D11 Insights

The grass is starting to turn green, buds are on the trees, and the weather is starting to warm up! Spring is officially here and it’s an exciting time to be a part of D11. April is a very busy month as we turn our focus to state testing.

The CMAS, SAT, and PSAT tests are being administered and it’s a critical time for us to learn how our students have grown academically over the past school year. Not only are we in the season of testing, but we are also reaping the well-deserved benefits of all our hard work.

As you will see in this edition of D11 Insights, there is a lot to celebrate in the way of award ceremonies, dedications, and all that comes with the end of a school year festivities. These photos only capture a few of the accomplishments of our school district this year. I look forward to shaking the hands of our 2022 graduates next month and seeing everyone in our district finish strong!

Sincerely,

Nick Gledich

Interim Superintendent

On April 14 – 16, 25 students participated in an inspiring weekend of competition, recognition, and leadership development for the Holmes & Odyssey Early College and Career Options FCCLA members who attended the 2022 Colorado FCCLA State Conference, held at the Sheraton Downtown Denver Hotel. Members had opportunities to engage in workshops and showcase the leadership skills they developed throughout the year.

Holmes Middle School had 11 students competing, while Odyssey ECCO FCCLA Chapter had 15 members experience all the conference activities. From state officers hosting attendees through all the general sessions, highlighting chapters for their advocacy of family and consumer sciences, to the outside speakers sharing their leadership tips and hints, students were able to gain valuable leadership skills from this conference.

On Thursday, students experienced workshops and began competitions in over 43 competitive events. This year’s Colorado theme was FIND YOUR POWER. The students were challenged to find their own strength and traits within them to participate in the many opportunities the Ultimate Leadership Experience offers. The opening session brought all members, advisers, and guests to kick off this yearly conference.

Friday was filled with competitive events, a college expo and networking opportunities.

The students, advisers and guests enjoyed a delicious banquet meal and state awards. Annie Friesema and Andrea Aragon,Odyssey ECCO FCCLA Advisers, both received the National FCCLA Mentor Adviser Award. Mrs. Friesema was also awarded the Colorado Outstanding District Consultant award. Kelly Gauck, the Holmes FCS (Family and Consumer Sciences) teacher received a 10-year adviser award. Holmes FCCLA Chapter won three awards; Community Service, Membership and received the Gold Merit chapter.

All the time and effort chapters put into competitive events paid off! Holmes’ members competed in seven events. On Saturday morning, the individual awards were announced. Each member received an FCCLA medal, gold, silver, or bronze.

The following Holmes MS members all won first place in their respective events: Maverick McDonald in Career Investigation, Kaitlyn Deyoe in National Programs in Action, Campbell Riggsin Teach in Train, Elsie Walker in Nutrition & Wellness, Bryce McDonald, Sam Wilshusen & Jett Friesema together as a team in Sports Nutrition, Lillie Rice in Promote & Publicize FCCLA! Olivia White in Professional Presentation, Olivia Erlenbach in Chapter in Review Display. Kiley Romero earned a silver in her Chapter in Review Portfolio. Each student planned, prepared, and presented their STAR (Students Taking Action with Recognition) event using the FCCLA detailed rubrics. All competitors that place first or second qualify to attend the 2022 National FCCLA Leadership Conference held in beautiful San Diego, CA on June 28 - July 3.

Over 3,000 students from across the state competed in April at the annual Future Business Leaders of America conference. The competition is fierce, but Doherty students and instructors worked hard to bring home the following awards, placing in the top four in the State and earning an automatic qualification to the National FBLA contest in Chicago this summer:

Mahri Benson - 4th place in the Insurance and Risk Management category

Becca Whittemore - 4th place in the Word Processing category

Nhan Nguyen - 3rd place in the Accounting II category

These students finished in the top ten:

Kryssa Moerman - in the UX Design category

Marin Stevens - in theHealth Care Administration category

Maiya Galloway - in the Client Services category

Chay Neumeyer - in the Business Calculations category

Sydney Pavetti - in the Business Calculations category

Two students, James Abeyta and Rachel Stewart, participated in their first formal business meeting as voting delegates. They got to see Roberts Rules of order in action. We are so proud of these two incredible sophomores, they asked awesome questions and were always well prepared.

A special thanks also goes to the team of instructors, Charmyn Neumeyer, Bruce Cole and Andy Schaffer. We would like to acknowledge the retired Dave Micci who has been there for Doherty every time he’s called to support the team, including as a sub so the team can focus on the event.

This represents your third national qualifying Career and Technical Student Organization this season and approximately 14 NATIONAL qualifying students! (DECA, SKillsUSA and FBLA).

Recently, the Mitchell High School Air Force JROTC program had a visit from Headquarters Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) representative, Chief Master Sergeant (Ret) R. Wayne Barron. The purpose of this visit was to provide feedback regarding the performance of the Mitchell AFJROTC unit and to assess its compliance with Public Law, Department of Defense and Air Force Instructions, and the written agreement which exists between our school district and the Air Force.

We are #D11Proud to announce that the Air Force JROTC instructors and cadets of Mitchell High School earned an overall unit assessment score of “Exceeds Standards", which is the highest rating attainable for a JROTC program during their evaluation this month. Lt Col Isaac K. Woodfork (Retired), CMSgt David Y. Figueroa (Retired), SMSgt Muriel C. Elliott (Retired), and SMSgt Christopher L. Newcomer (Retired) created a dynamic and supportive learning environment coupled with an excellent community outreach.

The instructors provided outstanding leadership in administering the cadet-centered citizenship program. Mitchell High School cadets performed exceptionally well and took great pride in leading and accomplishing their unit goals. This citizenship program is making a positive impact on the cadets, the school and the community!

If you haven't heard about Sean Wybrant's class at Palmer High School where students design incredible digital media experiences, you're missing out on one of the coolest things happening in D11!

Student interns for the Crafting Heroes organization put together an amazing experience XR in partnership with Colorado Springs School District 11 and the Space Foundation. The experience was developed for something called the HoloLens 2. Through generous donations of technology to William J. Palmer High School by the U.S. Strategic Systems Programs, this project came to fruition in an amazing way!

The experience allows learners to interact with content across a variety of different space areas and includes donated assets from partners including KitBash3D, Creepy Cat, and Albin Merle. It also includes some assets from NASA and the Smithsonian 3D Digitization Office under Creative Commons licenses, and some purchased assets from various modelers across a handful of sites.

The project took over five months of school time, or about 55 hours of dedicated work. Students presented to space educators from around the world on April 4th, 2022, and they co-exhibited with the Space Foundation at the 37th Annual Space Symposium on April 7th, 2022. Watch this video for a taste of this HoloQuest project.

May 3, Wilson Elementary Kindergarten Registration, 8 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.

May 4, Fremont Elementary Kindergarten Registration, 4 - 5:30 p.m.

May 5, Rogers Elementary Dual Language Immersion Program Info Meeting, 8:15 a.m.

May 10, District 11 Listening Tour, Final Stop, Penrose Library

20 N. Cascade Ave., 4:30 p.m.

May 13, Jackson Elementary Kindergarten Round Up, 8 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

May 17, Mitchell High School Graduation, World Arena, 9 a.m.

May 17, Palmer High School Graduation, World Arena, 3 p.m.

May 18, Doherty High School Graduation, World Arena, 9 a.m.

May 18, Coronado High School Graduation, World Arena, 3 p.m.

May 19, Achieve Online Graduation, Roy J. Wasson Academic Campus Auditorium, 9 a.m.

May 19, Tesla High School Graduation, Roy J. Wasson Academic Campus Auditorium, 1 p.m.

May 20, Last day of school for elementary schools

May 20, Odyssey ECCO Graduation, Roy J. Wasson Academic Campus Auditorium, 9 a.m.

May 20, The Bijou School Graduation, Roy J. Wasson Academic Campus Auditorium, 1 p.m.

May 23, Elementary teacher work day

May 25, Last day of school for middle and high schools

May 26, Middle and high school teacher work day

The full D11 calendar is available by clicking here.

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