Blevins Bulletin

Hello Blevins Families,

As we settle into the school year, our students are moving beyond the first few weeks of learning new schedules and routines and beginning to find their rhythm. This is an important time to check in with your student about how school is going, not only academically, but also socially and emotionally. Simple questions like, “When did you feel successful this week?” or “Is there anything making school feel difficult right now?” can lead to meaningful conversations.

At Blevins, we want every student to feel that they belong, can achieve, and have the support needed to succeed. Families are an essential part of making that happen. Thank you for reading our weekly communication, reinforcing school expectations, encouraging consistent attendance, and reaching out when your student needs support.

I also want to express my sincere gratitude for the incredible generosity our families have shown during our annual PTO Fundraiser. Thanks to your support, we have already raised more than $7,000 toward our goal. Last year, our community rallied together to reach $20,000, and this year we are setting our sights on milestones of $15,000 and $20,000 once again. The best part is that every dollar raised goes directly back to our students through classroom projects, recess equipment, student store supplies, and many other opportunities that enrich the student experience at Blevins. To allow additional time for families who would still like to contribute, we have extended our fundraising window through next Friday, September 25.

Finally, please save the date for our 3rd Annual Bruin Bash on Friday, October 9, from 4:30-6:30pm. This is a wonderful opportunity for current students, families, staff, alumni, and community members to come together and celebrate everything that makes Blevins special. Whether you are new to our community or a longtime Bruin supporter, we hope you'll join us as we celebrate the past, present, and future of Blevins Bruins.

As always, thank you for your continued partnership and support.

Proudly,
Joe Zappa, Principal

Thursday, September 24th

• PTO Meeting 5:30-7:00 (Collaboration Cafe/Room 221)

Wednesday, September 30th

• 8th Grade College & Career Exploration @ CSU 10:30-1:30 (Watch for More Information)

Friday, October 9th:

• School Dance 3:00-4:30 ($5.00 student entry fee)
• SAVE THE DATE! Bruin Bash 4:30-6:30 (See Information Below)

• Student Picture Make Up Day/Retake (Watch for More Information)

• Student Led Conferences 3:00-6:30 (Watch for more information)

• Student Led Conferences 3:00-6:30 (Watch for more information)

• NO SCHOOL

• PTO/SAC Meeting 5:30-7:30 (Collaboration Cafe/Room 221)

• Beginning Band Concert 6:00pm (Blevins Auditeria)
• Symphonic and Concert Bands Concert 7:00pm (Blevins Auditeria)

• Student & Staff Halloween Costumes (More Information Below)

October Count is coming on OCTOBER 1st!

(PSD's count window is Sept. 23- Oct 7.)

What is October Count? It is simply making your student count in our education system. Per the Colorado Department of Education:

“The Student October Pupil Enrollment collection contains student enrollment information as of the pupil enrollment count date. This information is used to determine the school demographics, number of students in instructional programs, free and reduced lunch counts, and distribution of school finances across the state.”

Its very important to have your student in school during this time so your student and Blevins are accurately represented. If you have any questions or concerns, please call Brian Crego 970-488-4008.

🐾 Blevins PTO Fundraiser has been Extended thoough September 25th!

It’s time for our Blevins Grade-Level Fundraising Challenge! Each grade will compete to see who can raise the most money for Blevins students and staff.

🏆 The grade that raises the most money gets to CHOOSE their celebration!

🍕 Pizza Party
🍦 Ice Cream Party
🍩 Donut Party

💰 Choose Your Grade & Donate!

6th Grade:
Donate to the 6th Grade Competition

7th Grade:
Donate to the 7th Grade Competition

8th Grade:
Donate to the 8th Grade Competition

🎯 Schoolwide Goals

Let’s see what Blevins can do together!

$15,000 → EXTRA REC TIME!
$20,000 → DUCT TAPE PRINCIPAL ZAPPA TO THE WALL!

We can’t miss out on this Blevins tradition!

Every donation helps the PTO provide opportunities, activities, and support for Blevins students and staff. Help your grade win—and help us reach our schoolwide goals!

Fundraiser runs August 31–September 18.

🐾 Go Bruins!

If you like to creatively solve unusual math problems, and like to be around other people who enjoy doing the same, come join the Math Counts team! We meet on Mondays after school, until 3:30, in Mr. Holder's classroom. We enjoy math puzzles and riddles, and exploring different ways to solve the same problem.

There is an area-wide competition we participate in at the UNC campus each year, we're getting team T-shirts you get to keep, and the team picture will be in the yearbook. The season lasts until the area competition, which is in mid-February. If this sounds interesting, come check out one of our meetings, or talk to Mr. Holder about whether it would be a good fit for you!

Students can earn Bruin Bucks for demonstrating PAWS (Productive-Accountable-Welcoming-Safe), which they can spend at the Bruin Store! The store is open before and after school, as well as lunch.

We are looking for more items to add to our store. If you have any gently used toys, fidgets, or other fun items that you would like to donate, please have your child drop them off in Room 240 before or after school with Ms. T.

Thank you for helping us keep the Bruin Store stocked!

Bruin Club is excited to share our Fall 2026 club schedule! Clubs will begin on Monday, September 14th and will run until November 19th. To participate, all students must have a completed 2026–2027 Permission to Participate form on file. Forms are available in the front office or can be downloaded and emailed to icrume@psdschools.org, or returned in paper form to the front office. Forms are due at least 48 hours prior to attendance. A separate form is required for each student.

Fall Session Club Schedule

*Odyssey of the Minds requires students to commit and attend weekly.

**Students must already be enrolled in Lego Robotics.

Important Reminders:

• At this time, bus transportation will not be available. Students are still welcome to participate in the program as long as they have an alternative form of transportation home. We will continue to reevaluate transportation options throughout the session and provide updates if bus transportation becomes available.

• All students must be picked up by 5:00 p.m. If you anticipate being late, please notify us at (970)488-4034 no later than 4:50 p.m.

• Please note the number has changed. This is a school phone that does not accept texts.

• Bruin Club is an extension of the school day, and students are expected to follow the same rules and expectations set in place by PSD's Student Code of Conduct. Cell phones may be used, but only in a safe and appropriate manner. If a student is unable to use their phone responsibly, they may lose the privilege of having it during the program.

• Bruin Club will not operate on 10/13, 10/15, 11/17, and 11/23-11/27. A reminder text will be sent out prior to Bruin Club closures.

Join us for: Raising a Self-Advocate! Thursday, September 24, 2026 from 5:30–6:30 PM, Boardroom inside the Johannsen Support Services Center (JSSC)

We invite you to join us for a special presentation designed to help give you the skills to support your child to become strong self-advocates.

During this session, you'll explore what self-advocacy looks like for elementary and middle school students. You'll learn practical strategies to help your child communicate their needs, speak up when something feels wrong, make their voice heard in the classroom, understand the difference between typical mean or unkind behavior and bullying, and more.

We hope you will join us for this valuable opportunity to learn, share, and connect with other families. To hold this event, we require a minimum number of attendees. If this minimum is not met, the event may be cancelled. It's important to RSVP to help us plan accordingly. Raising a Self-Advocate RSVP

Questions: If you have any questions regarding Bruin Club, please contact Izzy Crume at (970)657-6612 or icrume@psdschools.org

Extra, extra! Bruin Bash & the School Dance have moved to Friday, October 9

Bruin Bash T-Shirt Sponsors Needed

We are currently looking for sponsors for this year’s Bruin Bash T-shirts. Please see the attached sponsor request and feel free to share it with any businesses, friends, or connections who may be interested in supporting Blevins

Reminder: Our PTO Fundraiser is Underway

🏆 The grade that raises the most money gets to CHOOSE their celebration!

🍕 Pizza Party
🍦 Ice Cream Party
🍩 Donut Party

💰 Choose Your Grade & Donate!

6th Grade:
Donate to the 6th Grade Competition

7th Grade:
Donate to the 7th Grade Competition

8th Grade:
Donate to the 8th Grade Competition

🎯 Schoolwide Goals

Let’s see what Blevins can do together!

$15,000 → EXTRA REC TIME!
$20,000 → DUCT TAPE PRINCIPAL ZAPPA TO THE WALL!

We can’t miss out on this Blevins tradition!

Every donation helps the PTO provide opportunities, activities, and support for Blevins students and staff. Help your grade win—and help us reach our schoolwide goals!

Fundraiser has been extended through September 25th!

Fee Reminder:

Zeffy is a nonprofit payment platform and does not charge fees for transactions. However, each transaction includes a default optional donation to Zeffy. If you do not want to make an additional donation to Zeffy, simply select the dropdown, choose “Other,” and enter $0. This ensures that 100% of your intended donation goes to the Blevins PTO fundraiser.

Next PTO Meeting – Thursday September 24th 5:30-7:00

Topics for our PTO meeting will include:

- **Teacher Mini-Grants** – We’ve had several requests come through and would love to share the love with our teachers! We’ll review and vote on these requests.

- **Upcoming Bruin Bash** – Planning and updates

- **Dining for Dollars** – Upcoming fundraising opportunities

- **Taft Hill Road Safety Improvements** – Possible 15-minute presentation from the City of Fort Collins on the upcoming road safety improvement plan

Welcome back Bruins! While May seems so far away, the Yearbook purchase deadline will creep up faster than you think! Now is the best time to pre-order your yearbook for three reasons:

1. You are guaranteed a yearbook! We don’t order enough for every student, so ordering in advance guarantees your student will receive one.
2. You can get FREE icons to customize your student’s book. Add music notes, a football, or other symbols to reflect their unique interests with the code YBKICONS at checkout when personalization is purchased
3. The yearbook is CHEAPER! After winter break, the cost of the Yearbook will go up! Order your yearbook now and avoid the price increase later in the year.

We appreciate your support of yearbook as students create the entire book start to finish. We can’t wait to share this year’s work with you!

Order your yearbook at http://jostensyearbooks.com/?REF=A00939000

Order an 8th Grade Recognition Ad for your graduating 8th grader at www.theyearbookcompany.com

Brook Rozman

Yearbook Advisor

brozman@psdschools.org

Students are invited to participate in Halloween costume wear on Friday, October 30. Please remember that all costumes must follow school dress code expectations, which includes no masks, face paint, blood/gore, and cultural appropriation. All weapons and facsimiles of weapons are prohibited.

Caps4Cash is a Morning Fresh Dairy program where schools can earn cash by collecting caps from Morning Fresh Dairy glass bottles. Each cap will be redeemed for 5¢. Bring your caps to the front office, and our 6th graders will take it from there. Contact Annika Gurley if you have any questions.

Represent Blevins

Pick up a yard sign from our front office

Donations accepted but not required

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday Student Schedule

Wednesday Student Schedule

Silver & Burgundy Calendar

PSD Calendar

Blevins Student/Family Handbook

Community Flyers

Joe Zappa, Principal

970-488-4001

jzappa@psdschools.org

Dusti Sanger, Assistant Principal

970-488-4002

dsanger@psdschools.org

Scott Schreiner, Assistant Principal/Athletic Director

970-488-4036

scotts@psdschools.org

Michele Trujillo, Office Manager

970-488-4004

mtrujill@psdschools.org

Anna Burris, 7th Grade Counselor

970-488-4091

annab@psdschools.org

Kirsten Bovbjerg, 8th Grade Counselor

970-488-4010

kbovbjerg@psdschools.org

Erin McCain, 6th Grade Counselor

970-488-4009

emccain@psdschools.org