PCK Weekly Newsletter

In case you missed it, we’ve been celebrating National Charter School Week all week long! On social media, we’ve been showcasing the many unique experiences happening inside our classrooms that make PCK such a special place for students to learn and grow.

From our kindergarten students’ Litterbug projects to our entrepreneurs, we’ve highlighted just a few of the many great things happening throughout our school.

You can help us celebrate National Charter School Week by voting for PCK as a Colorado Family Favorite! Voting ends tomorrow, Friday, May 15.

To vote, click the button below, select the “Schooled” category, and write in Parker Core Knowledge for:

• Favorite Charter Elementary School
• Favorite Charter Middle School
• Favorite Elementary School Principal
• Favorite Middle School Principal

If this is your first time voting, you will also need to verify your email address.

Our Gifted and Talented (GT) education program made significant strides in expanding educational opportunities for students during the 2025-26 school year. In addition to continuing our exceptional GT programming, students participated in twice-weekly Think Tanks, where they engaged in engineering and math challenges, logic and reading comprehension activities, architectural design projects, and Math Olympiad competitions.

GT students also explored a variety of passion projects centered on their individual interests, including topics such as the stock market, football analytics, World War II, and even the creation of a detailed Astrolabe diorama.

The program also introduced enhancements in social-emotional learning and expanded extracurricular opportunities specifically designed for GT students, along with many other initiatives aimed at helping students reach their full academic and personal potential.

We remain committed to continually strengthening this program and ensuring our students have access to premier educational opportunities and resources.

Last week, students gathered for character assemblies focused on creativity, the dedicated character trait for the month of May. During the assemblies, students celebrated PCK artists whose work was selected for display in the annual DCSD Art Show. These students demonstrated creativity through their original artwork, showcasing the time, effort, and dedication invested in each piece.

In addition, students from previous months were recognized for exemplifying courage and cooperation, the character traits highlighted during March and April.

This week, our 4th grade students had the exciting opportunity to dissect cow eyeballs as part of their science classes. Through this hands-on activity, students explored the structure of the eye and learned about important parts such as the cornea, pupil, iris, lens, and retina, as well as the role each part plays in helping us see.

Activities like this are an important part of science because they allow students to move beyond textbooks and experience learning in an interactive way. Observing and examining the anatomy of an actual eye, students were able to deepen their understanding of how the body works while also developing critical thinking, observation, and problem-solving skills through the dissection.

Congratulations to our 2026 PCK Girls Soccer Team for taking home a SMAC Championship earlier this week! The girls pulled together an impressive victory over Cherry Creek Academy taking the game into a penalty shootout. Ultimately the girls won the shootout 2-1 to claim the title.

Please join us in congratulating these girls on their achievement!

For our final week of school, students are invited to participate in a themed dress down week! For the full schedule, please view the schedule below. These dress downs are only for K-7 students, as our 8th grade students will have finished their final day of school by this time.

Tuesday, May 26 - Neon Bright Day, wear the brightest colors you own!

Wednesday, May 27 - Wacky Wednesday, crazy hair, crazy socks.

Thursday, May 28 - Class Colors, match your class theme for Field Day.

The final day to make-up tests or quizzes in the Late Testing Lab for the 2025-26 school year will be Wednesday, May 20.

Next week is our Spring Book Sale with Books Are Awesome in Parker! From May 17-23, 10% of all proceeds made using the flyer below will be donated to the PCK Library.

Participating in this sale is also a great opportunity to get a head start on your child’s summer reading! We’re working with Books Are Awesome to stock the books your child will need for their summer reading list.

Thank you for helping our library continue to grow!

Please remember that if you are considering a change of schools for the 2026-27 school year, complete our Intent to Return Form. This form helps us prepare for record transfers to your child’s new school, as well as other administrative steps required during the transition.

Please note that submitting this form does not constitute an official withdrawal from PCK. If your plans change and you decide to remain at PCK, completing the form will not affect your child’s enrollment status. Its purpose is simply to support a timely and smooth transition, should one be needed.

Families with students currently in 8th grade who will be transitioning to high school do not need to complete this form.

If you have already filled out this form, you do not need to fill it out again.

Be sure to remind your child to check the lost and found for any items they have misplaced. Any items that are left at PCK on the final day of school on Wednesday, May 27 will be donated.

Our annual Field Day is coming up on Thursday, May 28.

We're still in need of community members who can fill the remaining slots on our volunteer sign-up. Please click the button below to help make our 2026 Field Day possible!

Please note that kindergarten students do not participate in Field Day, and if you are a kindergarten parent who has signed up to volunteer your student will not be able to participate in activities on this day.

Today is the final day of Homework Club! With the end of Homework Club, all after-school clubs for the 2025-26 school year have officially concluded. Please check back next year to see the exciting clubs we’ll be offering for our K-8 students.

School Tool Boxes are now available for the upcoming school year! Each box includes all the supplies your student will need, making back-to-school prep simple and convenient.

This year, boxes will be shipped directly to your home rather than delivered to the school. If you’d like to order one, please allow enough time for it to arrive before Open House on Thursday, August 6.

When placing your order, be sure to select the box for the grade level your student will be entering and not the grade they completed during the 2025-26 school year.

You can click the button below to purchase your student's School Tool Box.

The SAC met this week to review the results of the 2025-26 Parent Satisfaction Survey. We sincerely appreciate the more than 130 families who participated this year and provided valuable feedback to administrators and organizations. Your input helps strengthen our school community and increases awareness of the many opportunities available for families to get involved and share their passion for PCK.

As always, the SAC serves PCK in a purely advisory role, and all data collected through this anonymous survey is reviewed by PCK Administration. Feedback from last year's survey has already helped inspire several important initiatives during the 2025-26 school year, including the development of Parent University video resources, improvements to website accessibility, and the expansion of clubs and after school activities.

Some key takeaways from this year’s survey include the following:

A new addition to this year’s survey was a question aimed at understanding why families choose PCK as their school of choice. Among respondents, 37% identified academic rigor as their primary reason for choosing PCK. Another 26% selected the Core Knowledge curriculum as their top factor, while 21% cited the school’s reputation and prestige as the most important influence in their decision.

Overall feedback from this section suggests that more consistent reminders about meeting times and locations for PCK organizations could help increase community engagement and participation.

Parent satisfaction of staff remains at an all-time high. K-8 teaching staff received strong satisfaction ratings ranging from 87-99%. These results continue to reinforce the school’s strategic focus on staff retention and ensuring that teachers and staff feel supported, valued, and cared for.

*Each PCK organization will receive its raw survey data and will have the opportunity to review the information in the near future.

This was the final SAC meeting of the 2025-26 school year. However, if you are interested in becoming involved with the SAC during the 2026-27 school year, we encourage you to attend our first meeting on Wednesday, September 9, at 8:15 a.m.

For this week’s Volunteer Spotlight, we would like to recognize all of our PCK Safety Dads who have generously volunteered their time throughout the school year.

Our Safety Dads play an important role in our school community by providing additional support to staff, helping monitor school entryways, and serving as friendly, familiar faces for students throughout the day. We truly appreciate their presence at PCK and value the time they spend learning more about the inner workings of our school.

We hope that through this experience, our Safety Dads gain a greater understanding and appreciation for all that goes into operating our school while also strengthening their connection to PCK. Thank you to all of the Safety Dads listed below for your support of PCK during the 2025-26 school year!

Brian Call

Andy Campbell

Richard Downing

Benjamin Duca

John Flanagan

Nathan Fragale

John Gagliardo

Nathan Gandolph

Hemant Goyal

Francis Hoang

Andrew Holton

Howard Huang

James Jenkins

Conrad Jones

Sri Krishna Pothuboyina

Tony Le

Daniel McCluskie

Charles Miller

Manoj Mishra

Dominic Munoz

Bill Murray

John Natoli

Zach Otten

Derek Penner

Cameron Peterson

Ben Plankins

Derek Porter

Arunkumar Raja

Sandeep Reddy

Chris Roberts

Daniel Sharpe

Kenny Steinman