Jaguar Journal Vol. 27
March 10, 2023
Hello #FAMILY,
The end of quarter 3 is on Friday, March 17th. Please sit with your students and check their Schoology for any missing assignments.
Thank you for the parents that attended our Social/Emotional support and Mental Health event last week. Please see the slides here.
Thank you for the donations to our Make-A-Wish foundation for Marilyn! We will update you on the total raised next week.
Keep the attendance going strong! We are close to our school goal!
Have a great weekend.
#FAMILY
TEACHERS HAVE SPIRIT - YES WE DO! COLORADO DAY
YOU CAN STILL SHOP AT BOOKIES THIS WEEKEND!
Shop at The Bookies bookstore through March 12th and Merrill will receive 15% back off all purchases! Use the code Merrill online or in stores. Click here or scan the QR code to go directly to The Bookies Merrill webpage.
THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING THE SOCIAL EMOTIONAL WELLNESS NIGHT!
SPEAKING OF ATTENDANCE...
Thank you for supporting your student’s attendance. Let’s meet our goal of 95% attendance for the week and entire month. This week 's winner was 6th grade - they had an extra recess today and watched Ms. Zick, the winner of the challenge get a bucket of ice water dumped on her head.
Merrill’s Current Attendance
6th Grade- 94.75%
7th Grade- 92.5%
8th Grade- 91.3%
Rocking Our Socks for World Down Syndrome Awareness Day - March 21st.
Merrill will be rocking our socks to support World Down Syndrome Awareness Day on March 21, 2023.
MERRILL AUCTION POWERS UPDATE!
GET IN THE AUCTION POWERS MOOD AND COME MINGLE !
On Wednesday, March 15th, help stock the cellar for the Merrill Auction at Laura Love's and Keith Binkley's Home - 2635 S. Milwaukee St (parking between Vassar on on Milwaukee).
Please bring a bottle or two of wine valued at $30 or more to be won in our wine pull or
auctioned off during our Auction Powers event in April. Please be sure to RSVP (adults only).
And good news! Total Wine and More at 3905 E Evans (Evans and Colorado Blvd), is offering
30% off select wines to all Merrill families.
To get the discount, be sure to:
1. Select wine(s) with a yellow tag valued at $30 or more.
2. Head to the cashier and Ask for a manager.
3. Tell them you’re to receive “a 30% discount for supporting the PTA Colorado Congress”
(That is the nonprofit name under which the Merrill Middle School PTSA is registered,
and is the name they have for us in their system).
4. You’re good to go! Feel free to purchase as many bottles as you like using the discount.
Can’t make the Stock the Cellar event? Feel free to drop off donated bottles of wine at the
home of Brian and Lisa Glynn, 3511 E Harvard Ave any time before the auction on April 14th . OR
you can make a donation directly toward purchasing wine for the auction.
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Don’t forget to SAVE THE DATE!!!
Auction Powers International Merrill of Mystery
April 14 th , 6-10pm, at the Space Annex, 95 S Cherokee St.
AUCTION DETAILS:
WHEN: APRIL 14th, 6-10 PM
WHERE: SPACE ANNEX 95 S. CHEROKEE ST. DENVER, 80203
ATTIRE: GROOVY, BABY! (DRESSING TO THEME IS ENCOURAGED)
CATERING: ENJOY WOOD-FIRED PIZZAS, FRESH SALADS, AND SEASONAL APPETIZERS ALL MADE WITH TOP-OF-THE-LINE INGREDIENTS PROVIDED BY DENVER'S VERY OWN MOUNTAIN CRUST PIZZA AND CATERING!
Help Stock the Merrill Store
The Merrill Store needs snack food donations, gift cards, and volunteers to run the store. Please see this SIGN UP for items and volunteers needed on Fridays.
FYI- $5-$10 Video game gift card (Playstation and Roblox) are in high demand.
Get in the Auction Powers mood and come mingle
Generously hosted by Laura Love and Keith Binkley at 2635 S Milwaukee Street
(parking on Vassar or on Milwaukee), Wednesday, March 15 th , 6-8pm.
Please bring a bottle or two of wine valued at $30 or more to be won in our wine pull or
auctioned off during our Auction Powers event in April. Please be sure to RSVP (adults only).
Can You Help Us Get Donations?
Donations of products and
services help us reach our auction goal! Here is the donation form:
HOW PARENTS CAN SUPPORT THEIR YOUTH WITH SUBSTANCE PREVENTION- WATCH THE VIDEO WEBINAR
If you have any questions, please contact Nahal Khalatbari, and school health professional at 720-424-0626
Please watch the video here.
Upcoming Parent Webinar: Tools to Support Youth Navigating Anxiety- April 5, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Listen to this great talk about anxiety in children. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKB7GZ0KAwo
CMAS INFORMATION - PLEASE READ!
Starting on March 20, 2023, Colorado students begin taking CMAS, the Colorado Measures of Academic Success. CMAS measures student proficiency on the Colorado Academic Standards. These standards provide clear and consistent guidelines on what students should know and be able to do at the end of the year, across grade levels and subject areas.
Grades 3-8 will take English language arts and math assessments. 8th graders will also take a science assessment.
Content Tested: Grade Levels
English Language Arts (ELA): 6th, 7th, 8th Grade
Math: 6th, 7th, 8th Grade
Science: 8th Grade
Calendar: The calendar below was created to communicate to you when the state assessments, Colorado Measurement of Academic Success (CMAS), are occurring. We believe that communicating these dates will help us by ensuring your child gets plenty of sleep and a good breakfast everyday, but especially the day of assessments. If there are doctors appointments or other appointments that need to be made, we hope this calendar will help you to make those appointments on non-assessment days. Going forward, the best place to see the most up-to-date calendar is on the school website at http://merrill.dpsk12.org/.
Attendance: We also want to communicate that all students should be in school on-time, all day and everyday, regardless of whether assessments are occurring or not. Important teaching and learning happens in-between testing, so it is imperative that students are here. Our expectations remain around vacations and we expect parents to continue to plan vacations around the DPS Calendar.
Make-Ups: Students do best when they are in their classroom environment for testing. In the event that your child has to miss a test session, they will have to make-up the test another time and will be pulled during their instructional time to do so. To prevent disruption to your child’s day and other students’ day, please make sure that your child is at school everyday and limit their absences to only when they are sick.
Student practice resources can be found here: https://coassessments.com/practice-resources/. More information about assessments in DPS can be found here: https://assessments.dpsk12.org.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me. Thank you, and go Jaguars!
The following are additional resources from the Colorado Department of Education: http://www.cde.state.co.us/communications/cmaspurposeandvalue22-0 http://www.cde.state.co.us/communications/resourcesforparents
STAY TUNED FOR PENNY WARS WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED NEXT WEEK! THERE'S A LOT OF CHANGE TO COUNT!
Merrill is partnering with South High and Make a Wish to help a young girl in Westminster Colorado, and we are happy to support their Wish Week by hosting “Penny Wars”.
Merrill wants to reach a 900 dollar donation goal. That is only about $1.50 per student.
FUN RUN 5K TOMORROW 3/11 FOR MARILYN!
Hello South Feeder Schools!
We at South are extremely excited to work with so many of you to help raise money through the Make-A-Wish Foundation for our Wish Kid Marilyn! On Saturday 3/11 South will be hosting a fun-run 5K to raise money, awareness, and support for Marilyn. There will be a $10 minimum registration, with extra cash donations being highly appreciated. There will also be a 50/50 raffle that everyone is welcome to participate in, with tickets being $2 a piece. We would like runners to check in from 9:00-9:20, with a group photo being taken at 9:25. The walking wave will start at 9:30, and the running wave at 9:40. A link to the registration will be included on a google form below, with the option to pay online (through MySchoolBucks) or in person (cash).
Please send this information out to the teachers and parents in your communities, as we are encouraging everyone who is willing to come out and support Marilyn to do so. If there are those who cannot participate but who would like to donate to the cause, they can do so at this Link. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out!
Thank you so much,
Charlotte Smith
Junior
YOU ARE INVITED TO THE THEATRE AT MERRILL MARCH 17th @ 6:30 PM and MARCH 18th @ 1:30 PM
We have been working so hard on the musical and tickets are on sale NOW! Please come and support our wonderful and talented thespians! Runtime is approximately
60 minutes with no intermission. Friday’s show will be streamed!
BUY TICKETS HERE OR at the door.
See you at the show!
HOW IN THE WORLD DO I GET INTO SCHOOLOGY?
HAVE YOU TAKEN SOME GREAT PHOTOS DURING EVENTS AT MERRILL?
ONLINE BOOKS AVAILABLE 24/7/365
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MORE RESOURCES IN OUR COMMUNITY
MERRILL JAGUAR ATHLETICS
Floor hockey tryouts will be on Monday 13th from 4-5:30. There will only be one team and this year it will be more of an intramural team.
Any questions please email Wendy Shepard in room 125.
6TH GRADE BOYS AND GIRLS BASKETBALL OPPORTUNITY:
Below are the links to register your student for 6th grade basketball. We have not decided when students will practice, games will be on Saturdays in a round robin format at different host schools.
We are wanting to see how many students are interested as we move forward.
Boys 6th Grade Basketball Registration for Boys
Girls 6th Grade Basketball Registration for Girl
Soccer Coach Kirk Heath kirk_heath@dpsk12.net
Coach Vince Franklin vincent_franklin@dpsk12.net
Please send all athletic questions to vincent_franklin@dpsk12.net or call 720.424.0621
Sign Up For Gold Crown Basketball
Sign up Here to focus on the Fundamentals, a clinic series that runs multiple times a year. Each event will feature a guest clinician, including collegiate coaches and players. These clinics are a great opportunity for players to get extra skill and repetitions in a competitive setting. Players should come ready to be work hard and stay moving!
- Open to 3rd – 8th grade boys and girls
- Recreational - Competitive skill level
- Held at the Gold Crown Field House
- Participants will be divided onto courts based on age and ability
- Clinic includes skills/drills/stations, small group competition (1on1, 2on2), and scrimmaging
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
5:45 pm - 7:00 pm
REGISTRATION FEE:
$25 per player
CONTACT:
Cool Classroom ~Ms. Occhiuto's 7th Grade
AT HOME CONVERSATION STARTERS
If you could trade places with anyone for one week, who would it be?