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What Does The Fox Say?
September 6, 2023
Dear Inspire Parent/Guardian,
I try my best not to lose my mind about the mess my family leaves lying around the house. It gives me anxiety to have an untidy home. I have agency in this - I have choices. I occasionally challenge myself through exposure. I leave the mess for a few days to push my frustration tolerance and then either point it out to the person who left the mess so they can clean up after themselves or I just clean it myself. On one such day I was rampage cleaning around the house and in the living room I found that my daughter left a cup of juice under the lamp on an end table. I saw plenty of undrunk juice - ughhh, what a wasteful child <-- that's the thinking of a now grown adult who grew up in a low-income household (a story for a different day). Then I saw it… There was a dime sized green circle blob with white edges floating around in the cup. So many thoughts ran through my mind. 1) OMG that is gross! 2) OMG my kid is gross. 3) How long has that cup been there? 4) Why hasn’t anyone, including me, noticed this until now? So what did I do? I left it there. I wanted to show my 10yo so she could take ownership in the never ending rinse and repeat of learning to clean up after herself and I wanted her to see the mold as a kind of accidental science project. Later that day, I pointed it out to her. She squealed in that excitable and surprised way that only kids can. Who knew mold was so fascinating? I told her to clean it up. She said she didn’t know what to do with it. Never mind that she could have just poured it down the sink. We were closest to the backyard door so instead I said, “Just throw it out back on the rocks.” She unlocked the back door and I heard a swoosh sound, followed by a soft clunk. The clunk sound was unexpected. I walked outside behind her and confirmed what I thought had happened. She had thrown the entire cup, with the juice, onto the rocks. I saw the cup on the ground and bursted out laughing. It felt good to laugh that hard, that deep down in the lungs feeling that makes me gasp for air between laughs. 10yo starts laughing with me and says, “That’s what I thought you meant!” I could have said, “You should know I just meant the juice.” One could say it’s common sense. Again, I have agency. I just laughed about it and said, “I could have used more words.” and kept laughing. There was no right or wrong here. Communication is complex and things can be interpreted or perceived differently depending on the person. In the real world application of all-the-things, rumors, gossip, misunderstanding and miscommunication can really be unnecessarily dramatic or harmful. If something doesn’t sit right with you at Inspire, please have a courageous conversation with the staff member directly so we can open the lines of communication. For a few weeks, I would look out the back window to see the cup had moved around the backyard (rain, wind and yup - the hail storms). I left it out there because it reminded me of a small, teachable moment with a big laugh shared with my daughter. Here’s hoping we can get through moments of misunderstanding or conflict with a lighter heart.
Together, we are Inspire.
Sincerely,
Linda August
Principal
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Important Dates
9/13/23: CSC Meeting, 4:00pm-5:30pm
9/20/23: PTO Meeting, 6:30-7:30pm
9/22/23: District PD Day - No School
9/25/23: Inspire PD Day - No School
10/2/23: Fox Trot, PTO Fundraiser
10/3/23: Fox Trot, Rain Date
10/6/23: Celebration of Learning, 1:40pm-2:40pm
September is Hispanic Heritage Month
Below, find some helpful resources to learn more about Hispanic Heritage Month.
- History and Traditions of Hispanic Heritage Month
- How to Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month 2022 in Denver
- Smithsonian Heritage and History Month Events
- Top Ten Authors of Latino Children’s Books
- Best Sellers in Children's Hispanic & Latino Books
- If you would like to share a story with the community, please don't hesitate to email me! It can be an anonymous letter to the community if you prefer.
Garden, Goats, and Chickens
With financial support of the PTO, Inspire Elementary will reconnect with SustainEd Farms to run programming with our classes! Our students will have access to the garden, goats and chickens with lessons taught by SustainEd staff. Our classes will have an opportunity to get into the garden three times a year (once per trimester) for a thirty minute experience. The program begins next week! Keep an eye on the teacher weekly newsletter for a notification.
Put Money in Your Child's Lunch Account
All students have access to free breakfast and lunch. Students who want a second lunch or a la carte items will need to pay through the My School Bucks account. If your account is negative, the school will also receive a notification. In turn, we will need to reach out to your family directly with a reminder. If your family submitted and received Free and Reduced Lunch status last year, please remember that you must resubmit the Meal Benefits Application application every year.
PTO Fundraiser
Restaurant night at Freddy's
September 21, 2023 | 4pm - 8pm
4952 Central Park Blvd
Freddy's will contribute 15% of the event sales!
Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)
- The annual Inspire Fox Trot is back and will be held on Monday, October 2nd. We will launch the fundraising website and volunteer sign-up next week.
- Join the Inspire PTO Membership for the 2023-24 school year.
- Get the details and more in our latest PTO newsletter.
- Next PTO meeting, September 20, 2023, 6:30pm, Zoom Link, passcode: PTO2023
Community Resources
DPS Family and Community Engagement
FACE University: Supporting LGBTQ+ Community
Thursday, September 21st
6:00-6:45pm via Zoom!
RSVP Here
Everyday Learning at Inspire
Spirit Day: Labor Day & Career Day
Inspire Elementary
Email: linda_august@dpsk12.net
Website: https://inspire.dpsk12.org/
Location: 5677 North Galena Street, Denver, CO, USA
Phone: (720) 424-4850