Tuesday Takeaway

The Tuesday Takeaway is a weekly e-newsletter distributed to all Mapleton staff. This quick-hit-style newsletter contains the news you need for the week ahead!

Congratulations to the Skyview Wolverines Cheer team for finishing 12th in the nation in the Large Varsity Division II bracket at the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) National Championships, at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando!

This is the first time the team qualified to compete at the national championships in their program’s history. Thank you to everyone in the community who donated, supported, and made this opportunity of a lifetime a reality for these student athletes! Visit Mapleton's Facebook page to see a video of their performance.

Congratulations to Monterey Community School sixth grader Arya T. for winning this year’s Mapleton Spelling Bee! Arya topped 29 of the district’s best spellers over 21 rounds last week to earn the first place trophy. She won by correctly spelling the word, "bedevil," an English-derived verb meaning to harass, to annoy, to pester.

York International School sixth grader Julian Q. finished second and Meadow Community School eighth grader Lynlee S. was third. All three finalists will compete in the Colorado State Spelling Bee later this month. Congratulations to all our spellers and thank you to Mapleton families and staff for all their support!

One of the many benefits of being a Mapleton employee is access to high-quality preschool through our Early Childhood Education program. If you are interested in enrolling your child or grandchild in a Mapleton preschool, or if your child or grandchild currently attends a Mapleton preschool and you would like to return for the 2024-25 school year, please complete a new application (new student) or complete the Annual Update (returning student) as soon as possible. Links to both online forms are available on Mapleton's website.

After you complete your application for enrollment/Annual Update, please email Terri Stowell, ECE Administrative Assistant, with your name, your child/grandchild's name, and school selection for next year. This will help streamline the matching process once UPK opens for registration.

Tuition information will be available soon. For questions or more information, call ext. 1784.

Incoming Superintendent Mike Crawford is hosting the following Listening and Learning sessions for staff.

Central Administration Staff

• Friday, Feb. 16, 9-11 a.m.
• Garden Level of the Administration Building (7350 Broadway, Denver, 80221)

Operations Staff

• Friday, Feb. 23, 9-11 a.m.
• Location: TBD

All staff

• Wednesday, March 6, 7:30-8:30 a.m. and 3:30-4:30 p.m.
• Location: Broadway Campus

All staff are invited and encouraged to attend! Please come share your hopes for the future of Mapleton and what you believe to be our biggest challenges and greatest opportunities.

Integrated Services is hosting a coat drive from this Wednesday, Feb. 14, through the following Wednesday, Feb. 21. Staff are encouraged to donate new or gently used winter jackets of all sizes. Donations may be left at the Administration Building (7350 Broadway, Denver, 80221), or at the Welcome Center at the Skyview Campus (8990 York St., Thornton, 80229).

Integrated Services will distribute many of the coats to children that are experiencing housing instability, or who do not otherwise have winter clothing. Coats will also be made available to new-to-country families, many of which have children between 5 and 12 years old.

Donations of hats and gloves are also welcome!

If schools know of children who need winter coats, please contact Abigail Scarpella-Straub, Educational Stability Coordinator, at ext. 1409.

Kaiser Permanente is helping us kick off our 2024 focus on employee wellness with Mapleton Mammograms on Saturday, Feb. 24.

Details about the event:

To make it easier and more convenient to take care of your health, Kaiser Permanente is offering special mammography access at their Westminster Medical Office Building just for Mapleton Public Schools employees who are KP members.

Date: Saturday, Feb. 24

Time: 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. (Appointment is required)

Location: Westminster Medical Clinic | 11245 Huron St., Westminster, CO

To sign up, click here to schedule your appointment online through KP's secure link. Spots are filling up quickly!

• Please note: This is a dedicated event for Mapleton Public Schools and the registration/scheduling is separate from kp.org. Members CANNOT schedule their appointment on kp.org for this event. This unique registration is HIPAA compliant and private.
• You will need to set up a new username and password to schedule your appointment (your kp.org username and password will not work in this registration system).
• Registration for the event closes on Friday, Feb. 16, so please sign up prior to that date!

Members are encouraged to check their health care reminders either through the medical record section of the KP app or at kp.org, to ensure they are in need of a mammogram in the timeframe of the screening. Kaiser’s clinical care team will be double-checking to ensure members are also eligible for a mammogram and will reach out to members if they aren’t yet due.

If you have any questions about this event, please contact Benefits Specialist, Robin DeCarlo, ext. 1004. Please don’t call the Kaiser call center as member services departments will not have information about this event.

Help redesign Mapleton's employee wellness program! The Talent Management team is hoping to learn more about what employee wellness looks like to you. Please take a few moments to complete a brief survey to help design a culture of health and wellbeing in our workplace. Please complete the survey by Thursday, Feb. 29.

Employee Wellness Survey

Mapleton will present its 41st Annual Awards for Excellence on Friday, May 3, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Denver-Westminster. These awards honor staff members who have significantly contributed to the mission of Mapleton Public Schools over the past school year. Nominations will open soon, so start thinking of colleagues you would recommend for Licensed Employee of the Year, Classified Employee of the Year, Administrator of the Year, and Rookie of the Year. More information to come.

Wow! We received 11 High Fives last week and the eight came from Explore PK-8 and York International School! Thank you so much for sharing your appreciation for your team members.

Please take a moment to read those and the other submissions to brighten your day.

Do you know someone who deserves a "High Five"? Submit your appreciation using this form.

Heather Gorey, Explore PK-8

"Heather is deeply committed to our kids. She cares about them and their their success, and her excellence and positivity has a lasting impact on our school community."

Submitted by Anonymous

Jackie Peebles, Explore PK-8

"Our kids LOVE Jackie. Her smile, positivity, and personal connection help them feel seen and celebrated. They love going to small group with her.”

Submitted by Anonymous

Loraine Pick, Explore PK-8

"Loraine has been working SO HARD at getting all of our kids Access tested. Her organization and celebrations of student success are to be recognized."

Submitted by Anonymous

Christina Everett, Explore PK-8

"Christina is a powerhouse!!! She knows all the things. She does all the things. She teaches people things. She supports everyone. There isn't a thing more she could do for anyone.”

Submitted by Anonymous

Meagan Ackerman, Adventure Elementary

"I would like to recognize Meagan for her tireless work to meet the needs of her kids and her ability to support our school. She balances everything with grace, patience, and such a sense of calm. She's amazing to with work with and to learn from!”

Submitted by Maya Valdivia, Adventure Elementary

Orencio Gomez Garcia, York International School

"Orienco goes above and beyond in his custodial duties. He is there to step in when other custodians are absent and makes sure our building and rooms are clean. We appreciate the hard work Orienco does to keep our building clean and safe. Thank you, Orienco!”

Submitted by Anonymous

Monica Johnson; Mapleton Online, North Valley School for Young Adults, and Performing Arts School on Broadway

"Monica Johnson has taken on the unenviable role of acting as PSOC for three different high schools. Her knowledge of the requirements and systems at Mapleton schools is quite impressive, and she is an essential member of our teams. Thanks, Monica!”

Submitted by Anonymous

Meagan Ackerman, Adventure Elementary

"Ms. Ackerman shows her students kindness, compassion, and respect. She always makes time to support them with their academics and some of the big feelings that fifth graders can have. She leads by example and Adventure is so lucky to have her!”

Submitted by Anonymous

Johanna Powell & Arleeta Lisman, York International School

"We are so lucky to have a true team in our math department. They continue to try new things to make math fun and relevant! Our students look forward to math class and are showing such positive growth this year - Great job!!”

Submitted by Anonymous

Clare Murphy, York International School

"Ms. Clare does so much to ensure every student at York feels seen, heard and valued!!"

Submitted by Anonymous

Evie McManus, York International School

"Evie has done so much to learn about our middle school structures and our students. Many of them are already reaching out to her for her support when life gets tough! We are so lucky to have her here at York!!!”

Submitted by Anonymous

The Mapleton Education Foundation’s 2023-24 scholarship application is now open to Mapleton seniors! Applications are due Friday, March 8, at 3:30 p.m., and scholarships are available for students interested in attending traditional universities or colleges, vocational or technical schools, or even apprenticeship programs in-state or out-of-state. You can learn more about the scholarships here. Please share this with your seniors so we can support their dreams and aspirations.

And the Foundation is looking for volunteers to help review those scholarship applications. The application review period runs from Friday, March 8 to Friday, March 15. Reviewers will be asked to score approximately 20 applications and can do so at any time that is convenient during the review week. The application platform is completely online, which is user-friendly and provides an efficient way to rank overall scores.

If interested in participating, click here to sign up! or scan the QR code to the right. Your opinion and participation in the review process are greatly appreciated!

If you have questions, please email Thomas Hernandez (hernandezt@mapleton.us).

We are excited to announce that Mapleton will offer a two-week Summer Institute in June specifically designed for identified newcomers going into grades 9-12.

In the first half of each day, the institute will provide instruction for newcomer-identified multilingual students. The instruction will focus on providing language development alongside content through a drone project and real-world application of skills.

In the second half of each day, the institute will focus on teacher development through collaborative job-embedded professional learning. Teachers will learn effective strategies to instruct newcomer students, co-plan lessons, and reflect using formative assessments.

Dates:

• After school professional development: Thursday, April 25, and Thursday, May 16, each from 4-6 p.m.
• Institute dates: Monday, June 3-Friday, June 14, 8 a.m.-3 p.m., daily

The professional learning will support 64 hours for CLD Relicensure. Paid by per diem per negotiated contract. Questions can be directed to Alexis Lauffenburger, Multilingual Program Coordinator, ext. 1003

We are hiring! Jobs are posted on our website for six teacher positions and one Newcomer Summer Institute Coordinator.

Mapleton will once again be offering the Gifted and Talented Summer Camp to gifted and talent pool students in grades K-7, with additional opportunities for high school students to earn community service hours as teacher aides. Look for job openings for the following positions on the Mapleton website this week:

· One camp coordinator

· Eight camp teachers

The coordinator and teacher positions will be paid by per diem per negotiated contract. Questions can be directed to Brad Russell, Assistant Director, ext. 1905.

Project Lead the Way (PLTW) will be conducting training for its Elementary Launch Program in June. Please review the attached table to determine which of these online training courses will work best for you.

Trainings are 16 hours over two days. Note the times listed as they are in the Eastern Time Zone. Registration for PLTW Launch Classroom Teacher Training will open sometime in late March. Mark your calendars now with dates that work best for you! Teachers participating in this training will be paid their per diem per the negotiated contract.

For teachers not able to attend training in June, training will also take place during the school year with subs provided. Be on the lookout for additional information to be sent out, including instructions on how to register for the course. Please reach out to Allyson Mallory, ext. 1014, or Tiffany Watson, ext. 1031, with any questions.

In order to support our growing population of multilingual learners with embedded language support in Tier 1, all Mapleton grade 6-12 science teachers will receive training in E.L. Achieve’s Constructing Meaning.

“Constructing Meaning is explicit language instruction to support grade-level content learning in English. Analysis of the language demands becomes part of lesson planning so that both language and content goals are considered. It occurs throughout the day, across all subject areas. Subject-specific language is differentiated by students’ English proficiency levels so each student is equipped to think, discuss, read, and write to the lesson goals.”

Because four years of high school science credit is required, this training will start with science teachers to ensure students get as much language support embedded in the content as possible at the onset. There will be two opportunities for this training:

• June cohort: June 3-7 (Full days)
• Five full days of release time to attend the second cohort during the contract year, when a substitute will be provided.

Teachers will be paid their per diem per the negotiated agreement. Teachers can sign up here: https://forms.office.com/r/jjXndixvhG.

We can hold a few school director spots for anyone interested in attending alongside their teachers. More information to come. For questions, please reach out to Allyson Mallory, ext. 1014, or Alexis Lauffenburger, ext. 1003.

Friday, Feb. 16 - Teacher Trade Day - No school for students

Monday, Feb. 19 - President's Day - District closed

Tuesday, Feb. 20 - DAAC, 4:30-6 p.m.

Wednesday, March 6 - 2-hour late start - All Schools

Thursday, March 7 - District Science Fair

Monday, March 11 - Collaborative Day - No school for students

Let's brag about it! Is something happening in your school that you would love to highlight or “show off?” We know you are awesome, so let's celebrate it! Please submit a paragraph and pictures detailing your good news to communications@mapleton.us.

Email: communications@mapleton.us
Website: https://www.mapleton.us/
Location: 7350 Broadway, Denver, CO 80221, USA
Phone: 303.853.1000
Facebook: facebook.com/MapletonPublicSchools
Twitter: @mapletonschools