Dunstan Newsletter

January 31, 2025

Dear Parents and Guardians of Dunstan Middle School Students,

And just like that January is over! It’s hard to believe this month has flown by so quickly!

This week I had some 7th grader students present a proposal for a 7th grade social they would like to hold this spring. They were well-prepared, thoughtful, and asked for feedback. They will meet with our financial secretary and PTA to ask for some funds to support this event. They are enthusiastic, thoughtful, and ready to organize this event to honor our 7th grade students. Please watch for further information in upcoming newsletters such as opportunities to contribute to snacks and/or chaperone.

Today we were visited by our Chief Academic Officer, Renee Nicothodes and our JCEA President, Brooke Williams who came to present Jeffco Talented Teacher Awards to Aaron Minard, Pre-Engineering, Karley Miller, Art, and Josh Roberts, Spanish teachers. This is an award to recognize the incredible hard work and dedication they demonstrate each day to serve our students! Please join me in recognizing our talented teachers across our school because they make a significant difference with your kids! Dropping them a quick note or email to express your gratitude for their work helps keep excellent teachers in our area and at Dunstan!

Earlier this week, our Orchestra Teacher, Sam Connor was recognized by Colorado Music Educators Association as Youth Music Educator of the Year for Colorado! Please see the photo below from the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs where Sam was recognized in front of music educators from across our state! We are blessed to have Sam in the Green Mountain Area and at Dunstan!

During the past 2 weeks, our administrative team and instructional coach have been walking through classrooms to look of evidence of effective instructional practices which includes: learning targets, success criteria (I know I will be successful when I can do __), learning tasks that are aligned to Standards, and then teachers who are actively engaging with students, monitoring where each is in their learning process, and then asking questions to coach each student to their next level of understanding. Like our grading system, evidence was measured on a rubric of no evidence, somewhat evident, meets, or exceeds expectations.Over 70% of our classrooms had evidence of these practices at a meets or exceeds level! We are exceedingly proud of how quickly our teachers embrace expectations and their willingness to try and try again! Some of these expectations were introduced to the staff January 6th, one of our professional learning days. This work reflects the culture of our staff, their willingness to learn, and how quickly they move to implement these best practices for our students!

Thank you for participating in Jeffco’s Cell Phone Policy Survey. Our students and staff also provided feedback about cell phones in schools, particularly at the middle school level. As many of you know, the Colorado State government has introduced some bills related to this issue. If you are interested in reading some of the research on the impacts of cell phones and social media on teens, our team has read The Anxious Generation by Jonathon Haidt. Jeffco will gather this information which was administered at a few middle schools across the school district and determine next steps for cell phones in middle schools, which will hopefully unify expectations across all of our middle schools.

Thank you for providing your honest and thoughtful feedback about Standards-Based Grading. The parent survey results indicated that our community recognizes some benefits to Standards-Based Grading, such as a more accurate representation of a student's understanding of content, less focus on points and more focus on content learning (this includes the mindset of improvement through redos on assignments), and a stronger focus on what students can do to improve their knowledge and skills. Results also suggest that parents want clearer expectations and tracking of progress and stronger understanding of how grades are determined. As a team we will be working on stronger, clearer communication to address concerns and areas for growth.

After hearing 6th grade parent and student feedback about having a snack time after lunch, we will be implementing this next week. As you know our later start and end schedule causes 6th grade lunch to begin at 11:25 and 8th grade lunch to finish at 2:00. Our 6th graders need a snack in the afternoon because they have four classes after lunch/recess. Eighth graders have four classes before lunch/recess. While Dunstan cannot provide a snack for each 6th grader, we will provide time for a snack in the afternoon starting next Monday. Please talk with your 6th grade child to make a plan if they feel they need a snack; snacks should be small and may not be shared with others due to allergy and dietary concerns.

Next week Jeffco will send the Panorama survey (formerly Make Your Voice Heard Survey) to students and parents. This is an opportunity for each student and parent to share their constructive feedback and praise on what is going well and what we can improve at Dunstan. Please take a few minutes to provide feedback so we can continue to learn and grow. Once we receive the results our administrative team, Academic Leadership Team, staff, and Accountability team will review these results and set new goals for our staff.

As always, please know my door is open to you and I welcome ongoing collaboration with you and our greater community.

In partnership,

Jen Pennell

Our amazing Orchestra teacher, Sam Conner, was recently awarded Outstanding Young Music Educator by CMEA. He was awarded at CMEA's latest conference, which was held in Colorado Springs on January 30th. This is a huge honor for Sam and we are so proud of him!

February:

• 3: On/Off Track letter goes out to students

• 12 and 13: Parent-Teacher Conferences 5:00-7:30 PM (Invite Only)

• 14: Professional Development Day for staff (NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS)

• 17: NO SCHOOL FOR PRESIDENT'S DAY

• 25: 5th/6th grade Orchestra Concert, GMHS auditorium, 6:00 PM

• 25: Career Fair for 7th grade students @ Evergreen Middle School

• 26: 5th grade Band Concert, DMS gym, 6:00 PM

• 27: Dunstan Band and Jazz Band Concert, DMS gym, 6:00 PM

March:

• 5: PTA Meeting 6-7 PM @ DMS

• 5: 8th graders and select 6th and 7th grade students attend Mamma Mia matinee at GMHS

• 6: Choir Performance @ DMS cafeteria, 6:00 PM

• 11: 7th-12th Grade Orchestra Concert, GMHS auditorium, 6:30 PM

• 17-21: NO SCHOOL FOR SPRING BREAK

• 24: Professional Development Day for staff (NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS)

April

• 8, 9, 10th: CMAS Testing
• 15: CMAS testing (8th grade ONLY)
• 16: 5:00-6:30 PM SEL Resource Fair for incoming 6th-grade students and families
• 25: Professional Development Day for staff (NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS)

May:

• 7: PTA Meeting 6-7 PM @ DMS

• 9: 8th Grade Dance

• 12: Elementary/DMS Orchestra Concert, GMHS auditorium, 6:00 PM

• 13: 5th Grade Band Concert, DMS gym, 6:00 PM

• 14: Dunstan Band and Jazz Band Concert, DMS gym, 6:00 PM

• 15: Dunstan Choir Concert, DMS cafeteria, 6:00 PM

• 16: GMHS Graduation

• 22: 8th grade last day of school

• 23: Last day of school for 6th and 7th, Early Release

This is a reminder to please complete the Standards Based Grading Semester 1 Feedback Survey. Dunstan is piloting a system of grading called Standards Based Grading (SBG). We are currently in the first year of a planned three-year implementation cycle on grading. Thank you to everyone who has already submitted a response, we appreciate your feedback!

Reminder: Please complete the SBG survey to let us know your feedback about standards based grading practices in semester 1. Survey will close on Monday February 3. One response per household please. Thank you!

Link: https://forms.gle/52AzjfesjHtR4skV7

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact our Instructional Coach Lauren Elder at lauren.elder@jeffco.k12.co.us

Thank you,

SBG Committee

There is growing concern about social media’s impact on youth. The Surgeon General recently issued an advisory to the public about its potential risks to youth mental health.

However, families often report challenges navigating social media with their youth. Jeffco Public Schools, in conjunction with Partners for Children’s Mental Health at Children’s Hospital Colorado, is hosting a virtual workshop that will explore the potential effects and signs of concern around social media use. Families that attend will receive a template for developing a social media plan with their youth and tips for navigating discussions around digital wellness. Click the photo below for the registration link!

Wednesday, February 26 | Noon – 1 p.m. | Virtual

Zoom link will be shared via email and on website closer to the session date.

All 8th grade students and select 6th and 7th graders, based on Exploratory classes, will have an opportunity to attend a matinee showing of Mamma Mia at the high school during school hours. More information coming in the future!

Let's spoil our amazing teachers and staff with a fiesta dinner on Wednesday February 12th for parent/teacher conferences. Please sign up to donate money (see below) or other dinner items HERE.

We also would like to support staff with a pizza dinner on Thursday, February 13th as well. Please sign up to donate money or other dinner items HERE.

Please drop off food items to the office the day before (February 11th) or no later than 1:00pm on Wednesday, February 12th.

Thank you for making this meal extra special for our hardworking teachers and staff!

Jackie Bell (303) 564 5651

Please see the following signup to show our staff some love during the month of February! Link to sign up HERE. Thank you!!

Last call for career fair presenters!

On February 25, 2025 the following schools will have a joint Middle School Career Fair for 7th grade students: Evergreen Middle, Dunstan, Bell, and West Jeff middle schools, hosted by Evergreen Middle School.

If you are interested in showcasing your career or company, please sign up to join us at the event (and/or any others in the Middle School Career Fair Series!). See flyer linked below.

Event flyer

Event Options and Sign Up

If you are interested in volunteering in another capacity at the career fair (supervising students, helping with set up/break down, keeping refreshments stocked for presenters, etc.), please reach out to Leslie Walker.

Questions about presenting or specifics of the event? Contact Miranda Ziegler at Miranda.Ziegler@jeffco.k12.co.us

Questions about Dunstan 7th graders’ participation? Contact Leslie Walker, 7th grade counselor at Leslie.Walker@jeffco.k12.co.us

Learn about what's going on at the high school.

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, things you would like to add to the newsletter or if you notice any errors, please reach out directly to Leslie Pruitt at leslie.pruitt@jeffco.k12.co.us or Michael Kitch at michael.kitch@jeffco.k12.co.us. Thank you!

We are looking for volunteers to fill important roles on the Dunstan PTA next school year:

• President
• Vice President
  
  

Learn how these PTA roles support our community at https://sites.google.com/view/dunstanpta/about-us

You can support the Dunstan PTA even through the summer by linking your King Soopers card to the PTA. It's an easy way to support our school - at no cost to you!

Simply log in to Community Rewards and search for us: https://bit.ly/2R6y1mk.