Posted November 14, 2024
Dear Asbury Families,
As we continue our gratitude month, I want to take a moment to extend gratitude to our amazing front office staff. Ms. Baca and Mr. Garrett are the face of Asbury and help with so many things. They are the first face you see when you walk in. They step in and support as nurse, teacher, FM, and principal! They do it all.
Mr. Garrett is the heart of this building and knows each student and the supports they need. He not only heads up lunch bunches, but he also leads lessons on anti-bullying. He is the champion of our Kindness Campaign. He can be seen out of the playground at recess, in classrooms supports whole classes, and at specials supports students who need it. We are so blessed to have him here!
Ms. Baca is the backbone to this building. She supports Asbury with coordinating so many things, including field trips, daily attendance, enrichments at the end of the day as well as making sure students who need additional support have it. She has relationships with so many of us and knows everyone by name!
In Partnership,
Jeanna Doung
Coffee and Conversation
Looking to ask Ms. D a question or get to know her better? Or, maybe you are looking for ways to be involved? Want to learn more about PTSO? CSC? Volunteering? On Thursday, 11/21 starting at 7:20, Ms. D will be outside on the playground with coffee. Please join us with any questions that you may have.
Message from Ms. Werner – November Art Newsletter
Message from Mr. Howard – Speed Stacks Cup Stacking!!!
HR Updates
Previously Shared: Declining Enrollment and Asbury’s Impact
In a communication earlier this week, I shared about DPS’s Declining Enrollment and the impacts that Asbury has with the proposal. It is proposed that Asbury be part of a new enrollment zone. Though this proposal has not been approved, it may be helpful to read more information. We also are learning even more about what an enrollment zone is and the impacts it might have on the choice and enrollment process. My commitment is to continue to keep you all informed. For now, please read more information, here.
Hold the Date: In Person Community Circle on November 15
Our next Community Circle Meeting will be in person in the gym on November 15 from 7:50-8:20. Community Circle is a time that we, as an Asbury community come together and celebrate one another and grow together to do our BEST! Please join us in the gym starting at 7:50, if you are able to make it.
Thanksgiving Lunch at Asbury
We want to cordially invite you to Asbury’s Thanksgiving lunch on November 21. Please see below for the lunch times for each grade. If you want to eat as a family and you have multiple students in multiple grade levels, our recommendation is to first try to have one adult eat with one student and the other eat with the other student. If this does not work, then please pull younger students to eat with the older students. We will have seating inside the cafeteria and outside on the blacktop. Also, if you want to come and enjoy and not eat, that is ok! Students can still bring their own lunch from home, they do you need to eat lunch at school. You are welcome to come eat lunch with students. Recess time can get busy, so it may be easier to just come for lunch. 🙂
| Grade Level | Lunch Time |
| Kinder | 10:30-10:55 |
| 1st | 10:50-11:15 |
| 2nd | 11:10-11:35 |
| 3rd | 11:30-11:55 |
| 4th | 11:50-12:15 |
| 5th | 12:10-12:35 |
The Relationship Between Mental Health and Academic Achievement- from the National Association of School Psychology:
Although previously thought of as two distinct domains of functioning, there is evidence that mental health (or social emotional competence) and academic achievement are interrelated. Fostering positive mental health in students has been shown to enhance academic growth and several curricula exist that aim to grow academic competencies through social and emotional learning. Just like regular instruction, the more frequent the exposure to social emotional learning, the greater the effect on academic achievement. A meta-analysis of school-based social and emotional learning programs involving more than 270,000 students in grades K-12 revealed that students who participated in these programs improved in grades and standardized test scores by 11 percentile points compared to control groups.
Mark Your Calendars: 2025-26 SchoolChoice Round 1 Dates
SchoolChoice Round 1 for the 2025-26 school year will open on Jan. 15, 2025 and close on Feb. 18, 2025. These dates will be publicly announced in Our DPS Weekly on Friday, Nov. 1
Families can apply here. Families with existing Parent Portal accounts can log in using their username and password. Families who don’t have Parent Portal accounts will set up a new account.
ATTENDANCE
Parents and Guardians, any time that your child will be absent the protocol is to call our attendance line at 720-424-9797 and leave a message with your child’s first and last name, grade and reason for absence. If they are out for any appointments like doctor, dentist etc. please ask them for a school excuse and bring it to me in the office so that time will be excused. The same applies if you pick your student up early or during the day for an appointment please get a school excuse. If you have left a message on the attendance line and you do get a communication that your student was marked without an excuse please disregard it and know that it will be marked in IC accordingly it just may have been a busy morning and I have not had the opportunity to do so. You can email the teachers if you would like but calling the attendance line is the protocol, we appreciate you all and know that when a student is out we want to streamline things for you as well and that is the best practice to call the attendance line.
Report Cards
Report cards will be available to families by November 22. You can access them through Infinite Campus or IC.
Art Newsletter from Ms. Werner and Artie the Art Dog
Art Fusion Workshop with Ms. Werner Information
HOPE Event
We are excited to have families in need invited to the HOPE. event. This is an event at Colorado Academy called HOPE (Helping Other People Eat). This is an event that they put on every year around the holidays where we invite families from around the Denver area to come to our campus and get free clothes, toys, a warm meal, optional flu vaccines, school supplies, personal care items, health resources and more! In addition, we have face painting, bouncy houses, and other fun activities to make this a fun and exciting day for families. Transportation to the event is available upon request. This is the 31st year they have done this event and this year the event will take place on December 14th from 9am – 2pm at Colorado Academy! This event is also translated in multiple languages. They wanted to send a warm invitation to any Asbury Elementary School family who may benefit from this event to attend and wanted to spread the word as best as possible. They have created a save the date flier which is below. Please pass this information along to families. Link: HOPE Event Information
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!
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.
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