REMINDER: There is NO SCHOOL November 25th-29th and NO SCHOOL December 2nd for a UPark specific planning day. Please click  HERE  for the UPark/DPS calendar.


Table of Contents   
 principal
Principal 

New to UPark! Wise Owl Assemblies!

University Park will be hosting 5 assemblies over the course of this year to recognize students that go above and beyond in one of our 5 core value character traits: Caring, Joy, Cooperation, Responsibility and Respect. O ur first Wise Owl assembly was held this past Friday, November 8th to recognize some of our UPark Owls for our first character trait: Caring. Thank you to our wonderful students, families and staff for making the event such special celebration!

 

Thank you,
 
Principal
Team UPark
720.424.3410


apple
Help Keep UPark Class Sizes Small!
Apple Campaign

The Apple Campaign is still accepting donations to reach our goal! The funds raised by the PTA allow UPark to pay for an additional 2.5 teacher salaries each year, which helps to keep UPark class sizes small. If we don't meet our fundraising goal this year, that will affect class sizes for next year, or we may not be able to fund other resources that benefit all children at UPark.

TOMORROW is the deadline to hit our goal of $70,000 but we are $13,000 short so we still need more help! We appreciate all of you who have already donated in amounts large and small! Every penny donated is crucial for ensuring our small class sizes and enough support for all of our students.

If you donate by tomorrow, you will help your child's grade win a popcorn party! Please donate HERE.

pta
PTA

If you live in the UPark boundary area, then you should have received a copy of the UPark UWhoo newsletter that was delivered to your home on Monday. The PTA produces this newsletter twice a year to help keep the surrounding community informed about all of the wonderful things happening at UPark. We also want to make sure that all of our UPark families have a chance to see the newsletter as well. Click HERE to read the fall issue of the UWhoo News.

multicultural
Multi-Cultural Night

Please join us TONIGHT for 
Multicultural Night
Thursday, November 14 from 5:30-7 pm

EAT. As always, please bring an appetizer or dessert from your heritage, and enjoy tasting food from around the world!

New this year...
 
DRUMS. We're excited to welcome an interactive percussion duo to provide both entertainment and education. Rhythm: A Multicultural Experience explores rhythm and percussion as it evolved out of Africa through the Caribbean, Brazil, and up through the Americas. Students will hear dun duns, djembes, talking drums, and congas, and will have the opportunity to play percussion instruments with the performers.

DANCING. We are also excited to welcome the talented dancers from Mudra Dance Studio! They will perform classical, contemporary, and folk dance from different regions of India.

spotlight
Spotlight on UPark
Specials

Art
So much is going on in the Art Room right now! Here are some highlights from each grade:
  • Kindergarteners and 1st graders are working on creating mixed media bear portraits for the art show and drama program in December.
  • 2nd graders just completed paper mat weavings using painted paste paper they created with sponges, tooth brushes, stamps and other various tools to add movement and texture to the paper. 
  • 3rd graders are in the process of making napkin batiks using gel glue. 
  • 4th graders are making circle weaving dream catchers.
  • 5th graders just finished making paper mâché Calaveras to celebrate Día de Los Muertos and will begin making radial relief sculptures this week. 
Please take a moment to look at the walls throughout the school. There is so much wonderful student made artwork to see!

Drama/Music
All students in Drama and Music started their year playing fun team-building (known in the theatre world as "ensemble building") games. Students in Kindergarten through 2nd Grade then learned several circle and echo songs/games emphasizing important musical concepts such as matching pitch. Kindergarten and 1st Graders are now hard at work preparing for their holiday musical. 2nd Graders created improvised scenes based on a photo prompt and are now learning about instrument families of the orchestra through engaging learning centers. 3rd Graders are working on comedic fairy tale plays in small groups. 4th Graders just finished working on short and scary plays and are preparing to rock out on our new mini-keyboards, earned through a Little Kids Rock grant, during our Modern Band Unit. 5th Graders worked on open scenes and are now learning about Spirituals in preparation for our Blues Unit. We are very excited about our upcoming evening performances!
 
Kindergarten and 1st Grade - A Bear-y Merry Holiday Mini-Musical (RSVP HERE)
Thursday, December 12, 2019 from 6:00-7:00 p.m.
  • For our first performance, the K/1 holiday musical, classes will be split into two groups in order to accommodate as many audience members as possible, as seating in the auditorium is limited:
    • 6:00-6:30 p.m. (Cardenas, Jones, Hays) 
    • 6:30-7:00 p.m. (Havenar, Morof, Laurent, Moss)

2nd and 3rd Grades - A Night of Robert Munsch Plays
Thursday, March 19, 2020 from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
 
5th Grade - Shakespeare Night
Thursday, April 16, 2020 from 6:00-7:30 p.m.
 
4th Grade - Colorado History Musical
Thursday, May 14, 2020 from 6:00-7:00 p.m.

Library
In library students learn to choose "just right books," to navigate the Dewey Decimal System and basic technical skills to enrich their reading experience. They learn how to access Overdrive e-books and audio books and learn how to use research databases. 

Did you know that your students can access online resources at home? DPS offers a rich selection of websites and databases that are curated for your student's grade and reading levels. These resources include Overdrive, Tumblebooks, Britannica, Culture Grams, PebbleGo and Kids InfoBits. These websites are accessible on any computer, tablet or smart phone. Just visit lion.dpsk12.org. Your student will be able to login with their student ID and birthdate. 

Physical Education
We have been so busy in PE!  This trimester has brought our K-2 grades fun activities working on various ways to move our bodies and fun ways to move various implements.  We have played fun games to work on teamwork and good sportsmanship and now are spending our time working on cooperation with the parachute! The 3-5th grade students had the opportunity to work on team building, golfing with a pro, and learning about the 5 components of Health Related Fitness.  In this unit our students have learned about how to find their pulse, linking pulse to heart zones (think orange theory), working at an MVPA level, affecting our body composition through healthy eating, building muscular strength and muscular endurance, and increasing flexibility with yoga.  

"Fit is not a destination, it is a way of life" - unknown

Coming next week: 1st Grade!

pictureretake
Picture Retake Day Tomorrow

Picture orders from our original picture day will be coming home in Thursday folders today. If we did not see your student on picture day or you would like a new image, our picture retake day will be held on Friday, November 15th. If your student did not have their picture taken on picture day pre-orders for picture packages may be placed online now at  https://ios.mydorian.com using UPark's retake access key:  FYV3PDBS . Online orders using the school's access key are available up to 4 days after retake day. Order envelopes can be picked up in the main office if you choose not to order online. All picture orders placed after the 15th will need to be placed online. If you were not happy with the original pictures please return the picture package on retake day to exchange for the same package with a new picture. Click here for additional information.

tgiving
Annual Thanksgiving Lunch
 
University Park welcomes students and families to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with a turkey lunch in the school cafeteria on Wednesday, November 20th. See below for lunch schedule details.

Guests, please visit the school cafeteria to purchase your meal tickets no later than tomorrow, November 15th. Cafeteria staff will be available each morning until 11:00am. Current UPark students will purchase a meal using their student ID at the same price as a regular cafeteria meal. Contact the main office at 720-424-3410 with questions. 
 
Prices for guests:
Child (Non-Student) $3.00
Adult $5.00

The recess and lunch schedule has been adjusted slightly to ensure that everyone has enough time to eat. Please see the adjusted lunch times here:
  • 1st Grade: Recess 11:10-11:30 Lunch 11:30-12:00
  • Kindergarten: Recess 11:40-12:00 Lunch 12:00-12:30
  • 3rd Grade: Recess 12:05-12:30 Lunch 12:30-12:50
  • 2nd Grade: Recess 12:25-12:50 Lunch 12:50-1:10
  • 4th Grade: Recess 12:45-1:10 Lunch 1:10-1:30
  • 5th Grade Recess 1:05-1:30 Lunch 1:30-1:50

Click here to view the Thanksgiving lunch menu. Click here for the Thanksgiving menu allergen list.

restaurant
Restaurant Night
Wahoo's (1233 S. Colorado Blvd.)
 
Skip the kitchen and check out Whaoo's on  Tuesday, November 19th from 4:00pm-close! 50% of all purchases (dine-in, take-out, etc...) will be donated to UPark. Bring the whole family! Click  here for more details.


auction
UPark Auction

SAVE THE DATE!!! The  2020 Auction will be held on  Friday, April 24th, 2020 at  Space Gallery (400 Santa Fe Dr.) . This event, and the Apple Campaign, are University Park's most important fundraisers, and are the key to our continued success and growth. All of the proceeds will go towards additional homeroom teachers and keeping our classroom sizes small. Our fundraising goal this year is $77,000, a big task but we're up for the challenge! More information and how to donate to this event will be communicated in the coming weeks. 

If you would like to help out with any aspect of the auction large or small - please join us for our first meeting Thursday December 5th at 7pm where we will discuss procurement process, assign committees and talk THEMES! RSVP to auction@uparkelementary.org and we will send you the address for the meeting.

Upcoming Meetings:
Thursday January 9th at 7pm
Thursday February 6th at 7pm

grades
Grades Available in Parent Portal

First trimester grades are now available to view in Parent Portal. Click  here to sign in or create a new account. Please notify the office if you need a paper copy of grades.

avs
Colorado Avalanche Visit UPark

University Park's 4th grade had the opportunity to participate in the Colorado Avalanche's "Try STEM" program last week and the student's had an amazing time! Two Avalanche players visited the school and led exciting STEM related programming. Thank you to 4th grade teacher, Rhonda Rau, for organizing this fantastic experience!


yearbook
Yearbook Photos

GOT PHOTOS? We would love to include them in this year's yearbook! Please email them to  photo@uparkelementary.org . Thank you!


service
2nd Grade Service Learning Project
 
As part of our community study and service learning, second graders are planning to work with the Child Rescue Foundation and the Teddy Bear Project.
  
You can be a part of this 2nd grade project by: 
  • Collecting new or "slightly loved" stuffed animals of all kinds, not just teddy bears. 
  • Bring the animals to a second grade classroom during the month of November. 
These stuffed animals will be given to children in the Denver Community as well as around the world. Some organizations benefiting are Children's Hospital, Denver Rescue Mission, Denver County Court Day Care and more. 
 
Click HERE to learn more about the Child Rescue Foundation.
 
Thank you for your help!

instagram
UPark Instagram

Have you followed UParkOwls on Instagram yet? We have 74 followers currently, and hope to be to 100 by month's end with your help and support! We will be selecting followers at random to pick up a prize from the front office... you could be next!
support
Easy Ways to Support UPark as you Prepare for the Holidays


ORDER HOLIDAY CARDS FROM MINTED:  This   November and December , save money and support UPark when you order your holiday cards and  gifts from Minted. Use code FUNDRAISEUPESDENVER to save  20% OFF   of your Minted order, and Minted will also give 15% back to our school. Visit minted.com/holiday to start shopping. 
 
BUY YOUR HOLIDAY GROCERIES AT KING SOOPERS:  Once you've connected your rewards card to UPark, King Soopers will automatically donate a portion of your purchase back to UPark each time you swipe your SooperCard or enter your phone number. If you haven't already connected you rewards card, follow these simple instructions.
 
SHOP FOR HOLIDAY GIFTS ON AMAZON:  AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way to support UPark at no cost to you! Simply register at smile.amazon.com, choose "University Park Elementary PTA," and Amazon will donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases. Just be sure to start your shopping via the AmazonSmile homepage.
 
Please share these easy give back opportunities with grandparents and other family members that would like to support UPark this holiday season!

NC


Fall Enrichment Courses Ending
All enrichments with the exception of Monday classes will end this week (November 12th-15th). Monday enrichments will have their last class on Monday, November 18th.
 
Winter Enrichment Course Offerings
Click  HERE  to view the course catalogue for all class descriptions, fees and instructions to register.
*Catalogue edited to include changed KidStage performance as well as to adjust Monday program dates due to no School on Monday, December 2nd.
 
Enrichment Registration
Registration went live November 5th at 8:00am  and ends November 15th at 6:00pm.
 
If you are a current Discovery Link family, please visit this link to register:
 
I f you are not a current Discovery Link family, please visit this link to register:
  • Select "University Park" as your location
  • Scroll down the page and select " Click to View Offerings" under the 2019-2020 Enrichment Programs
 
PAYMENT IS DUE AT THE TIME OF REGISTRATION! Registration is first come, first served and classes do fill up quickly! If you are interested in a scholarship for Enrichments, please reach out to  Mr. Atonna  or  Ms. Jacobsen  directly!

Enrichment classes will begin the week of December 3rd. 
 
New Program Supervisor
Hello! I'm your new Discovery Link Program Supervisor, Julia! This marks my first week at University Park and I'm very excited to see this year is off to a great start. I am so grateful to have such a capable, kind, and fun group welcome me into the school. Click  here  to read my bio.
 

In the coming weeks I will be observing the before and after school programs. During this time, I encourage you to give me your feedback. What are Discovery Link's successes, and what are its challenges? I want to hear from you so we can truly make this community a joyous space for our students.

Additionally, Kyle has worked hard to offer a Mandarin Chinese language club here at U Park. Through games, songs, crafts, etc., students will learn critical thinking skills, healthy competition, and train memory. All levels are welcomed! Sign up now!!

*There will be no camp day on the December 2nd no school day.

QUESTIONS?
Please e-mail Program Supervisor, Julia Lamberton at  julia_lamberton@dpsk12.org   or Enrichment Coordinator, Kyle Wiley at  kyle_wiley@dpsk12.org .
calendar
University Park Elementary Calendar

Click on the calendar icon to the right, look below, or visit the  University Park Website to access calendar information!




























owltickets
UPark Owl Ticket Students 

Congratulations to last week's Owl Ticket students! They were recognized by their teachers for above and beyond positive behavior. 


Owl Tickets are given to students for going above and beyond in one of our five core values: caring, cooperation, responsibility, respect and joy. Owl Tickets focus on the school's trait of the month, give students a chance to participate in the weekly "Owl Tickets" photo and will be posted on the "UPARK" letters in our main hallway.
*At the end of each month we will be donating all clothing in the lost and found and anything left in the halls.