is about resetting and finding NOW - this moment - where the magic is. NOW is not the past or the future, so it is very fleeting - but, in the present moment, we have a chance to reset our energy, "drop in" and capture NOW. Enjoy this short but sweet video. Here is this week's video, Finding Now. 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. - Liz Rutledge
Save the date: Park Hill Elementary Field Day Events
May 21, 2024: 8:40-11:15 am: 3rd-5th Field Day Events
May 22, 2024: 8:30-10:30 am: 1st-2nd Field Day Events; 1:45-2:45 pm: Kindergarten Field Day Events
PTSA
Super Mega Awesome Dance Party!
SUPER MEGA AWESOME FUNDRAISER
Whew, we did it! The Super Mega Awesome Fundraiser has now come to a close. Your students managed to bring in a whopping $55,442!
Here are the winners for the week 3 May 3rd Doughnut Party
Pre-K: Belle
K: Lulu
1st: Wiant
2nd: Kline
3rd: Main
4th: Ms G
5th: Ferguson
The Super Mega Awesome events are truly an "all hands on deck" experience. We'd like to thank all of you and all of your families for all of the work you put into this fundraiser and the dance party. We'd also like to give a shout out to everyone else who made this possible. If you see them feel free to give them a thank you as well:
Volunteer Lunch: Snarfs
Teacher Treats: Holly Street Bakery
Doughnuts: Voodoo Doughnuts
Student Lunches: Mr. Dennis & Team
Assistant Principles & Principles for the day
DJ: Pat Banister
Parent Volunteers: Ingrid Hewitson, Lisa Sarno, Catherine, Bober, Kaziq Jankowski Mishkin, Erin Donovan, Ashley Wallace, Kate Kopischke, Erin Ramsey, Mayra Gacon, Natalie Schnall, Molly Duncan, Rhonda Peterson, Meredith Hibit & Lauren Zobec
Committee Volunteers: Shannon Spezialy, Madelyn Reid, & Megan Dye
Have a great summer and we’ll see you next year! -Super Mega Awesome Dance Party Crew
Yearbook:
Yearbook sales technically end today for Park Hill Elementary through the Treering website (though we used the 4/26 deadline to determine any purchasing needs for PTSA). Any order placed after today will go directly to your home, and will not be part of the school order/delivery. Please work directly with Treering if you have any questions.
PTSA Calendar:
May 13th: PTSA Meeting: this is a year end wrap-up! Come to learn everything that we did and to look ahead to next year!
Monday, May 13 · 5:30 – 6:30pm, library
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/nma-eihy-par
May 17th: Coffee with Ken
Friday, May 17 · 8:20 – 9:20am, cafeteria or playground
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/qwg-mxtb-gyw
May 24th: Tentative yearbook Delivery (volunteer sign up to come)