UPE News Update
November 18, 2016
Enjoy your break! No School November 21-24.
Light In November
“There it goes,” my Dad will inevitably say, “the longest day of the year.” We reflect on this as the sun disappears for its shortest sojourn of the year beneath the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Then, as he has always done for my entire life, my dad will turn to me and say, “Now there’ll be a nip in the air.” Following this annual pronouncement, he’ll get up and walk back into the house.
As each day becomes subtly shorter from that point until Dec. 20th, my father really notices those “nips.” He loves the summer more than anyone I know. By the time November rolls around, my father is very likely to start saying, “November is grey. Most of the color comes from football and Thanksgiving.”
I’ve always loved November. I think it has everything to do with the darkness of the evening. Somehow, for me, that darkness is starkly contrasted with the bright lights of my home. As Thanksgiving approaches, I turn my attention from the deep woods in which I live to the life of my home: My three children and my wife. Even my dog gets a few more hugs. Coats start to pile up by the door; boots lie outside on the porch.
As the darkness deepens in the evening, I notice how branches carve jagged and delicate lattices in the fading light of the blue sky. I no longer have to clean moths out of the dog bowl on the porch. The yellow leaves on the forest floor have faded to brown. I notice how quiet the forest has become. Inwardly, I turn.
The lights in Ute Pass Elementary seem brighter. The classroom heaters comes on more. Kids start wearing their coats rather than leaving them outside on the playground. Feet start to wiggle and fingers tap on desks as the last day before Thanksgiving approaches. Emotions are easier to read on small faces. I watch.
November calms me. As the darkness outside encourages me to see the light inside, I find these changes reassuring. It has something to do with the predictability of this cycle. November’s grey comes every year and reminds us that those things we cherish most, our families, our students, the town of Green Mountain Falls, Chipita Park, Cascade, Crystola, and Manitou Springs, are right next to us, inside us and that these things fill us with light.
Let us feel joy that November is here to remind us. Let us be thankful that there is a “nip in the air” and that we, parents, children, families, have each other each minute, each turn of the Earth, each circle around the Sun.
…and of course, there is football.
- Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Colorado State Parks Free on Black Friday
Make the pledge to enjoy some fresh air this Black Friday. Enjoy free admission to Colorado’s state parks on Nov. 25!
Colorado Parks & Wildlife, Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) and the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office are teaming up to offer access to all 42 Colorado state parks this #FreshAirFriday. More than 50 retailers in Colorado and nationwide are closing their doors on Black Friday and multiple states are urging people to go outside instead of joining the rush inside to shop this year.
CPW offers family-friendly activities, fun-filled adventures and opportunities to learn and try new things at state parks. For inspiration this #FreshAirFriday, please check out the Park Finder, events calendar and winter activities page!
#FreshAirFriday means Colorado residents and visitors can spend the day at a state park while Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) picks up the tab!
Support your Ute Pass PTO!
Presented by Manitou Springs High School Student Council
Ute Pass Elementary Acivity Report
Mon., Nov. 28:
Tues., Nov, 29: 2:50-4pm STAR
Wed., Nov. 30:
Thur., Dec. 1:
2:50-4pm STAR
Friday, Dec. 2:
Saturday, Dec. 3:
9:00-11:00am Breakfast with Santa
Show your school spirit!
There are lots of school hoodies around, please mark with a name!
Ute Pass Elementary
Spirit Store
Show your school spirit with one of our
t-shirts or hoodies!
.
Youth and adult sizes available while supplies last.
You can purchase in the front office.
Hoodies- $20.00
T-shirts- $10.00
From the lunchroom
Here's how you find us!
...at the foot of Pikes Peak in the Rocky Mountains
Email: cbrigggshale@mssd14.org
Website: http://upe.mssd14.org/
Location: 9230 Chipita Park Road, CO, United States
Phone: 719-685-2227
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ute-Pass-Elementary-234424271585/