Asbury Thursday Folders – February 20, 2025

Posted February 20, 2025

Thursday Folders

Principal Message:

Dear Asbury Community, 

Asbury Read-A-Thon is March 1-6!

Welcome to the 14th Annual Asbury Elementary Read-A-Thon! Reading books – Reinforcing literacy 

The main focus of Read-A-Thon is to foster a love of literacy and reading. With this event, we hope to instill a love of books to our Asbury Eagles, so that they may become, and continue to be, passionate readers as they grow. We hope that ALL students will participate in the program. 

The Read-A-Thon is a great way to support our kids through active reading. 

❖ Reading is a more complex task for our brains than watching TV. 

❖ Reading improves concentration. 

❖ Reading develops our kids’ imaginations. 

❖ Reading improves vocabulary & language skills. 

❖ Reading builds empathy. 

❖ Reading promotes achievement in ALL subjects at school. 

Our goal this year is to encourage our kids to read because it is FUN!!!! 

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS: 

Read and track your minutes March 1st – March 6th. Turn in Reading Feathers March 3rd – March 7th. 

a) Using the Reading Log (that will be sent home next week) to record the number of minutes you read. It stays at home. 

b) Return a Reading Feather (sent home 2/28) to school each weekday morning. A copy is attached if needed. 

Transfer the number of minutes you read from your Reading Log to the corresponding Reading Feather on the tear sheet. Bring the feather to school each morning (March 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th). 

The Read-A-Thon Committee will tally minutes read based solely on the Reading Feathers returned to school. At the end of the reading week, each student who reads more than 300 minutes will receive a Snarf’s gift certificate and prizes will be awarded to the top readers of each class. Classrooms with the most minutes read and highest participation rates will also earn a classroom celebration (K/1, 2/3, 4/5) and Nothing Bundt Cakes bundtlet certificates. Please make sure your child turns in their Reading Feathers so they can participate in these contests. Each day your child participates means they are entered in a drawing for a daily prize, too! 

Thank you for participating in Asbury’s 14th Annual Read-A-Thon!

For questions, contact:

Leah Borsheim: leah.borsheim@gmail.com or Emily Rotta emilyroa@gmail.com

In Partnership,

Jeanna Doung  


What’s top of Mind?

Please Join us on Monday. March 3 for our Community Circle and Read A Thon Kick off!

Please join us on Monday, 3/3 from 7:50-8:50 in Asbury’s Auditorium for our Community Circle and Author Visit with Mina Javaherbin. This is a special Community Circle, as it will be on a Monday and it will be celebrating our kick off to Read A Thon week! 

Talent Show

Talent Show audition information was passed out to interested students in grades 2-5 this week. Kindergarten and first graders will not be performing in the Talent Show this year. Please find Talent Show information here and the digital permission slip here. Please email Tillie Batesmith at tillifinney_smith@dpsk12.net with any questions!

Weather Reminder

Bundle Up: It is cold in the morning and it feels like an extra cold winter this year. Where we do have inside days during extreme weather and temperatures, on other days, when it might feel brisk, we do have students go outside. We have some extra coats at school, though not enough for everyone, so please have students bring winter gear to school on cold days. We look at the weather daily to make decisions about if we will be inside or outside. 

Kiss and Go/Crosswalk Safety

Please use safety at Kiss n’ Go and when crossing the street- please use the crosswalks provided and keep our Asbury Eagles safe 🙂 

Report Card Window

Report cards will be ready after March 20. This will be for the 2nd trimester. If you have any questions, please contact the front office. 

Assessment Update (3rd, 4th, 5th grades)

  • CMAS/CoAlt Schedule and Parent Information Letter – Click HERE.
  • Testing Window at Asbury – April 7-April 17
  • 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades will do ELA (3 units/grade) and math (3 units/grade)
  • 4th will also do Social Studies (1 unit)
  • 5th will also do Science (3 units
  • By getting this information out early, we hope you can plan accordingly with appointments/trips/days absent from school.  It is also really important that students arrive at school on time each day.  It is really helpful to get all the testing completed as scheduled and limit the number of make-ups we need to do.
  • Note:  The specials schedule will be flipped from 4/7-4/17 (ie. K, 1, 2 will have specials in the morning and 3, 4, 5 will have specials in the afternoon during this testing window.
  • SAVE the DATE for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade families for an ONLINE CMAS Informational Night at 6:00 pm on Thursday, 3/13.  Link to be shared out closer to the event.

UPDATE on Arbitration Ruling for Educators over 5.2% COLA Promised by DPS

We’ve received the arbitration ruling on our 5.2% COLA. Unfortunately, the arbiter ruled in favor of DPS, NOT THE TEACHERS on the technical interpretation of the language. This fight has always been about the district’s refusal to pay its educators and ensuring that dedicated educators can afford to live in the communities we serve so we can continue supporting the students we know and love. Click HERE to read more…

Make your voice heard on behalf of teachers. Click HERE to Send a letter to the Board of Education now, letting them know that you deserve to be valued, respected, and paid. Your teachers deserve your 5.2% COLA!

Update on the Asbury 5th Grade Yard Sale – This coming Saturday!!

  • Saturday, 2/22 
  • 9:00 am-1:00 pm
  • **There will be a face painter at the event!
  • We are still collecting items for the sale.  Please drop them off this week in the office.  If you have large items, please reach out to Amy_Ravel@dpsk12.net to figure out the drop off closer to the event.

HR Updates

  • Ms. Fahima, one of our new Dedicated Adult Support Paraprofessionals for 4th grade, has started at Asbury. If you see her, say hi and welcome her!
  • We have some sad news – Ms. Rachel, our wonderful nurse, is moving! She will be moving in March. We will miss her, but wish her all the best. In the meantime, we are working with the nursing department in DPS to get a replacement nurse. 🙂 
  • Open Positions: 
    • We have a few DAS (1 on 1 paraprofessional) positions that support our students with special needs. If you are interested, please do not hesitate to reach out! 
    • MI Special Education Teacher position open. If you know of anyone or are interested in yourself, please let Jeanna know.

What’s Still Relevant? 

Message from Mrs. Batesmith – Talent Show Committee Members Wanted!
Mrs Batesmith is looking for a few more people to be on the Talent Show Committee for this spring’s upcoming Talent Show! Members of this committee will serve as a think tank for logistics and processes on how to improve the Talent Show. Members of this committee may also have the opportunity to serve on the audition panel if that is a direction the panel chooses to go. The time commitment on this is low, culminating with the Talent Show performance, and will involve a handful of virtual meetings and information exchange via email.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please send an email to Mrs Batesmith (tillifinney_smith@dpsk12.net) by Thursday 1/16. Thanks for your consideration!

Asbury News in the Air February Edition – from Ms. E’s newspaper group

Immigration Resources for Family and Staff:
A Family Resource Toolkit is available in English and Spanish, and contains information and resources about rights, current DPS policies, training, mental health support, DPS resources, community resources and more. To request the toolkit in another language, email office_communications@dpsk12.net.

Prospective Parent Tours Extended
Prospective parent tours have been very successful. Prospective families have been signing up for times to tour Asbury. On these tours they talk to current students and parents while walking around the building. Then prospective parents talk to teachers and Ms. D about the school. We usually run tour weekly from October-January. They have been so popular this month, that we have decided to extend tours through March 7! If you are interested in volunteering to lead these tours, please reach out to Ms. D! 

PBL Request for 5th Grade
Do any of you have any connections to shoes!  We are looking to get new white sneakers (one pair for each student in their size ideally!) for a Geometry PBL that they will be working on coming soon.  Please reach out to Amy_Ravel@dpsk12.net if you have any connections or ideas on how to make this dream a reality!

Green Eagles Denver 7 News Story 


What’s going on with PTSO?

  • You’re off the hook for figuring out lunch or dinner: Birdcall is hosting an Asbury dine-out event next Tuesday, Feb. 25! Mark your calendars! Enter code AE225 for online or in-person deliciousness!
  • Next Friday, 2/28 – Stay after school to hang out with your friends and enjoy Kona Ice. We’re calling these gatherings Final Fridays and we hope to see you there!
  • We are in the final stretch of Direct Give! We still have a ways to go, and we’re asking everyone to tell your friends and family and help us reach our goal of raising $125,000 for Asbury! Remember: 100% of your donations go directly to teacher salaries, student programs, and other initiatives that benefit our actual children!
  • We’re looking for items to include in this year’s highly anticipated Spring Wing Auction on Friday, May 2! Do you have extra tickets to a game, music performance, or other cool event? Do you own a local business, or know someone who does, and would you be willing to donate a gift card? Are you an artist, craftsperson, yoga teacher, designer, etc., or do you have a fun hobby, and would you be willing to donate your skills to the highest bidder? Please contact asbury.ptso@gmail.com!  
  • Read-a-Thon is coming up March 1st-7th!
    • Gather all your books for the BOOK SWAP – on the playground next week Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Get some exciting new reads for the read a thon!
    • Can you help donate small prizes or gift cards for everyone’s favorite annual friendly competition? If so, please sign up here!
  • The DU Hockey vs. St. Cloud State game is coming up on Saturday, March 1. Sadly, the deadline to get tickets at our special Asbury rate has passed, but you can still join your school friends by purchasing tickets here!

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

  • 2/22 – SATURDAY!  Asbury 5th Grade Yard Sale (9:00 am-1:00 pm) **There will be a face painter at the event!
  • 2/25 – 3rd Grade Field trip to Bluff Lake Nature Center (more information to come!)
  • 2/25 – Birdcall Dine Out and Giveback
  • 2/25 – 2/27: Book Swap for Read a Thon (Book Swap Information)
  • 2/28 – “Final Friday” – stay after school to play and have Kona Ice
  • 3/1 – DU Hockey vs Cloud State Community Ticketing Event 6pm
  • 3/1-3/7 – Read A Thon
  • 3/3 – Guest Author Visit – Mina Javaherbin (www.minajavaherbin) – Read A Thon Kick Off Event! (K-5th grades) 
  • 3/4 – In Person PTSO meeting
  • 3/7 – Spelling Bee Practice for participants (2:40-3:30)
  • 3/14 – Asbury Spelling Bee
  • 3/18 – Shake Shack Dine Out and Giveback
  • 3/20 – Talent Show
  • 3/21 – No school for students- Asbury Release Day
  • 3/24 – 3/31- No school for staff and students- Holiday
  • 4/7 – Skate City Asbury Night 6-8 pm
  • 4/16 – Sweet Cow Dine Out and Giveback
  • 4/18 – No school for students- DPS Release Day
  • 4/22 – 4/23 (Baker’s Homeroom) and 4/23 – 4/24 (Altenburger’s Homeroom) – 5th Grade Balarat 
  • 4/29 – WOW Show/Dish a Story 
  • 4/30 – Rockies Game – 5th Grade
  • 5/2 – Spring Wing! *DATE CHANGE*
  • 5/9 – No school for students- Asbury Release Day
  • 5/13 – Sexy Pizza Dine Out
  • 5/26 – No school for students and staff- Holiday
  • 6/2 – 5th Grade Continuation
  • 6/3 – Half Day for students- last day of school