It is difficult to believe we have completed the first quarter of the 2023-2024 school year. With school in full swing, our secondary students recently participated in PSAT testing. In addition, our athletic teams and activities experienced successful seasons.

Parent-teacher conferences are quickly approaching. Conferences are scheduled for Thursday, October 26 and Friday, October 27. Although I know how busy you are, please take the opportunity to engage with our staff so that we can continue to provide a great place for students to learn.

In late September, we held our initial District Accountability Committee (DAC) meeting. Please know that we are still welcoming staff, parents, and community members to be part of our 2023-2024 DAC. DAC members provide meaningful input regarding how the District spends resources to best meet the needs of learners. If you are interested in being on the DAC, please email Melissa McElhaney mmcelhaney@mssd14.org

We have some exciting news to share - MSHS Boys Cross Country are Tri Peaks League Champs! The team won the title for the first time in 29 years. Also, congratulations Elisa Karr. Elisa broke the school record 5K which stood for more than 30 years last week at the Tri Peaks Championships!

Please look for our next district newsletter in December. Have a great weekend!

• Friday, October 20 - Staff Work Day (no school)

• Thursday, October 26 - Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences (early dismissal)

• Friday, October 27 - Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences (no school)

• Tuesday, November 7 - School Board of Education Elections

• Monday, November 20-Friday November 24 - Fall Break

Board of Education Meetings

• Monday, October 16 - Work Session & Regular Meeting (5 pm)

• Thursday, November 2 - Work Session (5 pm)

• Monday, November 13 - Regular Meeting (5:30 pm)

• Thursday, December 7 - Work Session (5 pm)

• Monday, December 18 - Regular Meeting (5:30 pm)

Congratulations to the remarkable students of Manitou Springs High School! Out of a staggering 1.3 million students who took the PSAT/NMSQT assessment worldwide in the fall of 2022, a mere 34,000 were identified as Commended based on their outstanding scores. What's even more exceptional is that four of these exceptional individuals hail from Manitou Springs High School. While these students may not be eligible for the National Merit Scholarship, their remarkable achievements open the doors to a plethora of other scholarship opportunities. Well done!

Let's give a huge round of applause to Miles Groth, sixth-grade teacher at Ute Pass Elementary School! Miles has just been named one of the seven finalists for the prestigious 2024 Colorado Teacher of the Year Award!

Nine years ago, Miles pioneered the Mountain Academy of Arts and Sciences curriculum, a program that embodies the principles of experiential learning, integrated lessons, and environmental stewardship.

Miles' dedication to his students and innovative teaching methods have not only inspired young minds but have also left a lasting impact on our community.

Now, we eagerly await the final announcement in October to see if Miles Groth takes home the title of Colorado Teacher of the Year!

Congratulations, Miles, on this well-deserved recognition, and thank you for your unwavering commitment to education!

Students from preschool to sixth grade at UPES participated in Creek Week. They covered the area around the school all the way to Crystola. Students did an incredible job taking care of our earth and taking pride in this beautiful place we get to call home!

Sources of Strength is part of the MSMS Leadership Class. It’s a national, evidence-based peer leadership program that focuses on upstream prevention efforts for social-emotional needs. The MSMS Sources Adult Advisor Team joined the MSMS Peer Leader Team and two national trainers to train together and launch the programming in September.

Emphasis on strengths is what Sources of Strength is all about: promoting positive behaviors in teens. The curriculum is rooted in eight "strengths" – factors that research has shown are protective against suicide risk: family support, positive friends, spirituality, healthy activities, medical access, mentors, mental health and generosity.

Manitou Springs High School students are putting the final touches on the Home Build. The project started in October 2021. In partnership with various industries, over the past two years, students built a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home from start to finish.

A ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for early November. Careers in Construction Colorado with support from the Housing and Building Association will then sell the home with monies reinvested in the program.

Dear Mustang Community,

My name is Kolleen Johnson, and I serve as the Director of Student Success for Manitou Springs School District. One of the things I support in this role is state assessment. I wanted to inform you of the assessments that will be happening this spring and their timelines. This testing is used to support our ongoing improvement and for supporting students in individualized programming. We encourage all students to take all state assessments to support us in increasing student achievement for all students.

The Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) assessments are given in grades 3-8 in English Language Arts and Math. In grades 5, 8, and 11, students are also assessed in Science. This suite of assessments is scheduled for April 8th-25th.

The assessment for grades 9-11 is the SAT suite of assessments. That includes the SAT with essay for students in 11th grade. These assessments will take place on Wednesday, April 17th.

While we will accommodate students for makeup assessments, it is most ideal for your student to
be at school for the original testing day. Research shows students do better on testing day and it will ensure they aren’t pulled from class time to make up testing. Please take this into consideration as you are scheduling time that your student(s) will not be in attendance.

Each school has its own School Assessment Coordinator who helps to coordinate testing. If you have questions regarding your child’s testing, you can contact them directly:

Manitou Springs Elementary School

Ms. Sueppel
jsueppel@mssd14.org

Ute Pass Elementary School

Ms. Schwartz

cschwartz@mssd14.org

Manitou Springs Middle School
Ms. Bartlett
abartlett@mssd14.org

Manitou Springs High School
Ms. Nunley

jnunley@mssd14.org

Kolleen Johnson
Director of Student Success
Manitou Springs School District
kjohnson@mssd14.org

Manitou Springs Elementary and Ute Pass Elementary received exciting upgrades this summer that were partially funded by the BEST grant. This grant focuses on keeping kids safe, warm, and dry. Both schools have had secure entry vestibules installed which grants controlled access to visitors while safeguarding students and staff. This addition serves as a barrier between the exterior and the interior of the school, requiring visitors to go through a controlled access point before entering the school building. In the vestibules there is a transaction window to interface with the administrative assistant. While the vestibules were installed, both entries had new carpet and paint applied to bring a more welcoming atmosphere to the school.

The project at Ute Pass Elementary extended beyond the entry with a renovated front office complex, new carpet, paint in all hallways, and a much-needed new roof. The front office renovation includes two ADA restrooms, health office, staff lounge, copy room, principal’s office and collaboration space with doors that open seamlessly into the hallway. These changes greatly improve the layout for functionality and supervision. It also continues to be our top priority of safety/security, and continues our focus on accessibility for all.