Cottonwood Creek Cougar Chronicle
April 6, 2020
A Message from your Principal, Mrs. Johnson
I continue to be amazed by the transition our staff members have made from our brick-and-mortar operation for the last 70 years to a remote learning environment. I've loved seeing some of the work students have completed and hearing directly from some students. Such a big part of my day, was saying good morning and goodbye to students; it's difficult not having that as part of my life right now. In light of the news Dr. Siegfried announced last week, I begin to wrap my mind around the opportunities that students will miss out on at school. However, I know our staff is dedicated to ending the year by celebrating students and each other, even if it is virtually.
While we will continue to monitor, adjust, and learn, I constantly remind myself that what we provide online cannot replace the learning experience our teachers provide students in a classroom with four walls. All instruction will remain asynchronous, which means it takes place without real time interaction. For example, students will have a week to complete 1-3 lessons, but within that week students are progressing at their own pace. This could include videos that teachers have created or links to lessons where students can watch and re-watch at any time as they progress through the learning. Many teachers are starting to record themselves teaching lessons and/or record voice overs of power points, pear decks, and Schoology lessons. It was our goal last week to use expose our students to the new platform of learning, but this week, you can expect new material to be covered.
I hope this helps clarify the direction of our school and district during this time, and I too ask for your patience, grace and support as we grow through this time of remote learning.
Much appreciation,
Katie Johnson
Principal
FROM ASSISTANT TO THE PRINCIPAL, MS. BERNER
Good Afternoon Cottonwood Creek Community,
I hope the first week on remote learning was a good experience for all. While I know there are so many things we all miss about coming together in our school building each day, I hope that online learning is helping each of you grow in new ways and have unique experiences that you’ll remember for years to come. Please remember that I’m still here for each and every one of you. If you need my help with anything, have a question or comment, or just want to say hi and be in touch, you can email me anytime at aberner@cherrycreekschools.org.
Missing you all,
Ms. Berner
Puzzle of the Week
Congrats to all of you clever thinkers who solved last week’s riddle.
What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
Answer: The letter “M”
Here’s a brain teaser for you to think about this week:
A sundial is the type of timepiece that has the fewest working parts. What timepiece has the most working parts?
Think you know that answer? Submit your best guess here.
Specials update
Directions for accessing the Specials Google Classrooms by Grade Level
From our STEM Teacher, Mr. Rogers
Greetings from STEM for distance learning week 2! I hope you are well and staying safe. I am going to add to last week’s assignment choices in Google Classroom. It is my expectation that you“do what you can” or “do what interests you” remembering that you only have one specials every 4 days. Please email me with questions if you have them or post what you’re doing. Keep up the great work!!
Mr. Rogers – srogers4@cherrycreekschools.org
PE Post It
Welcome to Week Two!
Thank you to all the students that recorded their obstacle course for our Week One activity! It was great to see everyone active and having fun creating your course inside or in the outdoors.
For Week Two, our Question of the Week relates to your favorite sport or activity. I hope you’re getting outside to enjoy your favorite activities if you can. Also, we will start our Fitness and Health log to track our fitness and nutrition routines. As you log in online to Google Classroom this week, you will use the ‘Classwork’ link and look for the ‘PE Class’ section for this lesson. The lesson information and the activity log will be attached.
Any questions or concerns, please email ajehn@cherrycreekschools.org.
Ms. Jehn
From our Music Teacher, Mr. Pedregon
Hello Cottonwood Families,
Thank you so much for taking the time to peek in and give our assignments a try. And no pressure if you didn’t get a chance to peek in this week! We want this to be as low stress as possible for you during these trying times. Thank you so much to those of you who shared your own verses to the Moose Song! I’ll try to post a supplementary video in the class streams of our Google Classrooms each week of me singing some of these creative student-written verses so students can hear each other’s work and maybe have a little sing-along. This week we’re going on a musical scavenger hunt to look for sounds that can be made with ordinary objects found around the house. Take a peek at this week’s video for more details. I look forward to seeing what students come up with!
Hope you have a good week,
Matthew Pedregon
From our Digital Media Teacher, Ms. Hammershaimb
Hi Cottonwood Students and families,
I hope that you all are staying safe. I've been trying to enjoy as much sunshine as possible these days, and I hope that you can too.
Please visit the Digital Media website to see this week's activities. You can get to it herehttps://tinyurl.com/vhzaukw, or in your Specials Google Classroom.
Read - Explore the Arapahoe Library Website and go on a Scavenger Hunt!
Create - Make a special book out of paper and see how you would like to use it.
Technology - Use Adobe Spark Video to retell a story or teach someone how to do something.
I look forward to seeing what you create this week! Remember that you can share with me through Google Classroom, Google Drive or email.
Hope you have a good week,
Ms. Hammershaimb
JOKE OF THE WEEK
Thank you to everyone who submitted a joke of the week entry last week. This week’s selected joke comes from Lyra Sater in Ms. Jansen’s second grade class.
Who sings outside Snow White’s window in the winter? Scroll down for the answer.
Do you have a great joke that you think other Cottonwood Creek Cougars would enjoy hearing? Follow this link to submit your entry for the Joke of the Week. One joke will be chosen, and will appear in next week’s CCCC. Choose carefully because you can only submit one joke each week. Bring on the laughs!
Answer to joke above: Brrrds!
From our Mental Health Team
Hello Cougar Family,
It has been touching and humbling this past week to see the outpouring of support for each other, those in need, and those who are out there at risk as essential workers. Thank you for being such an amazing community.
We are also very aware that this is not an easy time for anyone. As we try to figure out our new, temporary normal, there are many feelings and needs that go along with all the changes.
We are hoping that you all are taking care of yourselves and reaching out to talk to others and get help when needed, but if you need some extra support, we are including a link to a survey for you to fill out (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSetu1ZmVBA0o3g5svrytN4wOM-iNZ2F-IxoEmy7E3VCQyJnjA/viewform?usp=sf_link). This survey will only come back to Kori and Lauren, but if you are needing any support (mental health, food, internet, technology, etc.) we want to make your needs are being met. This is optional, but please feel free to reach out to us through the survey or email (kshaiman@cherrycreekschools.org or lalpert@cherrycreekschools.org).
In addition, the CCSD Healthline is available to in-district families between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, during the statewide school closure. Families can call 720-554-HLTH (4584) to speak with a Cherry Creek Schools registered nurse or mental health professional. They can help provide general information regarding healthcare and mental health referrals, national and local COVID-19 guidance, as well as information about Safe2Tell, Arapahoe County Department of Human Services concerns, and CCSD's free breakfast and lunch distribution.
If you call the CCSD Healthline outside of the hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, you can leave a message. But if your need is urgent, please call 911 or your healthcare provider.
Finally, we wanted to pass on this parenting resource (https://www.covid19parenting.com/tips-in-other-languages). This resource has been translated into more than 25 languages and includes topics of talking about covid-19, keep calm and manage the stress, bad behavior, structure up, one-on-one time, and keeping it positive. At the bottom of this letter is an example of what the keep calm and manage stress looks like in English. Please click on the link for more resources!
Please take care of yourselves during this time and give your kids a big hug from us. And remember, we are available to support if needed, just send us an email and let us know!
Respectfully,
Kori Shaiman, School Social Worker, kshaiman@cherrycreekschools.org
Lauren Alpert, School Psychologist, lalpert@cherrycreekschools.org
From our School Nurse
Hi Cottonwood families,
As our school closure stretches to the end of the month and we live under a stay-at-home order I wanted to do a virtual check in with you and see how everyone is holding up. Did you know that you can still access school health services? I can be reached at 720-554-3208 or by email, and Cherry Creek Schools has launched a district-wide health line at 720-554-HLTH (4584).
- Closed playgrounds: Park paths and bike trails remain open, however playgrounds are closed because they pose a high risk of increasing transmission. Being outdoors is physically and mentally healthy, but be sure to be in places where you can stay a minimum of 6 feet away from others.
- Playdates: Staying at home without play dates can be a real challenge! (as the mother of two "quaranteenagers" I feel this most painfully) Current guidance states that you should do your best to limit contact with anyone outside of your immediate family. Stay home as much as possible.
- Focus on the positive: Celebrate this family time. Try to have as much fun as possible with your children. Laugh, sing, go outside together for exercise while maintaining physical distancing guidelines. Play a new game. Consider relaxing some of the screen time limits and letting children connect virtually more frequently with their friends.
Another resource of coronavirus updates and FAQs for parents:
https://rockymountainhospitalforchildren.com/covid-19/coronavirus-updates-for-parents.dot
In my house we have stopped referring to social distancing and now call it physical distancing. We are trying to maintain all our social contacts, not distance ourselves from those we love.
Wishing you good health,
Patti
Cottonwood Creek Elementary School
Email: kjohnson177@cherrycreekschools.org
Website: https://www.cherrycreekschools.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=31
Location: 11200 East Orchard Road, Englewood, CO, USA
Phone: 720-554-3200