Cottonwood Creek Cougar Chronicle
May 14, 2021
At Cottonwood Creek, we value...
- Differences. We recognize and celebrate each individual for their diversity.
Authentic and relevant learning experiences that promote independence, curiosity, creativity and critical thinking for ALL.
Perseverance, patience and relationships built around empathy and kindness.
Collaborative learning for both staff and students.
Physical and psychological safety.
Thank You from Your Principal, Katie Johnson
I'd also like to thank you for your unwavering commitment to supporting Cottonwood Creek through your fundraising efforts this year. The contributions you made will help support our continued dedication and commitment to excellence within our Cougar family. I am humbled by your generosity and look forward to continuing our strong partnership.
Respectfully,
Katie Johnson
2021-22 Cougar Staff Line Up
Please make sure your emergency contacts are updated.
If there is a change in your phone number or emergency contacts, please update this information online at: my.cherrycreekschools.org. As a reminder, we cannot release any student to an individual that is not on your emergency contact list. Please take a moment to review your information and ensure that it is accurate. Our main office is not able to make any changes to your record but is happy to walk you through the process if you are having difficulties.
ASIAN AMERICAN & PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE MONTH
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month! CLICK HERE to learn how Denver is celebrating and resources on how to support the AAPI community and locally owned businesses.
Field Day Information
K, 1st and 2nd Grade - Monday, May 24th
11:30-12:30 2nd Grade
12:35-1:35 1st Grade
1:40-2:40 Kindergarten
3rd, 4th and 5th Grade- Tuesday, May 25th
8:10-9:10 5th Grade
9:15-10:15 4th Grade
10:20-11:20 3rd Grade
Reminder - We are not able to have visitors and/or volunteers this year.
2021-22 Preparation
While we are still deep in the 2020-21 school year, we slowly begin to prepare for the 2021-22 school year. As we begin to prepare, please review the following information:
- Address Information: Have you recently moved or are planning to? Please remember to update your address. You can submit your new lease agreement or deed of trust along with a current Xcel bill and a copy of your drivers license to the Registrar’s office (madler@cherrycreekschools.org), and we will send it on to the Admissions Department for verification. It’s extremely important to keep your home address and contact information current in order to continue receiving important communications from Cottonwood and the District.
- Are You Moving or Switching Schools? If you are moving, and your student will not be attending Cottonwood, or if your student will be attending another school for any other reason prior to the end of our school year, you must withdraw your student from Cottonwood. Please contact the Registrar (madler@cherrycreekschools.org) to obtain the necessary withdrawal paperwork. We will be happy to work with you to ensure your student’s records are forwarded to their new school.
- 5th Grade Families NOT Continuing to Campus Middle School: For students that will attend either a private or another school public that is not our feeder (CMS), please email the Registrar’s office (madler@cherrycreekschools.org) with the name of the school your student will be attending so we can ensure records are sent to the appropriate school this summer.
Important Message from Dr. Siegfried and Mr. Smith
Dear Cherry Creek Schools families,
The celebrations continue this week. On Wednesday, we celebrated National School Nurse Day, a single day to honor the countless hours our dedicated school health professionals have worked this year to support children and families during the pandemic. I am so inspired by your spirit and sacrifice this year.
Last Saturday, we held an outdoor, in-person ceremony at Legacy Stadium to honor retirees who dedicated their professional lives to Cherry Creek Schools. It was a joyous event and an opportunity for me to say “thank you” to educators and staff, many of whom have given decades of service to CCSD.
Class of 2021
This week, the Board of Education heard a presentation highlighting the accomplishments of the students who are graduating this year. Let me be the first to offer my congratulations to the 4,513 students who make up the Class of 2021. Of those graduates, more than 1,800 have attended all 12 years of their education in Cherry Creek Schools. Collectively, to date, they have earned over $63 million in college grants and scholarships. The future is so bright with these young people leading the way.
I am aware of the continual updates and changes to national and local guidance. Schools, however, are required to follow the guidance from the CDPHE and Governor’s office. Late today I learned through a press conference that the Governor updated guidance for wearing masks in schools if you have been fully vaccinated. As there is contradictory language from the press conference and news reports, I will review the specific orders this weekend and determine their applicability and the most appropriate next steps for the final two weeks of school. I will communicate any changes early next week.
Honestly, this is not helpful in the final 14 days of school. What would be helpful is if the state would follow the science and data collected in Cherry Creek and across the country regarding the extremely low rates of intra-school transmission (0.44%) and allow us to stop quarantining students. It would also be helpful if we could plan our graduation ceremonies for this June in a manner that we could celebrate our seniors like they are Major League Baseball All-Stars.
As we get closer to the end of this unprecedented year, I am preparing to transition leadership of the district to the next superintendent, Christopher Smith. For the final three Friday Update letters of this 2020-21 school year, I will give the second part of my letter over to Mr. Smith as he prepares to take on his new role.
Have a great weekend.
Sincerely,
Scott A. Siegfried, Ph.D.
Superintendent
Dear CCSD families,
As I work with the District Leadership Team to prepare for next year, my focus is on supporting the needs of the whole child – the learning needs, physical and mental health and social-emotional needs. I look forward to continuing conversations with our community about what our children need to heal, grow and flourish after the challenges of this past year.
Preparing for Next Year
I am proud of how this community came together to support schools amid the pandemic. Whether In-Person or Online, our students engaged in meaningful, high-quality learning that helped them grow academically and social-emotionally this year. Still, we know, interruptions in learning due to COVID have impacted our students.
Our goal in planning for next year is to support our students’ mental health needs as they transition back to a school experience that looks more like it did from before the pandemic. There are still factors that are unknown and that will depend on progress made toward widespread vaccination and control of the virus. We hear a lot of questions about whether masks will be required. The truth is we don’t know at this point. We will make decisions based on guidance from our state and local public health partners, as we have all along.
Early Release Wednesday for Elementary School
Two years ago, Cherry Creek Schools and the Cherry Creek Education Association agreed to dismiss all elementary schools one hour earlier every Wednesday in order to enhance professional development and training opportunities for our elementary teachers. That change was not implemented during the 2020-21 school year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it will be implemented starting in August. By having this specific time set aside, there will be less of a need to pull teachers out of the classroom during the day, which creates continuity for students and less of a reliance on substitute teachers. With this change, our elementary schools will still exceed the class time required by the Colorado Department of Education. Elementary schools will dismiss at 1:45 p.m. every Wednesday. For families who participate in after-school child care, the after-school program will be extended every Wednesday at no additional cost. For families who need care, you can register with your school’s program.
Summer learning opportunities
Thanks to federal COVID relief funds for schools, as well as support from our Cherry Creek Schools Foundation, we have an array of summer programs that provide enrichment activities, socialization opportunities and some that will help address learning loss from COVID-related interruptions. From STEM to career and technical education to project-based learning, there is something for every child here. View summer learning opportunities and registration links here: https://www.cherrycreekschools.org/SummerLearning.
Vaccine clinics
Now that the FDA has given emergency authorization for the Pfizer vaccine to be used with children ages 12-15, we are working with our partners to provide opportunities for families with children in that age group to get the vaccine. You can view a list of vaccine opportunities for students 12 and up here: https://www.cherrycreekschools.org/Page/13483
I want to join Superintendent Siegfried in thanking our educators, school nurses and all staff for your heroic efforts to make this a great year for kids despite monumental challenges. Keep up the great work.
Best wishes,
Christopher Smith
Chief of Staff and incoming Superintendent
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.