Lenski Weekly Update

March 21st, 2025

From the Principal's Desk

Happy Spring Break!

We had an incredible week at Lenski! Our 2nd graders participated in Science Camp, our 3rd graders spent the week in a special residency with Celebrate the Beat, culminating in an amazing performance, and our 4th graders celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with a field trip to History Colorado. Meanwhile, our Kindies went on a scavenger hunt in search of all things fun and green, and our 5th graders took part in a music demonstration to get them excited for middle school!

A huge thank you to everyone who supported us at the Lenski Auction last week. Thanks to your generosity, we raised approximately $100,000 net! Your love and support allow us to make a meaningful impact on our students, and we are so grateful to be part of such a generous and caring community.

Wishing you all a wonderful and restful Spring Break!

With Lenski Love,

Jess

Good News!

Last week, we conducted MANY interviews to find the best and most qualified candidates to join Lenski. Our process included initial screenings, student-led tours, demo lessons, data analysis, and other performance tasks. It was not an easy process for candidates—we expected a LOT from them! Seeing each candidate through multiple lenses helped us make the best decisions for our school community.

We are SOOOOO excited to announce the following individuals who will join our AMAZING team next year!

LSS Resource Teacher: We are thrilled to welcome back Laurie Hilind! She missed us tremendously over the last year and is excited to return home, where she finds joy in working with our students and staff every day.

Counselor: About two months ago, I started hearing from a very eager Jenny Beck. She recently moved from Kentucky, where she worked as a counselor, and has tirelessly worked to become licensed in Colorado—with Lenski as her dream school! We have been lucky to have her part-time, and I’ve been incredibly impressed with how deeply she already knows our students. She will soon be joining us full-time! Jenny has already immersed herself in our community, connecting with students, staff, and family. We are thrilled she will join us!

3rd Grade Teacher: Leslie Shelledy is currently at Ford on a one-year contract. She and her family moved from Utah in late July, and her children are currently Superstars with us in the first- and third grades. Lenski was her top choice to put down roots. She brings experience as an instructional coach and as a 4th and 6th-grade teacher. In her interview, Leslie mentioned that teaching is in her blood- she spent about 9 months away from education and knew she had to be back! She believes in cultivating positive relationships to help all students grow and thrive!

5th Grade Teacher: One of the most impressive demo lessons we’ve ever observed came from Melony Watson at 2 p.m. in fifth grade on a Friday afternoon. She values student voice and movement in creating meaningful lessons and brings energy, skill, and content knowledge to the classroom. She recently moved to Colorado from Las Vegas and LOVES 5th grade! She has an incredible ability to design rigorous lessons that fully engage students.

Please join me in welcoming Laurie, Jenny, Leslie, and Melony to Lenski!

A special thank you to our students and interview teams who participated last week. Your collaboration, input, and voices were invaluable in this process!

From the Office

CMAS

Dear Parents,

The CMAS window is April 7th through April 25th. All testing, including make up assessments, must be completed by April 25th.

The Lenski CMAS schedule follows. We kindly request that you do not schedule appointments or absences during this time as scheduling make-ups is difficult and takes students away from valuable learning in the classroom.

Time Allocations:

EXT=Extended Time

ELA 90 min + 15 Admin= 1 hour 45 min

ELA EXT (1.5) 135 min +15 min Admin=2 hours 30 minutes

Math 65 min + 15 min Admin= 1 hour 20 minutes

Math EXT (1.5) 100 min +15 Min Admin= 1 hour 55 minutes

Social Studies (4th gr only) 65 min +15 Admin= 1 hour 20 minutes

Social Studies EXT (1.5) 100 min +15 Admin=1 hour 55 minutes

Science (5th gr only) 80 min + 10 min Admin= 1 hour 30 minutes

Science (EXT) 120 min +10 min=2 hours 10 minutes

Chemistry Camp

Chemistry Camp is a project-based learning that enhances our Twig curriculum on solids, liquids, and gases. Experiments engaged students in hands on chemical reactions! Experiments were Fizz Inflators, Cloud Dough, Slime Worms and Elephant Toothpaste. Thank you, to our Superstar 2nd Grade team for creating such a memorable week for our students!

From the Counselor

Anxious and depressive episodes in children and adolescents have become prevalent. The increase in childhood anxiety and depression is linked to “play-based childhood” being replaced by the “phone-based childhood,” beginning since the early 2010s. Children are spending more time on screens and much less time engaging in healthy, face-to-face activities and interactions. The Anxious Generation, by Jonathan Haidt, is a popular book communities are reading and discussing to gain further insight into how we can decrease anxiety in children and encourage more carefree, joy filled living. Here are a few suggested ideas for how to do so, especially as we enter into spring and summer break seasons when children will have more amounts of free time.

Encourage more outdoor activities and playtime. Unstructured play with children of various ages in your community and neighborhood can encourage cooperative play where children learn from and care for one another.
Limit screen time when possible, especially before bedtime, to promote increased sleep.
Give your children more responsibility and the opportunity to take small risks, while also fostering open communication about their experiences. Mealtime conversations are a great time to connect, in-person, and with intention.