UPE News Update
February 21, 2020
DATES TO REMEMBER
28 - Classroom Birdhouse Building
March
6 - Dr. Seuss and Friends Character Day
11 - SAC Meeting 3pm
13 - EARLY RELEASE 1:00pm
17 - Evening Conferences
18 - PTO Meeting 3:00pm
- District World Language Night
19 - NO SCHOOL/PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
20 - NO SCHOOL/PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
23 - 27 NO SCHOOL/SPRING BREAK
31 - Landsharks Parent Meeting 3:00pm
Free After School Class - Sign up now to make sure this class is a go!
Hi Ute Pass Kids and Parents!
It's the 12th annual Manitou Lantern Parade, and Ute Pass Elementary lantern building sessions start up soon!
The parade is Friday April 3, 8pm in Manitou Springs.
Ute Pass Elementary has always been part of this parade, with lantern building sessions taking place here at the school. This year the sessions will be every Tuesday, starting February 18, from 2:50 - 4:00pm. (Also Spring Break workshops: March 23-27, 1-3pm at the Manitou Art Center)
Program is free and open to 4th/5th/6th grade, and younger children accompanied by an adult. Register at: https://www.connect14.org/
Transportation after the class is available, but you must email Joye Levy at jlevy@mssd14.org to get on the bus list.
Parade night schedule:
7:30 to 7:45pm: meet at Memorial Park in Manitou and visit with other lantern makers
8pm sharp: parade starts
8:20pm parade ends at Soda Springs Park, and CC Music Jam Band plays (all invited to join in).
9pm: clean up and dreaming of NEXT YEAR'S parade entries....
Safety Patrol: Concrete Couch needs 4 to 6 adults to volunteer as crossing guards.
RSVP to becky@concretecouch.org
There will be one volunteer orientation meeting
Seuss and Friends Day Is Coming….
by Chris Briggs-Hale
We are very excited to begin our school wide activities leading up to this year’s “Seuss and Friends” Celebration on March 6. On this day, we celebrate childrens book authors who create characters, stories, and circumstances that connect children, emotionally, to literature. Therefore, this year, we are encouraging families to select whatever author and characters most speak to their children, whether it is Dr. Seuss or many other amazing authors and characters from the broad diversity of children’s literature.
When you are a young reader, the spark that ignites the fire to want to read is often the ability to identify with the storybook characters. In fifth grade, I became obsessed with the book My Side of the Mountain by P.E. Dutton. It was the story of Sam Gribley, a twelve year old boy, who runs away from his family to live and survive in the mountains of upstate New York.
At that time, I was 10 or 11 years old and my brothers were teenagers. Living with these two moody, hormonal creatures made me want to run off into the nearby woods. These incessantly wet New Hampshire forests, dense and buggy, were all around me. I loved being in them all the time. All the imaginary games I played with friends, from “civil war” to bb-gun-escapades, to building huge forts... happened in these forests. When I discovered and read My Side of the Mountain, it became “my '' book. I was Sam.
Not all children have these amazingly powerful character-bonding experiences while reading children’s literature. Not every child can identify with the gender, the color, the circumstances or even the race of every storybook character. But finding those characters and those authors, I believe, is critical to developing a strong love of literature. This is why we have included new “friends” with our annual celebration of Dr. Seuss.
Feeling like Sam in My Side of the Mountain made me feel validated as a woodsman, a fort-builder, and a fed-up pre-teen. Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham character validates every child who doesn’t want to try a new, weird food. Every child deserves to bond with a storybook character. Luckily, we live in an age where children’s literature truly does reflect the diversity, culture, and life circumstances of every single reader. It’s this diversity we celebrate through Seuss and Friends Day!
It’s almost time to apply for Preschool for the 2020-2021 school year!
*Applications accepted beginning Friday, March 6th
We have a limited capacity for 15 children in our preschool class, so we will be filling those spots first to in-district children prioritizing children with special needs along with considerations such as balancing girl/boy ratio, age ratio, risk factors, etc. There is no enrollment guarantee, as preschool is currently an optional program. Out-of-district applicants will be placed on a waiting list and notified in August if there is space available.
Your child must be 3 or 4 by September 1st and must be fully potty trained.
You will need to fill out an enrollment application as well as provide a
copy of your child’s birth certificate, immunization record, and $25 deposit.
You may pick up an application in the office or download one from our website.
https://www.mssd14.org/cms/one.aspx?portalId=57448&pageId=14777553
For more information, call 685-2227 / or email lgrieb@mssd14.org
MARKER RECYCLING
YOU CAN NOW SCAN YOUR BOXTOPS FROM YOUR RECEIPTS!
LUNCH AND BREAKFAST MENUS
CLICK BELOW TO VIEW THE 2019/20 HANDBOOK
2019-20 UTE PASS ELEMENTARY CALENDAR
Here's how you find us....
Email: dhainds@mssd14.org
Website: http://upe.mssd14.org/
Location: 9230 Chipita Park Road, Cascade, CO, USA
Phone: 719-685-2227