PCK Weekly Newsletter

Dear PCK Community,

Thank you to Amanda Ferm, and the entire PTO team for sponsoring the incredibly successful 2024 PCK Fall Fest. This event truly epitomizes that Our Next 30 Years Start Now. Community events such as Fall Fest, strengthen our identity and help to build long-lasting relationships among students, parents, and the larger community that will certainly last into our next 30 years.

The tradition of this event serves as a cornerstone for fostering unity, school spirit, and lasting connections among students, families, and staff. Shared experiences like these contribute to an increased sense of connection and belonging, something we desire for our PCK students and families.

Thank you to all of the volunteers, families, students and staff members who made this event so unique. Special thanks to those who landed a pie directly on my face!

Please have a restful and rejuvenating fall break. I look forward to seeing you all when we return.

Sincerely,

Dr. Weyman

This week our spotlight focuses on the exceptional character demonstrated by our students throughout the first few months of the school year. At our recent Character Assembly, we proudly recognized eight students who truly embody what it means to show respect as a member of PCK.

The recipients of the September Character Awards are:

Kaden Larson (5th)

Reed Mountain (4th)

Elena Schirmer (4th)

Charlotte Scrivner (4th)

Sophia Zappanti (3rd)

Pragathi Mugunth (2nd)

Lincoln Alberty (2nd)

Abhay Nair (2nd)

In addition to these remarkable students, we want to highlight one of our athletes whose actions have made a positive impression on the broader community. During a recent boys' soccer match, Emilio Santana-Roman was recognized by an opposing school for his outstanding leadership. In the midst of competition, he set an example by encouraging his teammates to remain respectful—a quality that did not go unnoticed by those watching.

We encourage our families to take a moment to discuss with their student what it means to be part of the PCK community. We are proud of their efforts to be responsible citizens and future leaders, and we look forward to continuing to celebrate their growth and character.

Hello PCK Families,

I hope everyone enjoyed the Fall Festival last week! I had a great time dancing and getting pied in the face numerous times. Anything for the children, am I right?

Going into fall break, I always want to remind families to please look out for each other and if your student reports a safety concern, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your local jurisdiction or Safe2Tell. We want kids to be supported whether they are inside or out of our building.

Another announcement is that our PCK administration team had a great idea. As part of the Badge Brief, I will be sending out occasional videos on student use of social media and devices, and how families can work to keep everyone safe and healthy while using them. Keep an eye out for these in the newsletter in the future.

Have a happy, healthy, and safe Fall Break.

Deputy Sandifer

We are thrilled to celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of our Cougar athletes during the fall season. Our volleyball team recently completed an undefeated regular season and capped it off with a championship win at home this week, defeating Cherry Creek in two sets. This is a remarkable achievement, and we couldn’t be prouder of their dedication and teamwork.

Our cross country team also had a fantastic season finish, with the boys' varsity team placing third overall out of 16 teams at the Wildcat Invitational. Additionally, we had an impressive showing from both our girls and boys, with three of our runners placing top 10 in their respective races.

Following an outstanding regular season, our Boys Soccer team advanced to the championship after a commanding win in the semi-finals. Though they narrowly missed claiming the title, their hard work, commitment to the sport, and support for one another is worthy of recognition.

At PCK, we believe that athletics are an integral part of a well-rounded educational experience. These accomplishments reflect not only the hard work and commitment of our student-athletes, but also the incredible support from coaches, families, and the entire school community.

We look forward to seeing the continued success of our Cougar athletes as we move into the winter season and beyond.

We are happy to announce that our annual Veterans Day assembly will be held on Monday, November 11 at 8:30 a.m. This meaningful event is a time to honor the courage and sacrifice of the men and women who have served in our nation's armed forces. We warmly invite all PCK families with veterans to join us in celebrating this holiday.

Before the assembly, we will host a light breakfast for veterans and their families at 8:00 a.m. in the Science Lab. Details about the RSVP process will be shared soon.

In preparation for the event, each student will receive a paper copy of the "My Hero" sheet today. We encourage students to recognize a service member from their family, either active duty or retired, who serves as a role model in their lives. Please have your student complete the form and return it to the front office by Friday, October 25. Below you can access a digital copy of the form if your student would like to fill out multiple sheets.

As we wrap up Hispanic Heritage Month, we wanted to share how our Spanish classes have been celebrating the rich cultural contributions of Hispanic heritage to the United States. Hispanic Heritage Month is an important time to recognize and honor the profound impact that Hispanic-Americans have had on our country’s history, culture, and achievements.

In celebration, our Spanish students have created a mural that pays tribute to some of the most iconic Hispanic-American figures in history. This project has been a wonderful opportunity for our students to learn about and appreciate the diverse backgrounds and stories that have shaped our nation.

First round of open enrollment for the 2025-26 school year opens on November 1 at 8:00 a.m. and closes on December 2 at 4:00 p.m.

Families staying at PCK do not need to do anything since PCK is already your school of record. If your student will not return to PCK for the 2025-26 school year (other than graduating 8th graders headed to high school) you must submit a DCSD open enrollment application by December 1.

If your 8th grader will attend a public high school other than your neighborhood school, you must

submit an open enrollment application.

Nominations for the 2025 Douglas County School District Apple Awards are now open. These prestigious awards honor the educators and staff who inspire a love of learning in our students and champion extraordinary innovation within our schools.

Our dedicated teachers and staff members play a vital role in shaping the future of our children, and it’s important to take a moment to recognize their hard work and commitment. By nominating a member of our team, you are not only expressing your appreciation but also helping to shine a light on the incredible impact they have on the lives of our students every day.

Nominations are open until November 15, and both parents and students are welcome to participate. You can nominate a staff member either through a short video or a brief essay explaining why they deserve this honor.

Categories for nominations include -

Department Employee of the Year

Classified Employee of the Year

Elementary Educator of the Year

Secondary Educator of the Year

Administrator of the Year

We encourage you or your student to take this opportunity to celebrate our amazing staff members who go above and beyond to create a positive learning environment at PCK.

We are thrilled to share some wonderful news from our school's School ToolBox purchases.

Thanks to your incredible generosity, a significant amount of money was raised not only for Parker Core Knowledge, but also for Shriner's Children Hospital. Additionally, we are proud to announce that, based on your donations, nearly 500 children will be fed for an entire year.

This is a powerful testament to the reach of our community’s impact, extending far beyond the walls of our school. Your charitable contributions reflect the values of care and compassion that define PCK, and we couldn't be more grateful.

Thank you for your support and for making such a meaningful difference in the lives of so many.

Parents, Class Picture and Picture Retake Day will take place on Monday, October 28. This day offers an opportunity for students who were absent on the original picture day or those who need their picture retaken to have their school photo completed for this year.

Please note that for this retake day, students must be in uniform in order to be included in the class photo or have their individual photo taken. This ensures consistency, as all students will be in uniform for their class photos.

We are still searching for volunteers to create fun and festive trunk displays for our trick-or-treating students to enjoy. This is a great opportunity to get creative and make this event a memorable experience for our students.

Keeping with the theme of weekly reminders for Halloween, we wanted to remind our families of costume guidelines during our Trunk-or-Treat event. Whether students or parent volunteers are dressing up, please keep the following in mind:

Costumes should be:

• Fun, family-friendly.
• Non-distracting and safe for P.E. and recess.
• Masks are allowed for the parade and Trunk-or-Treating ONLY, but not during the school day.
• Minimal face painting is allowed, but no full face painting.

Costumes may NOT:

• Include toy weapons (no guns, swords, knives, hatchets, pitchforks, etc.).
• Be bloody, gory, or otherwise crude and inappropriate.
• Include drug or alcohol references/images.
• Be too short, too low, too revealing, or overtly suggestive in nature.

What a fall festival we just pulled off!

The PTO would like to extend a huge thank you to each and every one of you who volunteered your precious time and resources to make this event happen. Seriously, this festival doesn’t run itself—trust us, we asked the ducks in the Pick a Duck booth and they just stared back at us.

Whether you were hauling water buckets, manning a booth, setting up, taking out the trash, or rescuing wayward coffee filters, we are grateful for your efforts which truly helped bring our community together.

We wanted to give a huge shout-out to our amazing volunteers who made it all possible. Below you can access the list of the wonderful people who made this event happen.

Best,

The PTO

Yesterday the SAC met, and Academic Directors Stephanie Harper and Breanna Warburton presented PCK’s Unified Improvement Plan (UIP). Both SAC members and attending parents were deeply impressed by the dedication and thorough attention our academic directors give to meeting the educational goals of our students. Their commitment to addressing the academic needs of every student is truly inspiring.

We left the meeting with a strong sense of gratitude and pride to be part of the PCK community. We encourage all parents to continue partnering with and supporting the incredible teachers and staff who make PCK such a special place.

If you have any questions about participating in SAC, or if you would like to contribute topics or questions to SAC but are unable to attend, please feel free to reach out to Blaise Singer at bsinger@ckcs.net.

This week, we are thrilled to shine our Volunteer Spotlight on Melissa Prentice for her outstanding support of PCK. Melissa works tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that events like the Fall Festival, which many of us enjoyed last week, run smoothly. Not only is she instrumental in the execution of these events, but she also plays a major role in their planning. Without her dedication, many of our school events simply would not be able to function as seamlessly as they do.

Thank you, Melissa, for your effort, and unwavering support. We are extremely lucky to have you!