Table of Contents   
Principal
Principal

The Winter Holidays are approaching quickly.  I have seen what a generous community we have through the donations to our Apple Campaign, and the amount of volunteer hours spent at, and for, the school.  I've witnessed the daily care and compassion from students and families towards others as I walk through the halls, visit classrooms, and spend time on the blacktop before and after school.  Reflecting upon this generosity, I'd like to continue a personal tradition I started in 2009 and respectfully refrain from receiving any holiday gifts.  I am grateful for your well wishes and feel truly fortunate for all that I have.  For those that are filled with the spirit of giving, please feel free to make a donation to any charity or to your child's classroom  in lieu of any gifts for me.  

Team UPark
720.424.3410

*Don't forget to download the UPark App here!

PTA
PTA

The Apple Campaign set out this year with a goal of raising $65,000 by October 31, and we are happy to report that we received $64,500 in donations and pledges!  Thank you so much to the 77 families who participated.  Without you, the PTA wouldn't be able to provide UPark with the funds needed to keep our classes small and staffed.  Thank you, also, to Carin Wagner, whose dedication as the Apple Campaign Chair helped make this year so successful!
 
To those who have not yet paid their pledge or who would still like to donate, there's still time!  Get your donation in before the end of the year to take advantage of the tax deduction for 2015, or donate any time until the end of the school year.  Just because you won't be hearing as much from us doesn't mean that the Apple Campaign stops accepting donations!  The collection box will remain in the office or you can DONATE HERE.

Don't forget to do your holiday shopping with Amazon Smile and earn cash back for UPark!

ETeam
UPark Emergency Preparedness

We know that school safety is always on people's minds, especially with all of the activities that have been in the news lately.  We want to assure families that we are cognizant of this concern and wanted to let you know what we have in place here at University Park.
 
Every school in DPS is required to practice drills on a regular basis.  We practice fire drills monthly and shelter in place and lock down drills several times a semester. These are all done in cooperation with the Denver Public Schools emergency team.  Here at University Park, our crisis team is in place and meets regularly to review safety procedures, roles, and protocols.  We remain vigilant about visitors in the building and continue to make sure our doors are locked and secure. In the case of a major emergency, DPS central office will contact families regarding the situation and next steps. For more information on Emergency Preparedness, click here.
 
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Grant Varveris


RestaurantNight
Restaurant Night
Tuesday, December 15th 

Eat at The Garlic Knot (2553 S. Colorado Blvd.) on Tuesday, December 15 from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM and they'll give money back to UPark. Click  here  to see the flyer for details. Make sure to mention UPark at checkout! 
auctiongiftcard
Spare a Gift Card for the UPark Auction?
 
The UPark Auction is not until next spring, but planning is already in the works!  This year we will not be asking for parent contributions for class baskets, but we still need your support in order to make it a success.  When you are out purchasing gift cards for your friends and loved ones, please consider picking up an extra card of any amount to donate to the silent auction.  Cards can be left in the front office.  Thank you in advance!

ClothingDrive
Student Council & Kaleidoscope Clothing Drive

The University Park Student Council and Kaleidoscope are sponsoring a winter clothing drive in order to provide warm winter clothing to those in need. The drive will be from Monday, December 7 through Friday, December 11. Students and families can drop new and gently used winter clothing items in the boxes located on each floor of the school building. We are accepting clothing of all sizes for children and adults. 


FacultyKitchen
Faculty Kitchen 
Volunteers Needed!

Our teachers and staff use the faculty kitchen every day.  There are a few things we can do to help maintain this area for them.
 
1) Volunteer to keep the faculty kitchen clean and organized. 
  • See the sign up here for details and dates. You can sign up once or multiple times. Time Commitment: 45 min - 1 hr.
2)  Donate an item from the "Shopping Wish List". See the shopping list here.
 
If you have any questions, contact Sharon Rusin at sbr4co@comcast.netThank you!

GreenTeam
Green Team
New Zero-Waste Party Kits! 

This week Green Team students were surprised to learn that most "paper plates" (that you can't tear with your hands) have a plastic coating and can't be recycled or composted.  The UPark Student Green Team decided to put together 10 class kits full of colorful, reusable, dishwasher safe plates, cups and utensils for classroom parties and food projects. PARENT VOLUNTEERS can sign-up to wash the party supplies instead of buying them. Use this easy way to reduce the waste UPark adds to the landfill!  Kits can be checked out and returned to Ms. Cardenas in room 116. 

The students on the Green Team are also doing a Recycled Ornament Challenge to decorate the tree by room 116.

The next Student Green Team meeting is Fri, Jan. 8 at 8:15 AM


calendars   
University Park Elementary Calendar

3 ways to access calendar information! Go to the University Park Website,  click on the CALENDAR ICON, or look below!  
  
  

  

wizard 
5 Star Wizard Hat Students:

Congratulations to last week's 5 Star Wizard Hat students! They were recognized by their teachers for positive behavior. 

Last week's students include: McKain Shirey, Cooper Morton, Adrian Beach, Memphis Spencer, Rodion Khristoforov, Amara Moreno, Logan Lloyd, Nate Bolinske, Sarah Shigio, Sam McPherson, Brendan Seitz, Aya Saad-Masri, Yilin Song, Owen Becker, Max Garcia, Kyra Hornung Standell, Amielia Babbitt, Kali Hoeksema-Walker, Jayme Cairns, Cooper Bullock, Lucas Brown, Ayham Alghweel, Avery Pollock, Bennett D'Hondt, Raphael Wieland, Peter Hum, Kyle Kojima, Gavan Littman, Sarai Osborne, Elna Kristensson.

  
Wizard Hats are given throughout UPark to celebrate students' good choices and positive behavior. We use a common vocabulary and teach Critical Thinking skills using the BrainWise curriculum.  Each week there is a random drawing of 2 students done by classroom teachers. These children are photographed and receive a token of our appreciation.

*At the end of each month we will be donating all clothing in the lost and found and anything left in the halls(all clothing will go into our little red school house in our parking lot).