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Nestled between the city of Denver and its suburbs to the south, Englewood Schools allows students to thrive in a unique learning environment
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Englewood Schools' choirs performed at the City of Englewood tree lighting ceremony on Saturday, December 1.
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Parent & Community Newsletter
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In this issue:
- Activities and Upcoming Events
- The Results are In
- Celebrating STEM Successes and Learnings
- Early Literacy is Important for Success
- Tips for Beating Holiday Stress
- Upcoming Construction Events
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education Program
- Gifted Education Program
- Construction Updates
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Activities & Upcoming Events
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Englewood Schools Events for the Month of December:
- Tuesday, December 4: ELA Genius Hour Expo 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
- Thursday, December 6: Parents4Parents Meeting, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. at TEC (3800 S. Logan St.)
- Friday, December 7: Bishop Parent Community Committee 12:00 p.m.
- EMS/ELA Musical - CrazyTown, 7:00 p.m. at TEC
- Saturday, December 8: EMS/ELA Musical - CrazyTown, 7:00 p.m. at TEC
- Tuesday, December 11: Bishop Choir Concert, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
- Thursday, December 13: ECE Pajama Family Night, 5:00 - 6:00 p.m.
- EHS Band Holiday Concert, 7:00 p.m. at TEC
- Monday, December 17: Maddox Furniture Sale, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, December 18: Regular Board of Education Meeting, 6:00 p.m. at TEC
- Wednesday, December 19: Language Development Council Meeting, 5:00 p.m. at TEC
- Thursday, December 20: Bishop Groundbreaking Ceremony, 1:45 - 2:45 p.m.
- EHS Choir Holiday Concert, 7:00 p.m. at TEC
- Friday, December 21: Teacher Workday - No School
- Monday, December 18 - Tuesday, January 8: PRESCHOOL Winter Break
- Monday, December 24 - Monday, January 7: No school - Winter Break
Free or Low-Cost Family Activities in December:
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Thank you to everyone who participated in our annual climate and culture survey. The results from this survey help us to determine what’s going well and what needs improvement in our schools to ensure they are the very best places possible to learn and work. We will be using all the data in this survey to make improvements around our district.
An important part of the survey is what respondents write in the open-ended questions. Our parents, staff members and students used many similar words and phrases to describe their learning environments.
One thing is clear: our community values the people that make up Englewood Schools!
Parents and students overwhelmingly responded that the best thing about their schools are the
teachers
(#1 answer).
Staff members responded that the best thing about their schools are the
students
(#1 answer).
Many pointed out that what makes Englewood Schools unique is that we are a
small, diverse community
.
Each person contributes to what makes Englewood special. Thank you to those who shared their thoughts with us during the survey, and thank you for your unique contributions to our community of learning!
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Actual word map from staff members' answers regarding their favorite thing about their schools.
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Celebrating STEM Successes & Learnings
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At the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year, Englewood Schools added STEM SmartLabs to all of its elementary schools, thanks to a grant from the Gill Foundation. The labs made it possible for the district to offer innovative STEM programming to all students in grades K-12, adding to the existing STEM Labs and programming at the middle and high school levels.
In order to evaluate the progress of the STEM program and to continue to improve, the district and Gill Foundation contracted with a third party to conduct an evaluation of the program with data from students, STEM facilitators and teachers.
Overall, the evaluation found that students felt successful and engaged in their STEM classes and were interested in STEM careers.
STEM Lab classrooms showed increasing alignment with STEM and project-based learning models from September 2017 to April 2018 based on the reports of external observers.
The district has also used this information to identify next steps such as expanding career pathways at the high school level, increasing the rigor in STEM classes at middle and elementary schools and increasing involvement of industry partners to make career connections for students.
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Early Literacy is Important for Success
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In Colorado, Early Literacy is a priority. Research shows that children should transition from learning to read to reading to learn by the end of third grade to be successful in later grades.
There are several things you can do at home to help your child advance in reading:
- Talk often: The more words children hear, the better they will be at reading. Narrate your day and converse with your child often.
- Read together: Read books together. Spend time talking about the stories, pictures and words.
- Be an advocate: Keep informed about your child's progress in reading. Ask the teacher about ways to help.
- Be an example: Read, write and show your child the benefits of both.
- Visit the library: Many helpful and fun resources await you at the local library.
For more information on the Colorado READ Act and tools for early literacy,
please click here.
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Tips for Beating Holiday Stress
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While the holidays are a fun and joyous time for many, it can also mean disrupted schedules, travel and lots of excitement, which can lead to undesirable behaviors from kids. Here are a few tips you can use to help maximize the joy and minimize the tears this holiday season:
- Manage yourself so you can stay calm. Make sure you are taking care of yourself so you can be calm and present for your kids. They rely on you!
- Give kids plenty of warning about travel and upcoming events. You may want to use a calendar to show your kids what will happen each day.
- Coach your kids about the behavior you expect. Role play with them in the car before you arrive, or make a game of it before you go.
- Plan no more than one event per day. Kids need downtime to relax and rejuvenate so they can be at their best.
- Have age-appropriate expectations. Be sure your schedule includes a visit to the playground or other opportunities for kids to get fresh air and physical activity.
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Upcoming Construction Events
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As we draw closer to wrapping up our third construction project and beginning our fifth (and final!) project, there are exciting events on the horizon:
- Monday, December 17, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.: Maddox Furniture Sale. Selling preschool sized chairs, tables, desks, rugs, etc.
- Thursday, December 20, 1:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.: Bishop Elementary Groundbreaking Ceremony and Old School Farewell. Join us as we celebrate the beginning of construction and get a last look at the soon-to-be former Bishop building.
- Tuesday, January 8, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.: Early Childhood Center at Maddox Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. Be one of the first to tour the new facility!
We hope you can join us for these exciting events!
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Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Education Program
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The English Learner newsletter has a new name, and a new look! Now known as the CLD News, this month's newsletter includes:
- Upcoming events
- Testing dates for English Learners
Also, did you know about the Englewood Schools Language Development Council?
Englewood’s
Language Development Council (LDC)
will meet monthly during the 2018-2019 school year. These meetings are facilitated by the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education Department, and are open to Englewood teachers, parents, and students.
The LDC meetings will be held the third Wednesday of each month from 5:00-6:00PM. Locations change each month. The meeting dates are:
Wednesday, December 19th (The Englewood Campus) - Gingerbread Houses!
Wednesday, January 16th (Colorado’s FInest)
Wednesday, February 20th (Maddox ECE)
Wednesday, March 20th (Cherrelyn)
Wednesday, April 17th (TBA)
Wednesday, May 15th (TBA)
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The newsletter for families of Gifted Learners now comes out quarterly. Please watch the
Gifted Education website for any timely updates in between newsletters.
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High Expectations ~ Accountability ~ Integrity ~ Respect ~ Community
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4101 S. Bannock St.
Englewood, CO 80110
303-761-7050
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