Asbury Thursday Folders – October 3, 2024

Posted October 3, 2024

Principal Message:

Dear Asbury Families,

I wanted to share an important note from our Superintendent about Disability Awareness month. At Asbury, inclusionary practices are a major focus here at Asbury, so this message from Dr. Marrero about raising awareness meant a lot (see below for the message). The message celebrates a lot of the district accomplishments, but Asbury also has celebrations that I would highlight, including:

  1. All students, including MM and MI students, have lockers/cubbies, are part of General Education rosters and have class time with General Education- students feel safe and welcome
  2. We have a staff that supports students’ access to general education spaces- we love our paraprofessionals and all that they do!
  3. Our Special Educators support IEP, student groups, and collaborate with teachers- we could not make inclusive practices come to life without them! Thanks for all you all do!
  4. Classroom teachers collaborate with many special educators and differentiate countless lessons to support students- your work and dedication is noticed and we are thankful for all you do!

Start Message from Dr. Marrero: 

October marks both Disability Awareness Month and Dyslexia Awareness Month, and we are thrilled to celebrate and honor individuals with disabilities across our community. In DPS, we are committed to being intentional in our efforts to support the 17,000 students with disabilities be successful and accelerate their trajectory.

In alignment with our 2019 Board Resolution for Inclusive Practices, we’re proud to celebrate key District achievements including:

  • A 5% increase in the four-year graduation rate for students with disabilities.
  • Demonstrated growth in early literacy skills for students with disabilities.
  • DPS achieved a perfect score in the compliance category of the Colorado Department of Education’s (CDE) Special Education District Yearly Determination Report.  
  • Districtwide alignment on quality indicators for center-based programs.
  • New Project SEARCH student internship partnership at St. Joseph’s Hospital for students with disabilities aged 18-21.

Celebrating exceptionalities and neurodiversity in our classrooms and schools throughout DPS is a powerful way to ensure that students and families feel acknowledged, respected and appreciated. By uplifting our students with disabilities, we cultivate a safe and welcoming environment, a deep sense of belonging, and pride within our school communities. This celebration helps build inclusive learning spaces that challenge stereotypes and biases while encouraging positive and authentic representation.

To our incredible students, staff and families, thank you for being part of our mission and commitment to establish an inclusive and empowering learning environment where Every Learner Thrives. A special thank you to our special education teachers, Special Services Providers, school leaders, our Department of Special Education and all of our community partners for your tireless dedication in this area.

While October is dedicated to celebrating Disability Awareness, we recognize that our work to center inclusivity in every school must happen all year long. We’ll continue to celebrate the remarkable contributions of our students with disabilities and the DPS teams that make an impact every day throughout the year.

In collaboration,

Dr. Alex Marrero
Superintendent

In Partnership,

Jeanna Doung  

What’s top of Mind? 

Prospective Parent Tour Volunteers

If you are interested in volunteering in hosting these school tour walkthroughs, please reach out to Ms. D and let her know that you are interested! 

Welcome Back Ms. McCoy

McCoy, our amazing 3rd grade literacy teacher will be back on Monday. Please join me in welcoming her back. Please also join me in saying thanks to Ms. Mo for her amazing and supportive work with students at Asbury! Thanks so much for everything!

Mental Health Minute

The Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BESS) beginning of year parent survey window is now open. At Asbury, we use this information to align our social emotional supports and services. Please visit this link to complete the short 5 minute survey. 

What’s Still Relevant? 

Prospective Parent Tours

If you know anyone that has an upcoming student, please let them know that we will be hosting prospective parent tours. During these tours, current parents and student ambassadors  give a tour of Asbury, we have teachers share out and then Ms. D shares out and answers questions for parents. These are hosted on Fridays from 9:30-10:30am weekly from October through January. If you know anyone that is interested in checking Asbury out, please share this school tours website!

Bikes/Scooters at Asbury

If you are riding a bike or a scooter when you are coming to school, please make sure you hop off the bike/scooter once you enter the blacktop. In order to ensure safety at Asbury, please walk your bike/scooter to the bike rack. 

Volunteering At Asbury

We love our volunteers at Asbury. Work with your teachers and PTSO for ways to get involved at Asbury. Every year, volunteers will have to get background checks to support inside the school building. For more information, please check out this website that provides all the information and next steps to volunteer. 

Parent Teacher Conferences – Next Week!

Put a hold on your calendars for October 8-9 from 3:30-7:00 – we will be hosting parent teacher conferences during these times. Be on the lookout for more information from your teachers.  If you would like to schedule a conference with Mrs. Ravel for anything technology related, please reach out to her at amy_ravel@dpsk12.net. 

New Positions at Asbury

Interested or know someone who is interested in working at Asbury. We have a few paraprofessional positions available! We have special education para positions available as well as a 1st grade instructional para position that we are looking to fill. Please reach out to Jeanna if you are interested or if you know anyone interested!

What’s going on with PTSO?

  • Communications! We had two great updates about communications last night:
    • We now have a google calendar with school events and PTSO events on it. If you’d like to subscribe to the calendar and never miss another dine out or reschedule, please subscribe to: asburyelementary.website@gmail.com
    • If only one member of your household is receiving communications from the school, but you want both parents to receive them, you can update your parent contacts in the DPS parent portal – guardian/contact 1 and 2 should both be getting all of the school communication.
  • Here is the Sign Up Genius for the Easy Peasy jobs of setting up and cleaning up for Parent Teacher conferences: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090C4DA4AF2CA5F85-51517185-bowl
  • Check out our “No Brainer” Ongoing Fundraisers for easy ways to support all the incredible things going on at Asbury! https://asbury.dpsk12.org/support/events-and-fundraisers/
  • Celebrate all the fun ways Eagles get to school with Walk and Ride to School Day
    • Wednesday 10/9/2024
    • We are seeking enthusiastic volunteers to serve as captains to gather groups of students to walk or ride together in your area.
      • We are looking for one captain in each quadrant of our community (n/w of evans/downing, s/w, s/e, and n/e). 
      • If you’re interested in helping out and leading the way, please email Tammy at tlbeegles@gmail.com.
    • Snacks and stickers on the blacktop for Eagles who participate!
  • Skate CityRESCHEDULE – join your friends and skate the night away! Asbury receives a percentage of the money!
    • Thursday, OCTOBER 17! 6-8 pm
    • Skate City Littleton – 5801 S. Lowell Way
  • Community Watch Events: DU Women’s Volleyball! 
  • Social Committee Update! Did you know the PTSO has a social committee? Well, you do now! We’re brand new and so official that we even have a Facebook page! We’ll be hosting get-togethers throughout the year as well as posting about fun events going on around Asbury and the Denver metro area. Watch this section in the coming weeks for more updates as we’re still working on getting fully up and running; much more to come soon!

What’s going on with Enrichments?

Please visit the Asbury Website for more information and details about enrichments offered during this session:  Asbury Enrichments Schedule (update in progress)

Enrichment Flyers

Community Flyers

Upcoming Dates

  • 10/8 – 10/9- Parent-Teacher Conferences (in the evening)
  • 10/9 – Walk and Roll to School Day!
  • 10/10 – No school for Students- DPS Release Day
  • 10/11- No school for staff or students- DPS Vacation Day
  • 10/14 – No school for students- DPS Conference Comp Day
  • 10/15 and 10/16 – Chook all day dine out
  • 10/17 – Skate City Asbury Night (rescheduled)
  • 10/25 – 10/31 – Little’s Dine Out/Stock up fundraiser
  • 10/26 – Platt Park Climate Action Forum Meeting
  • 10/29 – PTSO October meeting (In person)
  • 11/9 – DU Women’s Volleyball Community Ticketing event
  • 11/17 – DU Men’s Basketball Community Ticketing Event
  • 11/22 – No school for students- Asbury Release Day
  • 11/25 -11/29- No School for Staff or Students- Holiday
  • 12/10 – Chipotle Dine Out Fundraiser
  • 12/20- No school for students- Asbury Release Day
  • 12/23 – 1/3 – No school for staff or students- Winter Break
  • 1/6 – No school for students- DPS Release Day
  • 1/20 – No school for staff or students- Holiday
  • 2/14 – No school for students- DPS Release Day
  • 2/17 – No school for staff and students- Holiday
  • 3/21 – No school for students- Asbury Release Day
  • 3/24 – 3/31- No school for staff and students- Holiday
  • 4/18 – No school for students- DPS Release Day
  • 4/22 – 4/23 and 4/23 – 4/24 – 5th Grade Balarat (Each 5th grade class assigned to a session soon)
  • 4/30 – Rockies Game – 5th Grade
  • 5/9 – No school for students- Asbury Release Day
  • 5/26 – No school for students and staff- Holiday
  • 6/3 – Half Day for students- last day of school