Families and Community,

Happy long weekend! We had a really great week at UPES, despite the surprise day off on Wednesday. One of my favorite moments of this week was Wednesday morning, Several students (including staff kids) were at the school when the decision was made that we would need to cancel for the day. When I went to tell everyone that school was canceled and we would need to call families, there was one, very loud, collective, "Noooooooo!" Even after students were picked up, many staff members stayed and visited instead of going home. How great to have a school that our students and staff love to be at so much! Thank you for your flexibility with that last second call. Because there is little to no cell phone service at our school, our phone lines and internet are critical for all sorts of reasons!

We have several field trips and events coming up at UPES, and are so excited about the opportunities awaiting our amazing students! It is really important that students arrive to school on time each and every day. The tardy bell rings at 8 am each morning, which is when learning begins. Additionally, many of our field trips depart right away also, and we don't want students to miss the chance to attend those special trips! Mrs. Wilson and I are monitoring excessive absences and tardies, because it's so important to us that our students are able to be in class growing their minds! If you have special circumstances, please let us know.

As a reminder, the window is currently open for accepting choice applications for the 23-24 school year and MAAS 6th grade program! If your child is a current choice student, you do not need to fill out another application for next year. Current 5th grade students who would like to attend 6th grade at UPES need to submit the Mountain Academy of Arts and Sciences application to Christina Baker (cbaker@mssd14.org) by February 6th to reserve a spot in that program. Applications cannot be turned into UPES and must be submitted to Christina. We are offering school tours toward the end of this month for interested families (flyer below). Please call Mrs. Dudley at 685-2227 if you, or another family you know, would like to tour UPES as you consider your options for next year! We encourage you to turn in any choice or MAAS applications ASAP as there were over 20 submitted just on the first day the window opened! We're pretty proud of everything happening at UPES and look forward to sharing it with new and returning families next year!

#watchusgrow

Your partner in education,

Jackie Powell, Ute Pass Principal

Our morning announcements are such a wonderful way to start the day! We have student-led announcements and singers every single day!

We want to share some of this Pony Pride from our "home" to yours! If you'd like to watch morning announcements, we are live-streaming them each day! Simply subscribe to the Ute Pass YouTube channel at this link- UPES YouTube

MANITOU SPRINGS CO – The City of Manitou Springs is conducting an important survey regarding public transportation and mobility in our community. The survey begins December 12th at 12:00p.m. and will remain open until January 20th. Your opinion matters, and we would like to hear from you! Your responses will have a direct impact on decisions in our community. There are three ways to participate in the survey:

1. Visiting the survey directly:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ManitouSprings_Mobility_Survey

or

https://bit.ly/MSMobilitySurvey

Make your voice heard by sharing your opinion and participating in the survey. Your answers are completely confidential, and the survey will only take 8 minutes to complete.

A healthy breakfast and lunch is a key factor in growing a healthy mind and body! Ute Pass Elementary will offer breakfast to students for $1.45 and lunch for $2.95. See below for information on accessing menus.

You can find the new free and reduced application on the district website- https://www.mssd14.org/departments/food_service.

If you don’t qualify for free and reduced price meals, please make sure that there is money in your student’s account. You can add money online at this link- https://mssd14.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=57448&pageId=13267314

Any questions or concerns, please call Paula Faucette, Director of Nutrition Services, at 719-685-2005 or email pfaucette@mssd14.org.