PCK Weekly Newsletter

April is a busy month for our volunteer parent organizations and we need your help. I encourage you to consider these opportunities to get involved and connect with your school community. These parent organizations provide direction, feedback, outreach and connection for PCK students and their families. You’ll have the opportunity to shape our PCK community and directly impact your child’s experience at PCK. Please consider getting involved!

Each of these organizations are accepting members and/or preparing for elections. Find your place and plug in today!

• The PCK Board of Directors is currently seeking candidates for the upcoming election. Find more information here or here and submit your interest here.
• The School Accountability Committee (SAC) is seeking new members and candidates for the upcoming election. The SAC meets on the second Wednesday of each month. Find out more about the SAC here.
• The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) is actively seeking new members at all participation levels and is currently seeing candidates for the upcoming election. Find out more information here or contact ckcspta@gmail.com.
• The Foundation at PCK is seeking members for the upcoming school year. Find more information here.

Resourcefulness is the character trait for April and April is also the month to celebrate Earth Day!

Resourcefulness: Making wise use of what others might overlook or disregard

To begin this month of resourcefulness we are challenging our students to exemplify resourcefulness in regards to material items and natural resources. Below is a list of ideas for how your student(s) can be resourceful and reduce their impact on our environment. As your student completes one or more of these activities, please take a picture and send it digitally to admins@ckcs.net. We will post these pictures on our Earth Day bulletin board.

• Ideas to be Resourceful:
• Repurpose or reuse items
• Do a litter pick up
• Plant a tree
• Collect rainwater for watering
• Walk or bike instead of driving, when possible
• Recycle
• Swap plastic water bottles for reusable bottles
• Only take food you will eat (not waste)
• Eliminate use of plastic straws
• Turn off lights and faucets when not in use
• Plant native flowers or grasses
• Leave no trace when exploring outdoors

There are many more opportunities to practice resourcefulness in our local community. Be creative and send us your pictures!

As a charter school family, please inform yourself about HB24-1363. Below is a link to the League of Charter School's information to learn more.

Friendly Reminder your child must stay home 24 hours after vomiting or experiencing a fever.

The upcoming state mandated testing, Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS), is scheduled throughout the month of April for students in 3rd - 8th grade.

The testing schedule varies across grade levels:

• 3rd, 4th and 5th grade will test over two weeks, from April 2nd - April 4th and April 9th - April 11th, in the mornings.
• 6th grade will test April 2nd - 4th.
• 7th and 8th grade will test April 9th - 11th and 8th grade will also test April 16th -18th.

You can reference the full schedule by clicking here.

CMAS testing is important to our school. The results tell us whether we are providing each one of our students with the best possible education and help us to make necessary data driven decisions for all of our students. Student results also allow us to analyze and fine tune our delivery in order to serve each student better. We want to provide the best education for our students!

Please partner with us by encouraging your students to give their best effort, work hard, and not stress about their final results. We always appreciate it if you try to schedule medical appointments around testing schedules and provide your child with a good breakfast before coming to school.

Parents, THANK YOU for the generous donation of snacks for our hard working students during testing!

On April 8th, a partial solar eclipse will be affecting the Colorado sky from 11:30 to 1:30. This will be the last solar eclipse visible in the contiguous United States until 2044. It will be quite an experience for our students. We are embracing this natural phenomenon and using it as a hands-on learning experience about solar eclipses. Prior to the eclipse teachers will be educating your student(s) about the science behind the eclipse and the importance of wearing approved viewing glasses during the event. Since it takes place during recess time for our students, we will have a viewing station at recess where students can wear glasses to view the eclipse.

We need VOLUNTEERS on April 8th to help pass out glasses and educate the students during recess. Please use the sign up below to come support our students and share in the magic and wonder.

All concerts will be in the Events Center at 2pm.

Monday (4/8) - 5th Grade Ukulele Concert - Connelly's Homeroom

Tuesday (4/9) - 5th Grade Ukulele Concert - DeHaan's Homeroom

Wednesday (4/10) - 5th Grade Ukulele Concert - Beckstrom's Homeroom

Friday (4/12) - 1st Grade Spring Program

Congratulations to our Apple Award Nominees, Jen Kingsbury and Lindsay Donovan! They were celebrated with the rest of the Douglas County Nominees this past Saturday!

After Spring Break, DCSD nutrition services will no longer be serving chocolate milk. The kids will have two options of white milk, fat free and 1%. There is also a water fountain in the lunchroom that kids can drink from or please send your kids with a water bottle to refill.

JOIN US IN THE LUNCHROOM! We welcome lunchroom volunteers!

The lunch period is from 10:40-1:00 pm.

Join the PCK Board of Directors: Shape the Future of Our School

At PCK, our board of directors serves as the guiding force behind our policies and principles. Comprised of dedicated parents like you, they are responsible for the governance of the school, the development of positive community relations, and the preservation of PCK's mission and vision. The board is accountable to teachers, parents, students, and the community for maintaining the intent of the Charter.

Currently, seven passionate parents sit on the board, each elected by the PCK community to serve three-year terms. To maintain our vibrant community and uphold our values, we encourage all interested parents to consider submitting a letter of intent.

If you're ready to make a difference and contribute to PCK's journey, please submit the following:

1. Letter of Intent: Include why you are interested in joining the board and relevant experience and/or skill sets
2. Brief Biography: Include why you chose PCK
3. Photo of Yourself

Please submit the items above to lchurch@ckcs.net by April 9th. Mark your calendars for the elections on April 16th.

For more information, including board bylaws, please visit the Board page on our website.

• Help with check-in at the Gala - 5:15-6:15
  
• Help with the wine toss game - 5:15-6:30
• Help with setting up - two opportunities available - One on Friday, April 12th at 9am, and one on Saturday, April 13th at 9am.

It is almost time to elect a new board for the PTA. Please reach out if you are interested in a board position for the next term. Details regarding timing will be discussed at upcoming PTA meetings over the next couple of months. The positions of president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary will be open. Joining the PCK PTA is a great way to get more involved at school and give back to our amazing PCK community. The next PTA meeting is April 17th at 6:00pm in the Middle School Commons. Come check out a meeting! Please reach out to ckcspta@gmail.com if you have any questions or would like more information.

Save the Date!

When: Friday, April 19 @ 5 p.m. in the PCK Events Center

What: Colorado Themed Escape Room and Bingo Extravaganza

Cost: $25/pair + $5 for each additional son

Payment accepted via Venmo @ckcspta (tax exempt - do not select goods/services) comment son name/grade)

🍪Thank you Kelly Anderson for the amazing cookies!

Thank you to Pradeep Boyilla, John Natoli, and Craig Neuman for being our Safety Dads this week. Our students love having dads here making sure our perimeter is secure, helping with lunch and recess, and assisting with other activities as needed. Dads can stay two shifts or for the whole day. Select the Button below to learn more about being a Safety Dad or to sign up.