Cougar Connections

222 Grand Ave.

Silt, CO 81652

Main Line: 970-665-7850

Attendance Line: 970-665-7874

Our vision is to develop happy - high achieving students and staff

Dear Cactus Valley Families,

“Spring: A lovely reminder of how beautiful change can truly be.” -Unknown

This quote reminded us of our CVE students, staff, and families as we transition into our final quarter of the school year. With the longer days, warm sunshine, patches of green spreading across the ground, and the birds singing, change is on the horizon with renewed possibilities that lie ahead for all of us at CVE! Speaking of GREEN, we know there is still a great amount of learning, teaching, sharing, and growing to GREEN for all of us in the next few months! The connection we have with our families helps make it possible for our students to thrive, and we’re grateful for your support and partnership.

Here are some dates to remember for the month of April:

April 8 @ 4:15–PTA Meeting at CVE

April 17 @ 5:30– DAC Meeting at CRHS

April 18 @ 6 - CVEPA Art Auction

April 24 5:00-6:00 CVE Kindergarten Information Event for 24-25 incoming Kindergarteners (5:00-5:30 tour the Kindergarten classrooms; 5:30-6:00 Questions/Answers about CVE)

CMAS Schedule: It’s GROW Time!

3rd Grade

April 8 - 11, 2024

4th Grade

April 15 - 18, 2024

5th Grade

April 8 - 18, 2024

It’s CMAS TIME for 3rd-5th Graders:

This spring our students are joining students throughout Colorado in taking the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS). CMAS assessments include Science, Social Studies (varies from year-to-year), ELA (English Language Arts), and Math.

Your child’s participation is important to us. Here are some of the ways the schools and the state of Colorado use the assessment:

• We want to have a full picture of your child’s academic achievement, how he/she is progressing in meeting academic expectations for his/her grade level over time and if we have helped your child achieve at least a year’s worth of academic growth over a year’s time.

• Strong participation is critical to understanding if our school is doing all it can to help our students prepare for success in college, a career and in life. Having consistent, accurate and fair testing results allows us to measure the overall academic health of our school and district.

• It’s a reliable gauge for taxpayers to account for the results of their public investment.

• The state of Colorado uses state testing data to create the school accountability reports. Schools may receive lowered performance ratings because not everyone took the assessment. Inaccurate ratings impact teacher and student morale and paint an inaccurate picture of a school’s achievement.

Testing will take place April 8th through April 25th (see schedule above). Our days will continue to be full of learning along with sessions of time that will be designated for CMAS testing either in the morning, afternoon, or both. To help your child be successful on these state assessments, as well as the learning that will continue to take place when not in a testing session, it is important your child gets a good night’s sleep and arrives at school on time. In addition, we ask that you do your best to not schedule doctor/dentist appointments during this time. We understand that sometimes this cannot be helped, but best efforts are greatly appreciated!

If you have any questions about your child’s learning, please reach out to us. As always, thank you for supporting the teaching and learning that is taking place here at Cactus Valley Elementary School!

Sincerely,

Kelly Detlefsen, Principal

Stacy VanHercke, Assistant Principal

Phew! Fourth quarter has begun and we are winding down towards the end of the school year. We will be gearing up for our Caring Coins Competition in May to donate money to the River Center, Literacy Outreach and to fund our $500 college scholarship to a former CVE student, who is a graduating CRHS senior. Be on the lookout for information coming home about the competition in late April or early May.

Here is what we are learning in Character Education this month. In 5th grade we will be talking about the transition from elementary school to middle school. 4th grade will discuss peer pressure and how to stand up to it. 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders will continue their lesson on Problem-Solving steps, and discuss the importance of calming down, naming their feelings and saying the problem without blame. These are important skills for students, to learn to solve problems without using blaming words. Kindergarten will review their problem solving strategies and practice how to meet new friends.

Also, The River Center delivers 6-7 non perishable food items weekly to supplement food for families who need extra support. It is distributed on Wednesdays. If you are a family that could use the supplemental food, please contact me and I can get you signed up.

If your student needs mental health support, IMatter is a program that will provide 6 FREE counseling sessions for ANY Colorado youth. Visit the IMatter website (www.imattercolorado.org) to get your student connected with a therapist. For social/emotional or other types of assistance, please contact me at 970-665-7764 or achabin@garfieldre2.net.

We've been so busy learning all year and we will continue all our units from March into April.

Our 5th graders are ready to take the CMAS Science test (1st time they have taken the test for Science) and I am confident our 5th graders will do amazing!

On Monday, April 8th, we have made arrangements for all students to witness the solar eclipse either by using solar eclipse glasses or pinhole viewers.

Also on Monday, our chick eggs will arrive and we will begin incubating 22 eggs. Hopefully, in about 21 days we will have baby chicks in the science classroom! The chicks will be donated to a 4H leader who needs chickens for the county fair.

Toni-Marie Yorty

K-5 Science Teacher

Cactus Valley Elementary School

(970) 665-7875 Classroom Phone

(970) 665-7874 CVE Attendance

(970) 665-7850 CVE Main Office

tyorty@garfieldre2.net

Students will write positive words to describe their classmates. Students will design an "All about Me" collage to share with the class. They will cut out pictures in old magazines to put on their collage. This project will highlight parts of them that are important from their family and friends to hobbies and aspirations.

Happy Spring from ART!

Things to remember: Art Auction April 18th. Please come and support CVE and their MASTER ARTIST’S from 4th Grade.

This month we will be diving into the works of two iconic artists-Georgia O’Keeffe and Jackson Pollock. Georgia O’ Keeffe and Jackson Pollock were both influential American artists, but they had very different art styles. Students will learn about O’Keeffe’s realistic paintings of flowers and landscapes. Jackson Pollock, on the other hand, was a leading figure in the Abstract Expressionist movement. He was known for his unconventional and experimental approach to painting, which involved dripping, pouring, and splattering paint on canvas.Students will have the opportunity to learn about their unique styles and techniques, and apply them to their own work.