AVA Newsletter - February 19, 2026

February 19, 2026

Admin Address

Teaching More Than Academics at Aspen View Academy

At Aspen View Academy, we are deeply committed to academic excellence. Strong instruction, aligned curriculum, and high expectations matter. But we also know something equally important:

Schools are not just places where students learn math, reading, history, and science. They are places where students learn how to be people.

In addition to academics, we intentionally teach social and character skills that help students succeed not only in school, but in life. These include things like:

Making eye contact when someone is speaking
Responding respectfully when greeted
Listening without interrupting
Disagreeing kindly
Showing responsibility and integrity

These may seem like small behaviors, but they build the foundation for confidence, leadership, and healthy relationships.

As students grow from kindergarten through eighth grade, these expectations grow with them. Younger students learn how to greet adults and use polite language. Older students practice professional communication, leadership skills, and respectful dialogue. By the time our students leave Aspen View Academy, we want them to be academically prepared and socially confident.

We believe strong character and strong academics go hand in hand. Students who feel confident interacting with others are more likely to participate in class, ask questions, collaborate effectively, and take on challenges. These skills support academic growth in powerful ways.

Our staff is committed to modeling these behaviors daily. We also know that the partnership between school and home makes the greatest impact. Families can support this work by encouraging respectful communication, responsibility, and positive peer interactions outside of school.

At Aspen View Academy, we are proud to teach more than academics. We are preparing students not just for the next grade level, but for future classrooms, careers, and communities.

Thank you for partnering with us in raising not only strong learners, but strong individuals.

Bob Barber

Principal, Aspen View Academy

Middle School Only News

Incoming Freshman Info Meeting

Castle View Football

Class of 2030 Students

Click on the logo on the right to open the letter and learn about this meeting that is on Feb. 23rd

Middle School Winter Sports

Check out the Athletic calendar on our website and come cheer on our AVA Wolves!

General Announcements

Everyone needs groceries, so why not let a percentage of your grocery bill benefit Aspen View Academy?

Sign up Aspen View Academy for King Soopers Community Rewards and automatically be entered into a drawing for a FRONT ROW parking space at AVA. Click here for instructions on how to add AVA to your King Soopers Account and to enter our drawing for a parking spot.

Each quarter King Soopers will donate a percent of what you spend to our PTO. All you need to do is follow the instructions above to link your King Soopers Account to AVA community rewards. Then every time you shop at King Soopers, use your Shopper Card or Alternate ID a percent of your grocery bill will come back to the PTO.

It does not cost anything to enroll. It is Free Money and this is a great way to support Aspen View Academy PTO! This does not affect your gas rewards or any of your KS rewards.

Most Valuable Teacher Award Presented by Ford

We are thrilled to announce that our very own Ms. Kristin Lopez, Pre-K Teacher, has been honored with the Most Valuable Teacher (MVT) Award presented by Ford by the Colorado Avalanche!

The Colorado Avalanche recognize outstanding educators across Colorado with the Most Valuable Teacher (MVT) program, celebrating teachers and school administrators who demonstrate exceptional leadership, empower students, and make a meaningful impact in their communities. Honorees will be celebrated at an Avalanche game, treated to a visit from Avalanche Ambassadors, receive a classroom grant and Most Valuable Teacher plaque.

If you are looking for ways to fulfill your volunteer hours please see our ongoing volunteer opportunities on our webpage. This weekend the PTO is looking for help at the Glow Party.

The PTO is looking for some volunteers to help set up on Friday from 4-7pm and on Saturday. See the sign up genius and sign up to help at this fun event!

Parent Education Meeting:

E-Bike Laws & Safety with Officer Whyte

We invite all parents and guardians to join us for an important and timely Parent Education Meeting focused on the new bicycle laws and safety considerations surrounding electrically assisted bicycles (E-bikes).

Meeting Details:

Wednesday, February 25

5:30–7:00 PM

AVA Cafeteria

RSVP here

Parents and guardians may log 1.5 volunteer hours for attending.

Please note: This session is intended for parents and guardians only.

We respectfully ask that students do not attend.

THANK YOU, AVA Families, Friends, and Supporters!

Thanks to the incredible generosity of our AVA community, we successfully completed a two-part fundraiser to bring an amazing rock climbing wall to our school! This past weekend marked the completion of the installation, including four auto belays.

The auto belays, combined with the traverse wall, will ensure that all AVA students can safely enjoy this exciting new addition. Staff training will take place soon, and once completed, students will be able to begin using the wall.

A very special THANK YOU to Amanda Lundberg, Bryanna Daniels, and Jill Sturman for their hard work and dedication in bringing this project to fruition!

Thank you again to everyone who helped make this project possible!

Friday, February 27th is Dress of Choice

The Scholastic Book Fair is just 3 weeks away! Create a Book Fair eWallet for your child NOW so they can shop cash-free, worry-free, and independently! It’s easy to set up and easy for others to contribute funds! Start here for easy set up today!!

It is that time of the year -- the annual AVA Parent Satisfaction Survey! The SAC Committee (School Accountability Committee) invites you to complete the survey (one per family) expressing your thoughts and opinions regarding the current AVA academic year. Your feedback is important to us! The survey should take less than 15 minutes to complete.

As a token of our appreciation, survey participants:

Can claim 1 volunteer hour for completing the survey
Will be entered into a drawing for one of 3 gift cards
And if we get 75% or better family participation, students will receive a free dress of choice day!

Please know that your responses are confidential. The SAC Committee will only use the family number to conduct the drawings for the gift cards. The results of the survey will be shared with the Board and Administration to determine whether AVA meets or exceeds annual goals set for the school.

The survey opens Monday, March 2nd and will be open until March 12th. An email with the link to the survey will be sent at that time.

Landsharks Running Club

Spring Track Series at

Aspen View Academy

Please click on the photo for more information and to sign up.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent Teacher conferences are scheduled for:

Tuesday March 10th from 4:15 - 8:00 pm and

Thursday March 12th from 4:15 - 8:00 pm

Look for an email on March 4th for the sign ups. Please note students will attend school as a regular school day on these two conference days.

CMAS 2026 is coming soon to AVA!

Here at Aspen View Academy, we are hard at work preparing for CMAS testing. Every classroom, every lesson, and every practice opportunity in IXL is a part of helping our students achieve at their highest level.

The Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) tests are given every year to 3rd-8th grade students in every public school in Colorado, measuring students in math, English/language arts, science (for 5th- and 8th-graders), and social studies (on a rotational basis every three-ish years for 4th- and 7th-graders). These tests are used by a lot of different groups:

The Colorado Department of Education and the Douglas County School District look at these results to see how well a school is preparing their students for success based on the Colorado Academic Standards and expectations for graduation.

AVA looks at these results to determine curriculum choices, professional development opportunities, and student support needs.

Prospective/future AVA families look at these results to get a feel for what kind of education their student will receive upon entering the building.

Current AVA families look at these results to celebrate growth with their students and to make decisions about where they can give their students higher-level challenges or provide extra learning opportunities around specific skills.

CMAS also presents ways for schools to be highlighted based on two metrics: how well students achieve (the score they receive) and how well students grow (the difference between one year’s scores and the next). There are two coveted awards that are granted to schools for testing results:

The first is the John Irwin award, which recognizes a school for several consecutive years of high achievement.
The second is the Governor’s Distinguished Improvement award, which recognizes a school for several consecutive years of high growth.

Both of these awards come with awesome banners a school can display on their building to show off their accomplishments as well as a special denotation on their yearly School Performance Framework.

With all of these implications, it’s difficult not to highly anticipate the wonderful things that can come out of CMAS testing.

As a close-knit school community, we already know that AVA is the best school around! CMAS is a great opportunity for us to show off just how amazing we are to the community at large.

To help us in this endeavor, there are several things you can do to help us make this the best CMAS season yet:

Encourage your students to view CMAS as the championships of school! They’ve been practicing all year to show off their skills in the big game. They have been well prepared to be the MVPs.

Plan ways to make the most of CMAS testing days: send your students to school with a special brain-boosting breakfast; give them an encouraging note or a sticker they can wear that reminds them that you’re sending them all your support during testing; plan a fun activity to celebrate that they did their best once testing is over. Your support for your students during these days is incredibly invaluable.

Ensure that, if your student is part of the testing grade levels, (s)he has no scheduled appointments during testing times. (The front office will not be able to call students out of a scheduled testing session.)

**CMAS testing will take place during the first two full weeks of April. You can check the tentative schedule here. Information on excusals from state testing can be found in this same location. Please make sure that any excusals are submitted by Friday, February 27th.**

We are so excited for April to come so that our students can show off everything they’ve learned this year, and we can’t wait to see and celebrate how much every student has grown.