Hawk Highlights
September 22, 2021
Dear Families and Friends of the Hollys,
As I mentioned in a prior newsletter, I will go into greater depth on school improvement goals each month. We have our first lockdown drill scheduled this Friday, September 24. We conduct lockdown drills in conjunction with the CCSD Safety and Security Team and local law enforcement. It’s perfect timing to explore Goal 6, so you understand the procedure.
Goal 6: Bolster student and school safety
· Review and implement district policy, procedures & practices
· Provide daily vigilance and assign supervisory duties for all staff members
· Enhance our application of crisis and safety procedures at The Hollys https://iloveuguys.org/The-Standard-Response-Protocol.html#Intro
· Promote a caring community and effective discipline system
· Use a consistent and defined PBIS system with explicit training and communication for teachers, para-educators, and parents
· Strengthen the Hollys’ community partnerships with law enforcement and CCSD security specialists
We utilize the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) from the “I Love U Guys” foundation to conduct crisis and safety drills and practice procedures each month. It’s easy to understand and easy to implement.
A uniform, planned, and practiced response to any incident is the foundation of a safe school. The SRP is action-based, flexible, and easy to learn. It rationally organizes tactics for response to weather events, fires, accidents, intruders and other threats to personal safety.
The SRP’s development is ever evolving, created with extensive collaboration between experts such as first responders, public safety, school districts, and communities. Its tactics are data-driven, researched and based on experience and contemporary practices. The benefits of SRP become quickly apparent. By standardizing the vocabulary, all stakeholders can understand the response and status of the event.
For students, this provides continuity of expectations and actions throughout their educational career. For teachers, this becomes a simpler process to train and drill. For communities, it leverages the growing adoption of the protocols from residents of all ages. For first responders, the common vocabulary and protocols establish a greater predictability that persists through the duration of an incident.
The Standard Response Protocol (SRP) is based on the response to any given situation not on individual scenarios. Like the Incident Command System (ICS), SRP demands a specific vocabulary but also allows for great flexibility. The premise is simple - these five specific actions that can be performed during an incident. When communicating these, the action is labeled with a "Term of Art" and is then followed by a "Directive." Execution of the action is performed by active participants.
Our CCSD safety and security team will conduct the lockdown drill in conjunction with local law enforcement. Students and staff are aware of the upcoming drill and have been practicing the procedure. We don’t want the drill to provoke anxiety among students. Law enforcement will prompt the school community to “lockdown” over the PA system. All school staff, students and visitors will follow the lockdown procedure. Law enforcement will follow their procedure to evaluate our drill and offer feedback to the school on successes and any improvements needed. The drill takes approximately 15 minutes.
Lockdown Procedure: “Locks, Lights, Out of Sight”
Students are trained to:
• Move away from sight
• Maintain silence
• Do not open the door
Adults and staff are trained to:
• Recover students from hallway if possible
• Lock the classroom door
• Turn out the lights
• Move away from sight
• Maintain silence
• Do not open the door
• Prepare to evade or defend
I will keep our community informed of our lockdown drill success. I’m confident we are prepared!
In other news, we have lots to celebrate at the Hollys! Our PTCO “Food Truck Fundraiser and Community Event” was a complete success. We enjoyed fabulous food, great company, outstanding live music and lots of fun activities for the kids. It was wonderful to connect with so many families in person. I want to thank PTCO leadership and volunteers that organized the event. Thank you, Andrea Ransom, Mary Eistenstein, Jenn Salvatore, Amanda Knox, Kat Cuevas, Carolyn Callis, Ali Flynn, Janelle Smith and Amy Jo Wagner. What a spectacular night!
The Hollys were recognized by the Colorado Department of Education for 2021 Promising Practices. This is such a huge honor and a testament to the outstanding hard work and commitment of our Family Liaison, Patricia Beran. She is dedicated to community outreach. She secures resources and support services for families in need. Out of 1745 Elementary Schools in the state of Colorado, 8 elementary schools were recognized. Congratulations to the Hollys team!
The Hollys were also recognized at the CCSD Board of Education meeting on September 13, another huge honor and celebration for us. When adults are intentional and strategic about bolstering every student’s voice, we recognize strong cognitive engagement. Students feel invested in their learning and their school community when we listen to their interests, perspectives and preferences. 5th grade student leaders, Kaleah Oligo and Alek Martinez spoke on behalf of the Hollys and shared many of the initiatives aimed to bolster student voice.
“We are proud to be here to represent and celebrate the Hollys. At the Hollys our community is focused on bolstering student voices. All students should feel heard and valued at school. Student voices help improve our school and our learning community. We work with other students and staff to provide different perspectives on every topic from school improvement to family connections and engagement. There are several things we are doing,” said Kaleah.
“Students know their voices matter at the Hollys and they feel safe to speak about their experiences, ask for help, and stand up for positive change to make school even better,” said Alek.
The Hollys’ caring community is dedicated to excellence and it shows! I’m humbled and proud to lead and serve at the Hollys.
Together in education,
Molly Drvenkar
Principal
ATTENTION FAMILIES OF THE HOLLYS
Meet Our Family Liaison, Patricia Beran!
I want to introduce myself. My name is Patricia Beran and I am your Parent Liaison. I am so proud to be a part of the Hollys. I will serve as the bridge between our schools, the community, and your home by providing information on available programs and services. I work as part of the team to ensure and support your child’s academic success. Feel free to reach out to me with any needs or questions. This is going to be a great school year!
Patricia Beran
Family Liaison
720-747-2403
Picture Day is Friday, October 8!
A Message from the Hollys PTCO
CCSD Accountability Committee Meeting
Hello and Welcome to the 2021-22 School Year!
The first Cherry Creek District Accountability Committee meeting of the year is scheduled for September 23, 2021 at 6:30 pm in-person at the Instructional Support Facility (see address below).
5416 South Riviera Way, Centennial, CO 80015
Please note: The DAC meetings will not be streamed and attendees are strongly encouraged to wear masks.
For this first meeting, new Cherry Creek School District Superintendent, Chris Smith, will be in attendance to help kick off the DAC year and CCSD Board Member Angela Green-Garland will share information from the BoE.
Attendees will also learn more about the reimagining of the CCSD DAC including opportunities to participate in the DAC Executive Committee or DAC subcommittees. Beginning this year, DAC meetings will alternate between two different formats:
- Community Forums – General DAC meetings reserved for all community members to hear updates and/or presentations from DAC subcommittees.
- Subcommittee Meetings – Meetings for subcommittee members to develop recommendations and feedback on specific DAC responsibilities defined in state statute. Subcommittees for this year include:
- Accountability and Unified Improvement Planning
- Budget Advisory
- Parent Engagement & School Accountability Committee Support
Both meetings are open to the public and folks are encouraged to attend. Prior to the start of each meeting, planning time will be reserved for members of the DAC Executive Committee to meet. The full meeting schedule and format for the year is below.
- September 23 Community Forum
- October 6 Community Forum
- November 3 Subcommittee Meeting
- December 8 Community Forum
- January 5 Subcommittee Meeting
- February 2 Community Forum
- March 9 Subcommittee Meeting
- April 6 Community Forum
Overland Homecoming Events
Cherry Creek Homecoming Carnival
Community Outreach
Do I need to stay at home?
Please leave your child's first and last name and the reason for their absence. If you child is not feeling well, please describe in detail the symptoms they are experiencing. For example, do they have a fever? Do they have shortness of breath, cough, runny nose, upset stomach, vomiting, or diarrhea?
Thank you for your partnership as we work to keep our students and staff healthy.
Am I ready to go back to school?
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Additional Resources
Translation Services
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 ያግኙዋት thirpa@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.
Holly Ridge Primary School
Website: cherrycreekschools.org/Page/53
Location: 3301 S Monaco Pkwy, Denver, CO 80222
Phone: (720) 747-2400
Holly Hills Elementary School
Website: cherrycreekschools.org/Page/53
Location: 6161 E Cornell Ave, Denver, CO 80222
Phone: (720) 747-2500