FVE Newsletter

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The Collaborative of the SCFD is a non-profit membership group of science and cultural organizations funded by the SCFD, a Colorado sales and use tax in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson Counties. Our school has received a grant for this school year for about $9000! We will be using this money to bring many fun learning experiences to our students. Here are our first exciting events:

In September…

Kindergarten–An interactive Gingerbread Man experience from the Children’s Museum

1st grade– Powerful Pollinators in-school field trip from the Butterfly Pavilion

4th and 5th grade–North American guitarist, El Javi shared his unique musical style with elements of flamenco, progressive rock, classical, folk and world music

Upcoming in October…

3rd grade–Exploring with an in-school Bug Safari from the Butterfly Pavilion

2nd grade–Extending our plant unit with a visit from the Denver Botanic Gardens

On August 27, the Douglas County School District Board of Education unanimously voted 7-0 to place a $490 million Bond on the November 2024 ballot.

If passed by voters, this new funding would be used at our school to:

• Enhance safety and security

• Refresh student and staff technology

• Replace flooring

• Install new intercom system

• Replace sink countertops

If passed by voters, a $490 million Bond would be used to upgrade aging schools and facilities; build additional career and technical education pathways; upgrade school safety and security; and construct and expand neighborhood schools. The Bond would provide for two new elementary schools in growing areas of our county, as well as the expansion of one existing middle school.

A $490 million Bond would not increase current property taxes.

You can read more about DCSD’s funding challenges on our website. Thank you for being an engaged and informed member of our school community!

The Douglas County School District is beginning a new strategic planning process. Help us make sure that the voice of our school’s families is included in conversations about what we want our school district to look like in the next 5 years, 10 years and beyond. Your voice is critical in determining how we can best prepare our students for successful futures so they can lead the way in a world that is quickly evolving in terms of jobs and technology. Please attend an upcoming meeting to learn more and to provide your voice to this important conversation. Click here for a list of meeting dates, times and location and for an RSVP link. Dinner will be provided at the evening sessions.

Colorado State Law states that students missing 10% or more of the school year are considered federally truant and we are required to initiate support processes.

The best way to avoid truancy processes is to:

• Plan family vacations on scheduled breaks

• Report all absences to the school office attendance line (303) 387-8477 or use the attendance app before 9:15 am

• Keep teachers informed of planned absences

Every year DCSD is required to record attendance of every student which results in the amount of funding the schools receive from the state of Colorado. The attendance window for DCSD’s October count is September 24th - October 8th. We would appreciate your children attending school during this window and especially on October 1st, the official count day. Students who are tardy or released early, will still be counted present.

Conference week is October 7th -11th. Conference sign up times will be sent out by your student's teacher(s).

Hello FVE Families!

Fall Conferences are almost here! October 7-11 will be the week of fall conferences for Frontier Valley Elementary School. In past years we have asked parents to send in items for meals or had them sign up to bring in specific things for each teacher. This year teachers will be holding conferences during a variety of times as they schedule them according to what works best for their schedule, therefore, we are hoping to join together to stock the lounge throughout conference week for teachers! We are looking for a variety of items that teachers can come grab quickly to help them refuel throughout the morning, day, and evening! There are a few options if you would like to participate list below:

1. Amazon Wishlist- This will ship directly to our Teacher Appreciation Committee allowing them to get the items to the school and set up for the teachers. This is a great option if you'd like to donate but don't have the chance to make a trip to the store and/or school. Please have the items delivered by Monday, October 7.

Amazon Wishlist

2. Sign Up Genius- Here you can sign up to send in an item on Friday, October 4. Label it "Stock the Lounge" and drop it off in the office. We will be replenishing the lounge throughout the week of conferences to brighten each day!

Sign Up Genius- Stock the Staff Lounge

Thank you so much for helping up stock the lounge to keep our teachers fueled throughout a VERY busy week!

TA Committee-FVEA

Please take a moment while you are at your student's conference to check for missing items in our Lost & Found. Any items that are not claimed will be donated to US'Again over Fall Break.

Join Us for the Annual Frontier Valley Trunk or Treat!

Friday, October 25th, from 5:30-7:00 PM!

How You Can Get Involved:

• Host a Trunk: Sign up to decorate your trunk and hand out treats to our trick-or-treaters!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4BACAF2BA2FBC34-51740061-trunks

• Donate Treats: Oct 21-25 Participate in our candy drive contest to help supply candy for all the trunks. The grade that collects the most candy will win a Popsicle and PJ Day! You can drop off your candy to the front office of the school.

• Volunteer: We need parent volunteers to help with setup, running the event, and cleanup. Your support makes this event possible!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4BACAF2BA2FBC34-51740535-trunk

Event Highlights:

• Bring your family and friends to enjoy an evening of fun, Frontier Valley spirit, and, of course, lots of candy!
• Hot dog stand, where hot dogs will be available for purchase *all proceed support FVEA

We can’t wait to see all our Buffaloes dressed up and ready for a safe night of Halloween fun!

Sign up now to be a part of this fantastic event! For questions, please contact Erin Wilkens at erin80138@gmail.com.

Let’s make this the best Trunk or Treat yet!

Our Halloween celebrations will be held on Thursday, October 31st. The parade will begin at 8:45am, followed by classroom parties. Parents can line the blacktop outside to view the parade. As you prepare for this event, please keep in mind these school policies about Halloween and costumes:

Halloween Costumes:

• Students may come dressed in a costume, but must be able to change into school clothes for the remainder of the day after the party has ended.

• Costumes may not be demeaning or offensive to self or others.

The following will not be allowed:

• Full face makeup or full face masks

• Depiction of blood or guts

• Weapons or facsimile of weapons (swords, guns)

• Accessories or props such as balls, bats, ropes, etc.

If a costume is deemed inappropriate, the child may be asked to change into school clothes.

For families that reside outside of the Frontier Valley boundary, please note that round 1 of open enrollment for the 2025-2026 school year begins on November 1st and closes on December 2nd. Students who are currently open enrolled at FVE and intend to remain at FVE do not need to open enroll again (incoming siblings that are new to the school will need to open enroll). 5th grade families that have open enrolled at FVE that would like to continue at Cimarron in 6th grade will need to follow the open enrollment process for the middle school. Please refer to the open enrollment page on the district website HERE for more information.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

DCSD is committed to implementing equitable practices to increase access to advanced/gifted learning opportunities. Based on state and national recommendations and requirements, we implement Universal Screening for students in 2nd grade (February) and 5th or 6th grade--a student's final year of elementary school (November).

As part of this process, ALL students in 5th Grade who have not been identified for gifted programming will take the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) the week of November 4th. This assessment indicates the level and pattern of cognitive development of a student in comparison to grade and age mates. These general reasoning abilities, which start developing at birth and continue through early adulthood, are influenced by experiences gained both in and out of school.

If your child is already identified for gifted programming, they will not participate in this universal screen testing. Your Gifted Education Facilitator will contact you directly with more detailed information about this process.

Please see the following for additional information linked below:

DCSD Universal Screening Letter to Families_Fall

Elizebeth Simpson, M. Ed
Frontier Valley
Gifted Facilitator

Frontier Valley Families,

As we wrap up a successful Fun Run, we want to say thank you to all the families who donated and volunteered their time! With all your support, we were able to hit our school wide goal of $45,000! Thank you! On Monday we celebrated out on the field with the Dunk Tank! We are so grateful for the best community surrounding us!

FVEA

The Discovery Program is a self-contained, center based, magnet program for highly gifted learners located regionally at four elementary school sites in Douglas County. The program is intended for those students who require intensity of instruction and acceleration beyond what can reasonably be expected from the regular school gifted programming.

Due to the intensive nature of the Discovery Program, a body of evidence is needed to determine the best match between student and programming. Information considered includes documented cognitive ability, standardized achievement data, classroom performance data, student, parent, and teacher input. Three major criteria for placement are:

• Exceptional intellectual/cognitive ability

• Documented above grade level performance in multiple content areas, and

• No below grade level performance in any content area.

Multiple criteria will be considered in the placement process to provide evidence of the best match between student academic need and the rigorous environment of the program.

The application window for the 2025 - 2026 school year is now open.

Application Deadline: November 13, 2024.

To begin the application process please carefully review the 2025-2026 Discovery Program Application and Process Information linked HERE.

After careful review of the information above, use the following information to initiate the application process.

In District Students

(Student currently enrolled in a DCSD School in grades 1-5)

In-District Discovery Program Application Information

Out-of-District Students

(Students currently enrolled in a non-DCSD school in grades 1-5)

Discovery Program Application Information

Home Schooled Students

Home School Discovery Program Application Information

Want to know more about DCSD's Discovery Program? Join parents of Discovery students and staff from our district's Advanced Academics and Gifted Education team to learn more about this programming available through Discovery.

DCSD Elementary Discovery Program - District Presentation

YouTube

Join us for an in-person informational night at one of our Discovery Program sites

Pine Lane Elementary School

Thursday, October 24th (5:30-7:00 pm)

Renaissance Magnet School

Wednesday, October 9th (5:00-6:00 pm)

Northridge Elementary School

Tuesday, October 1st (5:00-7:00 pm)

Please use this Google Form to R.S.V.P for an in-person Discovery Information night. This will help us plan for the number of families joining us.

Join us for a VIRTUAL information session

Monday, November 4th, 2024 (6:00-7:00pm)

Please R.S.V.P using this Google Form

Information including the virtual link will be sent directly to you upon receipt.

This month, after finishing up our lessons about emotional regulation, we are learning about being kind to others and being an upstander. October is National Bullying Prevention Month so it is a good opportunity to talk about being an Upstander. We will also be learning about empathy and seeing different perspectives. I often have Andie, one of our school therapy dogs, help with lessons. Teaching about reading a dog’s behavior cues can help build that empathy in our students.

FVEA wants to recognize our Fun Run volunteer crew- Amber, Monika, and Beth and to all who volunteered their time with prizes and the day of the event. WHAT A SUCCESS! Thank you for all you do to support our Frontier Valley community.

• 10/1: FVEA Meeting on Zoom 5-6pm

• Other upcoming events:

Book Fair 11/11-11/15

Pies with Parents 11/15

• Ongoing Fundraising opportunities for our school!

King Soopers Rewards- Sign up under ““Frontier Valley Education Alliance”

American Furniture Warehouse- Mention Frontier Valley at checkout

Longmont Dairy Bring in your milk caps!

Nutrition Services will be hosting our annual Taste of DCSD Open House event on Tuesday October 22nd, from 4:30pm-7pm at Mountain Vista High School. This event is free to all and is a great opportunity to taste and provide feedback on the items we are serving in our schools. Come hungry! Flyer can be found HERE. Please send out to your school community in newsletters and encourage their attendance.