What's Blooming @ Columbine

Dear Columbine Parents and Families,

Time has passed quickly since the last newsletter, and many fantastic moments have come and gone since the last school-wide newsletter! Specifically, the walk-a-thon! Thank you to the many volunteers who helped make our first fundraiser of the year so successful. The day was awesome - lots of smiles, high fives, and laps! 3,707 laps altogether! Please take some time to make sure that all students' pledge envelopes and online donations are turned in - we appreciate your support and look forward to sharing our fundraising totals very soon!

Please read on to learn more about important upcoming events and fun opportunities throughout the month! Here's to a fantastic fall in October!

Landis Seabolt

Principal, Columbine Elementary

To access the school events calendar, click here.

• 10/3: Walk-A-Thon Donations and Pledges Due

• 10/7: Team Lift Parent Meeting @ 8:05am (Parent Volunteer Team)

• 10/8: National Walk to School Day!

• 10/13-10/16: Book Fair!

• 10/16: Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences

• 10/17: No School - District Closed

• 10/20: No School - Professional Development Day

• 10/31: Costume Parade

• 11/6: District Math Night

• 11/11: Veterans Day Celebrations

• 11/18: Columbine Thanksgiving Feast

• 11/20: 4th & 5th Grade Music Performance @ 6pm

• November 24th-28th: Thanksgiving Break

Wednesday, October 8th, is National Walk to School Day! This is an optional event for students to engage in healthy walking before school. Students can meet staff at 7:05am on Wednesday at one of our three meeting locations:

Mountain Naturals @ 790 Red Feather Lane

OR

Mountain View United Methodist Church @ 1101 Rampart Range Road

OR

Woodland Park Community Church @ 800 Valley View Drive

Students and Staff will begin walking at 7:15am to arrive at school in time for breakfast.

Whether you have an hour to spare, an item to donate, or a desire to support behind the scenes, there's a place for you on CES TEAM LIFT-our parent volunteer team! Join Us at our next parent meeting Tuesday, October 7th at 8:05am! Let's connect and talk about how you can get involved!

We Need Your Help With:

Donations:

• Snacks and drinks for our amazing Teacher Lounge

• Items that can be sold for $1 at the Snackel Box (our parent run concession stand on Thursdays)

• Monetary donations to help provide meals during Parent-Teacher Conferences

Volunteer Opportunities:

• Assist with the Yearbook

• Assist with Parent/Teacher Conference Teacher Luncheon

• Volunteer in the classroom (even just once makes a difference!)

Stay Connected with TeamReach!

We use the TeamReach app to keep you in the loop on all parent involvement opportunities.

Join the CES TEAM LIFT group today!

• Install TeamReach on iPhone: App Store Link

• Install TeamReach on Android: Google Play Link

• Enter Group Code:

  CESpitcrew1

This is the easiest way to stay updated, sign up for events, and connect with other parents making a difference! Thank you for your continued support of our students, teachers, and school community. We couldn't do it without you!

The first quarter is almost coming to an end! This means Parent Teacher Conferences are coming and report cards will be heading home! Important information to have on your radar...

As a district we are moving from standards based reporting to traditional grade reporting for grades 3rd-12th. This decision was made and communicated last spring. However, this is the first report card cycle with the new system. What does it mean?!

• We are teaching the same things as before!
• We are grading materials the same way based on the same standards!
• We are simply reporting grades on a traditional A - F scale instead of 1 - 4!

Why the change? Grades should communicate how students are doing in a class or subject area. The 1-4 system did not always get the correct messaging across! So what can you expect...

• Kindergarten through 2nd grade will still be graded in a primary manner. They will receive the following marks:
• EE = Exceeding Expectations
• ME = Meeting Expectations
• AE = Approaching Expectations
• UN = Unsatisfactory
• 3rd - 6th Grade will earn A - F to communicate their work in grade level standards.
• A = accurately completing 90 - 100% of grade level work
• B = accurately completing 80 - 89% of grade level work
• C = accurately completing 70 - 79% of grade level work
• D = accurately completing 60 - 69% of grade level work
• F = accurately completing less than 60% of grade level work

Teachers have been marking papers and you should see graded work coming home. If you are seeing incomplete work coming home or work that is completed inaccurately, their grades will reflect this work. If you have typically seen 1's or 2's on your child's report card, you may see C's, D's or F's. Our job remains the same! We are working to understand where students are in their learning and help them grow! If you want to support your child, some simple steps would be:

• Keep reading together at home!
• Work towards building work stamina and help them finish tasks!
• Complete unfinished work that comes home!
• Check over work and correct errors!

We are a team in learning and I am excited to continue working together to help our children reach their academic potential!

Please join us for parent teacher conferences on October 16th! Teachers are excited to meet with you to discuss your child and their progress so far this school year. Sign up links will be distributed from the district on Wednesday, October 8th.

On Friday, October 31st, students will be permitted to wear costumes to school. In addition to costumes, we will have a school-wide costume parade which will take place outside beginning at 2:20pm! Parents are welcome to join us for the parade. Once the parade is over, families are welcome to check out their children from their classroom teacher.

Please note the following guidelines for costumes:

• Costumes should not be too gory or scary (keep in mind our youngest students please)

• Costumes cannot include weapons or any toy/prop that resembles a weapon

• Masks may not be worn during the school day

• Costumes should be age appropriate and fit within the dress code - students with costumes that violate the dress code will be asked to call home for change of clothes.

Parents, please be mindful that students will be expected to participate in class as usual. Students with costumes that prevent them from participating in typical classroom activities or violate the dress code will be asked to call a parent for a change of clothes.

What is the parade?

• The students are the parade! We will turn on music in the halls and students will get to parade around the school and make their way outside showing off their costumes!

• Students will begin in the building then gather around the outdoor basketball court to complete the parade.

Parents, please remember that you must sign your students out from the classroom teacher if you wish to leave directly following the parade. Teachers will each have a sign out sheet for their grade level classes.

In order to complete student registration each year, a proof of residence is required. Mrs. Davis is reaching out to families who have not yet submitted this proof of residency. Please contact her at 719-686-2300 with questions or to provide the documentation necessary to meet this annual requirement.

Please note that toys and trinkets or other distracting accessories and/or personal items are not permitted at school. We appreciate your support to keep such items at home, so they do not become a distraction the in instructional environment.

Please remember to send a pair of shoes for your student to wear for gym class! Proper shoes help students to stay safe and be able to participate appropriately in class. Questions? Connect with our PE teacher, Ms. Goldberg.

As a reminder we are required by the State of Colorado to have an up-to-date immunization record, in-process plan or an exemption for each of our students. Immunization requirement notifications were sent out this week to our students who are still missing required documents. If you have any questions about your student's immunization status, please reach out to our health staff:

Columbine Health Office

(719) 686-2303

Cynthia Ingram, CNA, Health Aide cingram@wpsdk12.org

Tiffany Padilla, RN, District Nurse tpadilla@wpsdk12.org

Safety is always our top priority. Creating a secure environment means working together—students, staff, and families—to ensure that children feel safe, respected, and supported. Safety goes beyond physical protection; it also includes emotional and social well-being. When students feel safe, they are more engaged in learning, willing to participate, and better prepared to succeed academically and socially. Families play a critical role by reinforcing safety expectations at home, such as discussing respectful communication, reporting unsafe behaviors, and practicing safe routines to and from school.

We encourage parents to talk with their children about kindness as a core part of school safety. Simple acts like including others at recess, standing up for a peer, or using kind words help prevent conflicts and create a culture of care. Students who understand empathy and respect are less likely to engage in bullying and more likely to speak up when something doesn’t feel right. The U.S. Department of Education provides helpful guidance for parents on school safety practices (ed.gov/school-safety), and the National Association of School Psychologists offers resources on promoting positive school climates (nasponline.org).

To help children understand these ideas in a student-friendly way, families can watch short videos together. “Kindness is my Superpower” and “Anger Management Techniques for Kids” are fun reminders about how small acts of kindness make a big difference. Discussing these videos as a family can reinforce the importance of kindness, responsibility, and awareness—key parts of keeping schools safe.

The Columbine Elementary School back-to-school spirit wear sale is on now! Choose from hundreds of designs and garments, all delivered to your home in days. Shop Now!

Landis Seabolt, Columbine Elementary Principal

Email: lseabolt@wpsdk12.org

Website: https://wpsdk12.org/ces/
Location: 175 East Kelley's Road, Woodland Park, CO, USA
Phone: (719) 686-2300

Woodland Park School District Re-2 does not unlawfully discriminate against otherwise qualified students, employees, applicants for employment, or members of the public on the basis of disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, or need for special education services. Discrimination against employees and applicants for employment based on age, genetic information, and conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth; is also prohibited in accordance with state and/or federal law.