CFL February Family Newsletter

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Garfield 16 Overarching Mission Statement:

As a result of our efforts, all students will be successfully prepared for life in a safe and nurturing environment.

Our School Mission Statement:

Engage ~Empower~Improve

Our School Vision Statement:

Our vision is that all graduating first graders leave CFL as critically thinking young citizens with strong academic and social/emotional foundations

Dear Families,

As we move into February, I want to take a moment to thank you all for the continued support and dedication you've shown to our school community. The second half of the school year is in full swing, and I’m excited about all the opportunities ahead.

This month, we’ll be focusing on fostering kindness and building strong relationships within our classrooms. We’re encouraging our students to express gratitude, practice empathy, and collaborate with one another. These values will not only enhance their learning experiences but also help them grow as compassionate individuals.

We have some exciting events planned, including a winter-themed family night and a few important reminders about upcoming conferences. Please stay tuned for more details on these activities.

As always, I’m incredibly proud of the hard work our students, teachers, and staff continue to put into making this school a great place for everyone. Thank you for being such an integral part of our community!

Wishing you all a wonderful and warm February!

Are you connected?

Get information from CFL with the new Garfield 16 app. Parents and students can download the new app from both the Google Play and Apple App stores. Just look for Garfield 16.

Setting up Push Notifications

To receive a push notification on the G16 app.

1. Go in the G16 app

2. Go into the setting

3. Select Press Notification tab

4. Select school(s) that you want to receive push notifications from.

Garfield 16 is proud to announce that we will be using a new technology called School Bus HUB. This technology will allow real-time tracking. Which means parents/guardians can track their child's school bus in real-time using the School Bus HUB app. This feature provides peace of mind by allowing parents to know exactly where their child's bus is along its route.

Mark your calendars! The next time we meet will be Friday, February 28th from 7:45-8:30.

This is a great opportunity to connect, share ideas, and discuss important topics that impact our school community. Your feedback and input are invaluable as we work together to create the best learning environment for our students. We hope to see you there!

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! Classes will celebrate on Friday, February 14th, from 2:15-3:00 p.m. PK morning class will have their party from 10:00-10:40.

Each classroom teacher will communicate and provide more specific details. You may send Valentine cards with a prepackaged treat if you wish. Most classrooms will have simple treats (individually wrapped and prepackaged), a craft time or Valentine activity. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child’s teacher.

If you plan to participate, all volunteers need to be in our safety system, Raptor. If you have not already, make sure to stop at the office with your ID so we can get you in the system. We will have multiple check in tables to expedite check in.

Parents may submit an Application for Early Access to the local school principal by April 1. Applications can be submitted prior to March 1, but they will be marked as received on March 1st, as this is the official date in which early access requests can be made.

In order to be considered for early access, a child must obtain a score at or above the 95th percentile on both standardized intellectual and achievement tests. However, simply achieving a score at or above the 95th percentile is not sufficient to offer early access to the child. The school must consider a variety of other factors and build a body of evidence that fully supports a decision to offer early access.

Dear Preschool Families,

Happy February! We are excited for another wonderful month of learning and growth in our preschool program. We appreciate your partnership and have some important updates to share.

ECERS Rating & Family Survey
This month, our preschool will be participating in an ECERS (Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale) assessment, which helps us ensure we are providing a high-quality learning environment for your child. As part of this process, families will be asked to complete a short survey about your experience with our program.

To make it easy for everyone to participate, we will have a scheduled day at CFL for families to complete the survey. More details will be shared soon! Your feedback is incredibly valuable, and we appreciate your time in helping us continue to grow and improve.

The next TS GOLD checkpoint is another progress check on your child's learning and development. This will be completed by February 7th, and a family report will be sent home the week of February 18th.

This report will highlight the important skills your child is demonstrating, their strengths, and the next steps in their learning journey.

Please reach out if you have any questions!

Ms. Nicole Hills

Happy February. Besides being a short month it is also very busy. The week of February 24 we will do Progress Monitoring of all kids on our standardized test called Star. I want to take a few moments to explain to you why this is important, and how you can help your child.

The state approved assessment we use at CFL is the Star reading test. This test is one of the main ways we are able to determine if your child is reading at grade level. There are other tests, and observations we do, but by far this is the most important. The test is done on a computer, and is able to adjust the test questions to find the exact level of your child. If your child is not at a certain cut score on this test they are placed on a Read Plan. We really want all kids to score high enough that they don’t need a Read Plan. The younger years can determine how a child will do later in life. For example a child who is below grade level at first grade will have a higher risk of still being below grade level in third grade.

There are many things you can do to help your child become a better reader, and thus do better on the assessment. The first and most important thing you can do is to read with your child daily. You can read in Spanish, or English. You can read, have your child read, or do a combination. Just getting your child to be around books is essential. Other things that can help include working on sight words and alphabet recognition, or saying the alphabet at home.

If you need more specific information please contact me. I would love to help you. My office is right past the main office.

Happy Reading,

Melissa Bradley

Reading Interventionist CFL

Hello Beautiful Families!

As we finish up our ACCESS we see spring coming right around the corner. We just wanted to say again what a pleasure it is to work with your children and nurture their journey with English language vocabulary skills. The goal is not just learning English but valuing their native language while learning and embracing a new one and supporting them becoming bilingual. They are remarkable little learners and we strive to create a safe space for them to feel proud of their native language while they are learning a new one! I have learned so much about them and they have taught us so much in return!

We will continue with our hands on learning and talking about what we are doing by speaking about it and describing it. We will practice actions and follow directions.

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me.

mkerrigan@garfield16.org

Melanie Kerrigan and Jessica Cornejo CFL-ELL

This February is Physical Education! We will be working on volleying and striking skills. We will be introducing games and sports such as volleyball, badminton, baseball and tennis to name a few. Please send your kiddo with tennis shoes everyday for PE class. This is not just for their safety but the whole class's safety. This also helps them with responsibility and how to be prepared for movement. Reach out with any questions or concerns.

-Mr. Cora

Hello CFL families!

What a month it has been!

Learning looked a little bit different in the music room this month and I could not be more proud of the effort your students put into their musical learning!

I am excited to get started on preparing our next programs which will be coming up quickly!

Please mark your calendars and times for the following days:

Kindergarten Spring program: March 13th @6pm in the CFL Atrium

1st Grade Spring Program: March 20th @6pm in the CFL Atrium

Thank you for all you do and all the support you give to your students and CFL! I look forward to an amazing month!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out!

970-285-5702 ext.2131

svolk@garfield16.org

Musically,

Mrs. Volk~

Hello CFL Families,

Happy 2025! Can you believe it!? As we enter a new year, I’d like to bring up the topic on technology’s effect on children. Throughout the year, let’s talk about the pros and the cons, and how we as adults can help our children learn to interact with technology in healthy ways.

This month, I’d like to share my concerns. I’d like to add as a disclaimer that this does not apply to every student, nor is it only gender specific. Please take what resonates with you and your child and leave the rest.

From working with the students at CFL, I’ve noticed our tiny precious girls comparing themselves to the influencers and the people they’re watching on TikTok or Youtube. I hear things like, “I just want to be pretty.” “I want to be popular.” Things that I might have worried about as a teenager are already creeping into the hearts and minds of our 5 year olds.

For the boys, I notice that they’re draw is more to video games than the social media aspect. Though there are definitely positive aspects, the negative ones I am seeing is addiction to screen time and lowered social development skills.

Here are a few ideas to start us off on this ongoing conversation around technology with our littles -

1. Set Limits

1. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests no more than one hour of screen time per day for children aged 2 to 5 years

2. Keep in mind that children are already getting screen time at school

2. Encourage Balance

1. It’s important for children to have balance between screen time and time spent engaging in physical activities, reading, sports, hobbies or socializing face-to-face.

3. Choose age appropriate content

1. Whether it’s video games, youtube or other social media, it is so crucial that it is age appropriate content. You can use parental controls, ratings and reviews to make informed decisions about what your children are exposed to.

4. Model the behavior you want your children to see.

1. Children mimic adults and older siblings. They are watching and learning how to be in this world. Challenge yourself to model healthy technology habits, such as limiting screen time and engaging in offline activities.

2. Be present with your children. Don’t constantly have your phone in one hand while talking or interacting with them. Look them in the eye, tell them how important and precious they truly are.

To be continued,

Ms. Landry

Email: kfrres@garfield16.org
Website: https://cfl.garfield16.org/
Location: 100 E 2nd St, Parachute, CO 81635, USA
Phone: 970-285-5702