Cottonwood Creek Cougar Chronicle
December 18, 2020
A Message from your Principal, Katie Johnson
Hello Cougar Families,
As always, thank you for your ongoing support during these unprecedented times. I am so proud of the work our teachers and students are accomplishing while in a remote learning situation, and I greatly appreciate the support you provide your children and our teachers.
Winter Break begins Monday, December 21st and school resumes Wednesday, January 6th. It is our greatest hope that we will be able to return to in-person learning in January, following this phased-in timeline:
Monday, January 4
Furlough day for all staff, no school for students
Tuesday, January 5
Teacher work day, no school for students
Wednesday, January 6
Remote learning day for all students
Thursday, January 7
Remote learning day for all students
Friday, January 8
Remote learning day for all students
Monday, January 11
Elementary students return to full In-Person learning. This is dependent upon our ability as a community to achieve and maintain a lower virus incidence rate.
Additional and specific information will be shared no later than January 4, 2021.
Our district has worked hard to develop new COVID protocols to allow schools to stay open once we return. I strongly encourage you to read this letter from Dr. Siegfried if you haven't done so already. This letter outlines protocols that will be implemented in January, such as quarantine guidelines and no-cost saliva COVID testing.
We all play a roll in this incident rate so I ask we all continue to wear masks, watch our distance and wash our hands on a regular basis. We have a greater chance of operating in-person successfully the closer the incident rate is to 500 cases, or lower, per 100,000 people. Together, we can make this happen.
As we enter this Winter Break, I hope we are all able to take time to be present with our families and again show our gratitude for one another. Take time to notice the good things and appreciate them.
I wish you and your families a safe and healthy winter break.
Much Appreciation,
Katie Johnson
Principal
Help thank our CCSD Board of Education
January is National School Board Appreciation month. CCSD Board of Education members are unpaid volunteers who spend countless hours working on behalf of students and staff. You can send a message of thanks to the board via Appreciation@cherrycreekschools.org
Assuming we return to in-person January 11th, students are invited to join us for a little Winter Fun!
Congratulations Cougars!
Congratulations to the following students on the Cottonwood Rich Morrow Math Team:
- Team Gryffindor: Sophia Pratt, Zachary Tan, Ryan Park, Anna Antohe
- Team Hufflepuff: Victoria Saiian, Gavin Gearhart, Andrew Liu
- Team Ravenclaw: Alex Oh, Rhys Dougherty, Edina Harmon, Katie Pirvu 10th Place Overall
- Team Cottonwood Cougars: Austin Eichenberger, Kinsey Perlman, Kapil Bhandaram, Sunand Bhandaram 1st Place Overall
- Victoria Saiian won 3rd place overall for the 3rd grade Archimedes division.
- Krsytal Xu won 3rd place overall in the Archimedes division for 4th grade
- Anna Antohe (3rd grade) won "Top Cottonwood Student."
We also extend our congratulations to any other Cottonwood students who participated in the competition. We celebrate your hard work and effort!
CCSD Winter Reading Website
The Cherry Creek School District would like to urge all students to keep reading during winter break. There is no specific list to follow, all titles are your own choice and are available through our Overdrive Digital Library.
The Winter Reading website is https://tinyurl.com/ccsdwinterreading
All CCSD teachers, staff and students have access to Overdrive:
- Log in at: my.cherrycreekschools.org
- Select the myLibrary tab at the bottom
- Select the image for Overdrive
- Log in with your school computer username (active directory) and password (active directory).
Reporting Positive COVID-19 Tests
If you are pending a test, or have questions about symptoms or exposure to those with COVID-19, please contact your own healthcare provider or our school nurse, Patti Rojec.
COVID Check Testing
As we come to winter break and the chance to relax, please continue to utilize the COVID Check testing facilities at our sites.
https://www.primarybio.com/r/ccstudents?registration_type=student
For CCSD Staff
https://www.primarybio.com/a/cherry
For ALL other Colorado Residents:
Cottonwood Creek Yearbook
The 2020-21 yearbook is well under way and available to pre-order. CLICK HERE to order a yearbook today!
Brooke Hall
Hi there! My name is Brooke Hall and I am a proud member of the third grade team. This is my fifth year teaching and my third year at Cottonwood. Before moving to third grade, I taught fourth grade for three years. I also completed my student teaching here at Cottonwood in 2016. I have always been a cougar at heart! My husband and I live in Castle Rock with our two cats, Aspen and Annie. When I’m not in the classroom (or teaching on Zoom), you can find me spending time with my family and friends, camping, going to the movies, cooking, and reading. I am so grateful and honored to be part of the cougar family!
Lisa Incitti
Kelli Minatta
Hello there! My name is Kelli Minatta, and this is my fifth year teaching third grade at Cottonwood Creek. I am so lucky to be a part of such a positive and caring school community. Cottonwood rocks!
As a third grade teacher, my goal is to not only meet the needs of each child in the classroom but ignite a passion for learning that students carry with them for the rest of their lives. All students can succeed, and it is through this process that they develop confidence, independence, and a love of learning. I want third graders to be excited to come to school each day and to feel proud of the work that they do.
When I'm not in the classroom, I enjoy being outdoors. Hiking and skiing are some of my favorite things to do. I am also a music fan and am frequently attending live concerts (when not in the midst of a pandemic). I’m joined in all these adventures by my husband, Ryan, our family and friends and our new addition- baby Leo!
Jackie Moore
This is my 11th year teaching at Cottonwood Creek. After graduating from the Cherry Creek School District, I attended the University of Northern Colorado and earned my bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. Shortly after that, I earned my endorsement to teach English language learners, as well as my master’s degree in Educational Technology. I am also a Google Certified Educator. I love technology and work hard to integrate it into my classroom in meaningful and authentic ways. I have two stepchildren in college, and two adorable dogs. When I am not teaching, I love to exercise and read. My husband and I also love to travel and experience new places.
Jennifer Wortmann
Welcome to 3rd grade! I am thrilled to be teaching at Cottonwood Creek!
I completed my Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Denver in March of 2011. This is my 11th year teaching at Cottonwood Creek Elementary.
When I am not in the classroom, you can find me spending time with my family. My husband Todd and I have two children. Trevor is a freshman at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Cassidy is a junior at Cherry Creek Highschool. My hobbies include yoga, baking, reading, and watching movies!
Support in your Native Language
English:Please contact (name of liaison) at (email) for support with this resource in your language.
Amharic: እነዝህን መረጃዎችን በተመለከተ በቋንቋዎ ዕገዛን ለማግኘት ከፈለጉ እባክዎን ተሊሌን በዝህ እሜይል ያግኙዋትthirpa@cherrycreekschools.org
Arabic:يرجى الاتصال بـ (جميعة صباحي أو جاودة العلمي) على (jsebbahi@cherrycreekschools.org أو jdajanialami@cherrycreekschools.org للحصول على الدعم مع هذا المورد باللغة العربية.
Chinese: 如有需要,请经由ahan10@cherrycreekschools.org,与韩馥联系,以您的语言获得此资源的支持。
Korean: 귀하의 언어로 이 자원에 대한 지원을 원하시면 (리아 리) 에게 (llee6@cherrycreekschools.org) 로 문의하십시오.
Russian: Пожалуйста, обращайтесь к Ларисе Бака по адресу: lbaca3@cherrycreekschools.org для получения поддержки с помощью этого ресурса на своём языке.
Somali: Fadlan la xiriir Omar Nur cinwaanka emaylka-onur2@cherrycreekschools.org si aad u hesho macluumaad ku qoran luqadaada.
Spanish: Si necesita ayuda con este recurso en su idioma, póngase en contacto con Ilse Chavez Maldonado en ichavezmaldonado@cherrycreekschools.org, Rosa Han en rhan4@cherrycreekschools.org, Helena Gognat en hgognat@cherrycreekschools.org o Milagro Nuanes en mnuanes@cherrycreekschools.org
Vietnamese: Vui lòng liên hệ với Thuý Ngọc tại Lchung2@cherrycreekschools.org để được hỗ trợ về tài nguyên này bằng tiếng Việt.