Adventure Elementary

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Dear Adventure Families,

Only a handful of days remain before SUMMER! Students and teachers alike have been enjoying important end of the school year rituals--music concerts, picnics, yearbooks, and one of the most important traditions our school has, the annual 6th grade overnight trip to Cal-Wood!

Next up: Field Day! Third through 6th graders will participate in Field Day activities on Tuesday morning and Kindergarten through 2nd graders on Tuesday afternoon. Please send students dressed for physical activity, with a labelled water bottle, sun hat, and sunscreen. Also, last chance to sign up as a Field Day volunteer, please sign up here!

On Wednesday, the 6th graders will celebrate the end of their elementary school years with Continuation at 5:00. Then on Thursday all K-6 students will dismiss at 1:10, but not before our tradition of gathering all students in the halls to bid our 6th graders goodbye!

I hope your family enjoys a relaxing, restful, and safe summer. You can expect a couple of communications from me over the summer as we finalize details for next year. Until then, remember these important 2025-26 details!

• K-6 School Day: 8:00-3:10 (breakfast begins at 7:50)
• Aug 7 - Back-to-School Night (details coming in late July)
• Aug 12 - First day of school, grades 1-6 and kindergarteners identified as English dominant
• Aug 13 - First day of school, kindergarteners identified as Spanish dominant (no school for English dominant students)
• TBD - First day of school, PK

Saludos,

Sarah Kopperud

Principal

kopperuds@mapleton.us

Marisa Abreo

Assistant Principal

abreom@mapleton.us

2024-25 Academic Calendar

2024-25 Academic Calendar for Preschool

2025-26 Academic Calendar

• May 23 - Kindergarten Continuation, 9:30; followed by End-of-Year picnic
• May 23 - 5th grade End-of-Year picnic
• May 26 - no school, PK-6
• May 27 - K-6 Field Day (Grades 3-6: 9:00-10:30; Grades K-2: 1:00-2:30)
• May 28 - last day of school for PK, End-of-Year picnics (10:00, 2:00)
• May 28 - 3rd grade, End-of-Year Picnic (11:30)
• May 28 - 6th grade Continuation, 5pm
• May 29 - last day of school for K-6, 1:10 dismissal

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• Aug 7 - Back-to-School Night (details coming in late July)
• Aug 12 - First day of school, grades 1-6 and kindergarteners identified as English dominant
• Aug 13 - First day of school, kindergarteners identified as Spanish dominant (no school for English dominant students)
• TBD - First day of school, PK

Six sixth graders at Adventure Elementary became the first in the school’s history this week to earn the Seal of Biliteracy Pathway Award, an honor recognizing students on track to receive the full Seal of Biliteracy in high school.

Launched this year, the program is open to sixth graders who demonstrate grade-level reading proficiency in English and another language—Spanish, in all cases this year. The full Seal of Biliteracy, awarded at high school graduation, is an official credential that signals to colleges and employers that a student is truly bilingual and biliterate.

Adventure Elementary, a dual language enrichment school, fosters rigorous academics and culturally responsive learning. The new award reflects the school’s commitment to honoring its students’ multilingual abilities and multicultural identities.

To earn the award, students wrote and presented two essays, one each in English and Spanish, about their bilingual journeys and the value of speaking more than one language. They also completed volunteer service hours, such as reading to younger students or helping at bilingual assemblies.

The students say the program helped them reflect on their experiences and look ahead.

“Being bilingual is an amazing thing to be,” said Gisell L., who hopes to become a lawyer or translator. “You understand both your culture and another culture. When I learned English, I made more friends.”

Classmate Jose G. saw the award as a chance to prepare for life after school. “In some jobs, they give you preference if you’re bilingual because you can help customers in both languages.”

Rafael B. said, “I decided to get this award to make my family proud and also because it will help me get the Seal of Biliteracy later in high school, and that’s going to help my future.”

The six students to earn the award will be honored with certificates and medals at Adventure’s sixth-grade continuation ceremony on Wednesday, May 28. Adventure plans to expand the program next year to support even more students in their journey toward bilingual excellence.

📚 School's Out—But Learning Doesn’t Have to Be! ☀️
End-of-Year Newsletter for Families

Dear Families,

The last day of school is always buzzing with excitement! Students are eager to begin their well-deserved summer break, and parents are looking forward to family adventures, lazy mornings, and sunshine-filled days. But alongside the fun, many families worry about the "summer slide"—a term that refers to the learning loss that can happen when school’s out for summer.

❗ Did You Know?

A national survey of teachers revealed that:

• 66% of teachers spend the first 3–4 weeks of the new school year reteaching skills from the previous year.

• 24% of teachers spend 5–6 weeks doing the same.

Over time, this learning loss adds up. By the time a student reaches middle school, they may have lost the equivalent of two years of learning due to summer slide and reteaching.

📖 The Good News: Summer Reading Can Help!

Summer learning loss is real, but it’s also preventable—and it doesn’t take hours of homework to keep young minds active. Research shows that:

• Just 2–3 hours a week of educational activities (like reading!) can stop the summer slide.

• Reading just 4–6 books over the summer can maintain or even boost reading skills by fall.

✅ 5 Easy Tips to Fit Reading Into Your Summer Fun:

1. Create a Routine: Set aside 20 minutes a day for reading—right before bed, after lunch, or during quiet time.

2. Visit the Library: Make regular trips part of your summer plans. Many libraries offer summer reading programs with prizes!

3. Let Kids Choose: Encourage your child to read what interests them—comics, graphic novels, magazines, or audiobooks count too!

4. Read Together: Reading aloud as a family is a great way to bond and model good reading habits.

5. Make It Fun: Create a summer reading challenge or book bingo with small rewards.

Let’s keep the joy of learning alive all summer long. A few minutes a day can make a big difference!

Wishing you a safe, sunny, and story-filled summer!
📚☀️💛

All Mapleton preschools, including Adventure, are still enrolling 3 and 4 year olds for the 2025-26 school year. Adventure is excited to announce that we will offer both half day and full day preschool next year! While our program will not half before/after care, other school sites do for families needing an extended day.

You can view more details about Mapleton's Preschool options here. Please reach out to Terri Stowell, Early Childhood Specialist, at 303-853-1784.

Last week, 4th, 5th, and 6th graders heard from Caldecott Honor Book winner, Vera Brosgol when she visited Adventure. She recently released a new book titled, "Return to Sender."

Ms. Brosgol immigrated to the United States when she was young. Her message was one about finding friends and fitting in as someone whose home life and home language were different than those of her classmates. Ms. Brosgol illustrated her book and also sketched some cartoons for us during her talk; several students got to take home one of her autographed drawings!

Ms. Sandstrom has been a teacher at Adventure for 15 years, teaching Spanish literacy in grades 1-3. Prior to student teaching in Ms. Abreo's classroom long ago, she taught swim lessons and coached a Special Olympics team and spent time living in Málaga and Barcelona, Spain. Ms. Sandstrom earned her BA in General Music from the University of Northern Colorado, also earning minors in Spanish, Psychology, and Leadership. She also holds a Master's degree in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Denver.

Ms. Sandstrom is very passionate about helping students develop their skills as language learners. She enjoys making connections across languages and helping kids discover them, too! She's held various leadership roles in this realm, including attending the CO-CABE conferences, participating in Mapleton's Spanish Literacy PLC, and teaching English language classes. Ms. Sandstrom believes that the Adventure families and staff are one of a kind and these aspects are what she enjoys most about her work!

Originally from Holyoke, CO, Ms. Sandstrom is married and has one son who also attends Mapleton.

Email: kopperuds@mapleton.us
Website: https://adventure.mapleton.us/
Location: 7725 Conifer Road, Denver, CO, USA
Phone: (303)853-1410