Independence Elementary Patriots Press June 2015 Lisa Morris, Principal Main Office: 720-886-8200 Independence Elementary Attendance: 720-886-8295 4700 South Memphis St. www.indep.ccsd.k12.co.us Aurora, CO 80015 We are dedicated to inspire the heart and mind to achieve excellence. We are united when one succeeds, we all succeed. Important Dates to Remember June 2 Last Day of School for Grades 1-4 (No Breakfast/No Lunch) 12:00pm Dismissal June 17 Colorado Rockies Game IND Choir Sings August 13 First Day of School for 1-5 th Grades August 13-14 Kindergarten Screenings August 17 First Day of School for Kindergarten Dear Families, Ready or not, summer is upon us! Our school year has gone by quickly, and our children have learned so much. They are ready for a well-deserved break from school. Thank you to our students, staff, and parents who have worked together to make this such a successful year at Independence. As I mentioned, our students have learned so much this year, and we all want them to continue to grow over the summer. We are highly encouraging our students to continue to read throughout the summer. Please take time to read the letter in this newsletter which explains our summer reading program. Thanks for all you do to continue to support our students. Also, in order to encourage reading over the summer, our Independence Library will be open to students entering Kdg 5th grade over the summer. The library will be open from 9-11 every Wednesday morning, starting June 10th. Feel free to stop by so your child can check out books to read over the summer. Included in this newsletter is a list of classroom teachers for next school year. On June 2nd, the last day for 1st 4th graders, students will have the opportunity to meet next year s
teachers. That morning, all students will be able to go into the classrooms of the next grade level and get to know the teachers on that team. We believe providing them an opportunity to meet all of the teachers, will help them have a better understanding of the next grade level as well as see classrooms where they will spend time next year. As we move into next year, parent forms will continue to be online. In late July, all returning families will receive an email from the district and a letter from our school that will provide additional information about the online forms and our registration. All families will need to update the forms, which can be found through our district website. Parent forms for next year will be accessible starting in July. Here s to filling a few buckets over the summer! See you in August, Lisa Morris Principal PRINCIPAL S FOR THE DAY - STUDENTS JUSTIN ANDERSON AND NICOLETA COSTACHE Hi I m Justin Anderson and I m Nicoleta Costache. We are the principals for Wednesday, May 27, 2015. We have gone around school to check how the classrooms are doing. They were great, this is one of the many great things about Independence Elementary. We can ensure you that you should be happy that you enrolled your child here. We have a great principal and her name is Mrs. Morris, she is very nice. We are a great school! Our school has kindergarten through 5th grade. Have a great summer and have fun hopefully you are going to be here next year and if you are have fun in your next grade! We also have this policy to be a star student. What we saw was very good star behavior the S stands for safety, the T stands for teamwork, the A stands for attitude, and the R stands for responsibility. The kids in each class were doing a very good job.
GRADE LEVEL TEACHER LIST FOR 2015-2016 Kindergarten: Heather Clutter, Melissa McBride, Lisa Robinson, Marsia Ronyak 1 st Grade: Mary Hood (Boyle), Amy Brownlee, Jana Johnson, Lexanne Leonard 2 nd Grade: Mallory Bravo, Bobbi Carney, Deborah Gonzales, Jeff Newcomb 3 rd Grade: Charles Kastens, Tim Thomas, Elizabeth Pearne, Natascia Marti 4 th Grade: Kimberly Brown, Natalie West, Cassie Schaefer, TBD 5 th Grade: Dan Halvorsen, Gwen Osborne, April Wurtsmith Welcome to Independence Please join me in welcoming some new teachers to Independence next year. These teachers are listed in our classroom teacher list for next year so I wanted to tell you something brief about each of them. Natascia (Tasci) Marti 3 rd Grade Ms. Marti comes to us from Larkspur Elementary in Douglas County where she taught the last 5 years in KG and 2 nd grade. Elizabeth (Liz) Pearne 3 rd Grade Ms. Pearne has been a 2 nd grade teacher in California and Colorado for the last 6 years. There will be a more detailed introduction from each of the teachers when we return in the fall. They are all excited to be joining our Independence Community! FAREWELL FROM TAMMY FRENCH After 21 years of being a part of the Independence staff, I wanted to let the Independence community know that I will be moving on to Meadow Point Elementary next year. During my first 15 years at this school, I had the pleasure of teaching many of your children in 2nd grade. The last 6 years, as the instructional coach, I have also had the opportunity to connect with even more students and parents. Thank you to the parents who have taken so much of their time and effort to support our school in so many ways. You have helped make Independence a great place to be. Please know that I m taking with me all the fond memories of the families and staff members I have come to know through the years, along with events like the 2nd grade Mexican Market Day, school carnivals and family nights. Although I m looking forward to working in a new school, Independence will always hold a special place in my heart. Sincerely, Tammy French
NEXT YEAR accordingly. Please see the 2015-2016 Cherry Creek School District calendar (attached) and on the Independence website. Note that school will be STARTING EARLIER than usual next year, beginning on THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015 for Grades 1-5. Kindergarten will start on MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015. Please plan Do you have a student who will be attending Kindergarten next year? If so, please be sure to register with the Cherry Creek School District Admissions office, located at 5416 S. Riviera Way in Centennial. For more information, please visit the district website: www.cherrycreekschools.org > Student Registration. THANK YOU!!! Independence Elementary would like to thank Lillian Hans, mother of Wyatt Hans, for donating several copies of her book, The Accidental French Tourist to our school. Her books made wonderful prizes for our last STAR Assembly. LOST AND FOUND Are you looking for your child s coat, gloves, sweatshirt, etc? It may be in our Lost and Found. Please stop by to check our Lost and Found. All unclaimed items will be donated on Thursday, June 4th! FROM THE CLINIC Thank You, Nurse Ashley Parents, If you have ANY medication at all in the school clinic it needs to be picked up by the last day of school or it WILL be disposed of! This includes any prescription, over-the-counter, Epi-pens, and inhalers that are in the clinic. We cannot keep these items in the clinic over the summer! Thank you so much and have a fun and safe summer!
MUSIC NEWS! ATTENTION INDEPENDENCE FAMILIES AND FRIENDS!!! The Independence Choir has once again received the huge honor of singing the National Anthem for a Colorado Rockies game!! The game they will be singing at is Wednesday, June 17th at 6:40pm. Look forward to seeing you there! PATRIOTS CLUB Did you know?!?! Independence offers an all-day summer program called, Patriots Club! Our summer days are full of exciting themed days as well as many unique filed trips. For more information, please visit our website: www.independencepatriotsclub.weebly.com. You may also contact us directly at 720-886-8280. We look forward hearing from you and hope you will be joining us over the summer. SUBSTITUTE SCHOOL NURSING POSITIONS IN CCSD If you are a registered nurse looking to work part-time, CCSD is looking for nurses with pediatric or public health experience to assist and provide coverage when our regular nurses require a day off. Substituting is a great way to experience and explore the autonomous and independent practice of school nursing. Come join our team and help us change the world, one child at a time. For more information about this opportunity please contact Health Services at 720-554-4274 or HealthServices@cherrycreekschools.org or follow this link to start the application process: http://cherrycreekschools.org/humanresources/substitutes/pages/default.aspx. CCSD SUMMER SPORTS AND DRIVERS EDUCATION CCSD provides sports and drivers' education opportunities. Please see these websites for information: www.cherrycreekschools.org/athleticsactivities/summercamps www.cherrycreekschools.org/athleticsactivities/driversed
17060 E Quincy Ave. Aurora, Co 80015 303-693-9663 We want to send out a HUGE thank you to A-Town Pizza located in the Target parking lot at Quincy and Buckley! We enjoyed 4 Family Nights with them this school year and they graciously donated $2,100.00 to our school! Thank you to everyone who joined us during those Family Nights! 2015-16 SCHOOL MEAL PRICES Please see attached and below for 2015-16 School Meal Prices. Breakfast Lunch Elementary School $1.75 $2.90 Middle School $1.85 $3.05 High School $1.85 $3.05 Adult Lunch A La Carte Prices $3.95 (does not include beverage) Milk Only $0.85 $0.85 INDEPENDENCE OPEN LIBRARY Independence is opening their library this summer for our students. We will be open each Wednesday in June and July from 9-11am starting June 10th and ending July 29th. Students entering K through 5th grade may come and check out books, read with a teacher and access their iready accounts on the computers. (Students entering K-2 should be accompanied by an adult). Drop by, enjoy a good book and keep those reading skills sharp!
Parents, Summer is a great time for children to play and spend time with their families. It is also a great time for your child to read for enjoyment. Summer reading will also ensure that your child maintains the reading level they have worked so hard to get to this school year. To encourage students to read, Independence has provided some supports and incentives. Please be looking for the following items coming home in the next few days: 1. Several gently used books students may keep for summer reading. 2. Independence Summer Reading Log in which students can earn a Western Bag of Goodies and Free Book next fall. 3. A list of great on-line programs and games for your students to practice reading and math over the summer 4. Grade Level Summer Reading Packets: Grade Level teachers for your child s next grade are sending home a journal on the last day of school for your students to work on through the summer. Summer reading is meant to be enjoyable and we hope that you and your child will lasso some good books and enjoy some time reading into the sunset.