What Does The Fox Say?

This past Monday, was our first fire drill of the year. We are required to facilitate a fire drill within the first two weeks of school and subsequently, a monthly fire drill. We are also required to facilitate a lock down, secure perimeter, and shelter in place drill twice a year (once per semester). When we speak to students about this, we use kid friendly language. We don't say "active shooter" to students, they hear terms like, "practice for safety". We have over 600 students and 70 adults at Inspire and we make sure our procedures are tight and that we improve with each drill. At every Professional Development Day, we discuss safety scenarios to strengthen our preparedness. For example, last year, we emphasized closing classroom doors during a fire drill so if there is a real fire it can be contained (slow the spread). Our fire drill includes ensuring all our staff are accounted for, not just students and classroom teachers. We adjusted our shelter drills to reflect that we are unlikely to experience a storm above a F2 tornado (F5 is the most violent) and we do not hold students in the gym because the exterior wall could be compromised in a major tornado event. As an educator, I lived through 9/11 in downtown Manhattan, Occupy Wall Street, and school displacement after hurricane Sandy. As a parent, I was in the same building as my daughter when there was a lockdown. I had to trust the adults who were responsible for her while I ensured the safety of my staff and students. At Inspire, we've experienced an outdoor fire on a playground, an after school lock down, holds for elevated students in the hallway, medical emergencies and unknown visitors on school grounds. I hope we never have to experience something more significant but I can say with confidence that we would be as prepared as any school could be. As we keep an eye on safety, we do have a couple of safety projects coming up. One is improving student access to bike racks after school as we know some of the littles are having trouble against the middle school bikes and our second safety project is enclosing the playground area with gates. Currently, there are two fence openings near door #3 (by the sandbox) that we are working towards installing gates. This will take time but we have started the process. Safety first! When you leave your kids at the door, we know you are trusting us to keep them safe. They are in good hands.

Sincerely,

Linda August
Principal

Important Dates

8/30/24: Friday Celebration, 7:40am-7:55am

9/2/24: NO SCHOOL, Holiday - Labor Day

9/3/24: Spirit Day: Labor/Career Day - dress like what you want to be when you grow up

9/3/24: Career Day - Morning Meeting Career Talk

9/6/24: Friday Celebration, 7:40am-7:55am

9/11/24: CSC Meeting, 4:00pm-5:30pm

9/18/24: PTO Meeting, 6:00pm-7:00pm

9/24/24: K-2 Curriculum Night, 5:00pm-6:30pm

9/27/24: NO SCHOOL, PD Day

9/30/24: NO SCHOOL, PD Day

10/1/24: PTO Fox Trot Fundraiser

PTO Enrichment Sign-Up is LIVE!

• Enrichments are now live. Please follow this link to register.
• Inspire Elementary, in partnership with the Inspire PTO, is excited to offer a robust schedule of after-school enrichment programs this fall! These programs are open to ALL Inspire students in grades K-5 (please note in the schedule that there are some limitations to which program students can participate in based on grade level.
• Please remember that enrichments are first come, first serve basis. Your order is not final until payment is processed and you receive a confirmation receipt, even if it was in your cart.
• You will receive an email from CheddarUp (our processing partner) to confirm your student’s spot. If the email you receive shows a $0.00 value this means that your enrollment did not process as the enrichment is already full.
• Kerrie Hall (our PE teacher) will provide the operational support. Please email Coach Hall if you have any operational questions (kerrie_hall@dpsk12.net).
• Enrichments have a no refunds policy. Due to the amount of planning and work that goes into enrichments, we are unable to offer refunds for enrichments.
• If a student is acting disrespectful toward the instructor, fellow students or the classroom, we will notify the student's family. If the behavior is not improved, we will notify you a second time. If after the second notification the behavior has not improved, the third notification will be grounds for dismissal from the enrichment class without a refund. All school rules apply regarding behavior expectations during enrichments.
• Most enrichments run from 2:50-3:50, unless otherwise noted. Arriving late to pick up 3 times will be grounds for removal from the enrichment class without a refund.

NO SCHOOL, Monday - 9/2/24

No School due to Labor Day holiday.

Spirit Day, Tuesday - 9/3/24

• Labor Day - students dress like what they want to be when they grow up AND
• If you are interested in speaking to your child's homeroom during Morning Meeting about your career, let your child's homeroom teacher know.
• If you are coming in to the school for Career Day, be sure to complete the Inspire Event Registration.
  
  

Picture Day Photo Access (Dashboard)

Photos are not available yet. When they are you can view and make purchases directly from the company, Bloom. Yes, I know that's confusing because our class and school app messaging system is Bloomz (with a z at the end) and our school photography company is Bloom.

• Bloom does not do any pre-ordering or pre-payments, and all ordering happens after picture day through online password protected galleries.
• Picture Day Dashboard.
• We will send out a notification via WDTFS and Bloomz when photos are ready.

Picture Make-Up Day, 10/9/24

Students who were absent or are not satisfied with their photos from picture day, will have an opportunity to make up photos on 10/9/24. The picture company (Bloom) and the school will send out a link to sign up. Teachers will be given a list of students and times for the make up.

PTO Announcements

• Our first official PTO meeting of the year will take place on Wednesday, September 18th at 6pm at Inspire. We hope you will join us! Enter at the Cafetorium door. We'll have pizza and non-alcoholic drinks for attendees. Kids are welcome! You can learn more about the current board members and the exciting things we support (curriculum, staff appreciation and supplies, community events and more!) at Inspire here.
• Start supporting Inspire and the PTO today by donating here!
• To get connected with us start by filling out our PTO membership form or email board@inspirepto.com for more information. By filling this out you’ll start receiving our PTO specific email, Foxtales, the first Wednesday of each month. Be on the lookout for the first one on September 4th!
• Inspire night at The Rockies! Watch the Rockies take on the Cubs and give back to Inspire all at once! Tickets must be purchased online: www.rockies.com/SchoolFundraiser. Please choose 'INSPIRE' for us to receive fundraising credit! The top (3) schools by tickets sold will be eligible to nominate an outstanding educator, student, parent, or volunteer to be recognized on the field before the game on Friday, September 13! These honorees will each receive (2) complimentary tickets for the game.
• Our first major fundraiser of the year will be the Foxtrot on Tuesday, October 1st. More details to come soon but pencil in this favorite day for our community now!

Family Resources

• DPS Black Excellence Summit. The Summit is 9/14/24 from 8:00am-3:30pm. DPS is excited to invite you to join them for the 2024 Black Excellence Summit to celebrate the impact and momentum of Black Excellence in Denver Public Schools!! Please complete this form to register asap as there will be limited space.
• DPS Climate & Safety. To learn more about DPS safety protocols click on their website Emergency Protocols
• Denver Parks & Rec Fall Programs. With the new school year underway, now is the perfect time to check out fall programs at Denver Recreation Centers. From sports and fitness to arts and culture, there is something for everyone. Don’t miss out—register today to secure your spot! Visit Denvergov.org/Recreation or any Denver Recreation Center to enroll.

Email: linda_august@dpsk12.net
Website: https://inspire.dpsk12.org/
Location: 5650 N. Elmira Ct., Denver, CO, 80238
Phone: (720) 424-4850