Family Communication: January 2025

Mission Viejo Families,

We hope you had a great Winter Break and that your new year has started well! In 2025, we’re going to try a few new things with our communication to families. These changes include:

• Moving to monthly communication instead of weekly. You will receive this monthly email on the first Sunday of each month. To help with this transition and the absence of a weekly email we will:

• resend the monthly communication on the third Sunday of each month (this communication may include updates: new events and/or new announcements).

• send out more reminder texts and/or phone blasts about upcoming events throughout the month.

• We will be using a newsletter program that allows the information in this communication to be translated into any language. Just click the word “translate” at the top.

We will get feedback from families, about our communications, in April or May to better support families in the future.

• Monday, 1/6: Teacher Work Day (No School for Students)
• Tuesday, 1/7: First Day Back for students
• Thursday, 1/9: Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) Meeting, 9:30-11:30 am (Student Achievement Resource Center)
• Student Achievement Resource Center (SARC) is located at 14188 E Briarwood Ave, Centennial, CO, 80112

• Topic(s): IEP 101 & Liaison Specific Breakout Session

• To learn more about SEAC and upcoming meetings, please click HERE.

• Thursday, 1/9: Indigenous Parent Action Committee (IPAC), 6:00-7:30 pm (Horizon Community Middle School)
• To learn more about IPAC and see future meeting dates, please click HERE.
• Monday, 1/13: Board of Education, 6:30 - 7:30 pm (Prairie Middle School)
• Tuesday, 1/14: District Accountability Committee (DAC): Family and Community Engagement Subcommittee, 6:30 - 7:30 pm.
• This will be a virtual meeting.
• Wednesday, 1/16: Pasifika Meeting, 6:00 - 7:30 pm (Eaglecrest H.S.)
• To learn more about Pasifika and future meeting dates, please click HERE
• Wednesday, 1/16: Dyslexia Community Group, 9:30 - 11:00 am (Student Achievement Resource Center)
• Student Achievement Resource Center (SARC) is located at: 14188 E. Briarwood Ave, Centennial, CO, 80112
• Please see announcement below for additional information
• Monday, 1/20: No School (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)
• Tuesday, 1/21: Culture Night Meeting, 6:00 - 7:30 pm (Cherry Creek High School)
• To learn more about Culture Night and future meeting dates, please click HERE.
• Wednesday, 1/22: Family Engagement Night 5:00 - 6:00 pm (Mission Viejo Library),
• Click HERE for flyer
• Wednesday, 1/22: Voices of Color Parent Meeting, 6:00 - 7:30 pm (Grandview High School)
• To learn more about the Voices of Color Parent Meeting and to see dates for future meetings, please click HERE.
• Thursday, 1/23: PTCO Meeting, 5:30 - 6:30 pm (Library)
• Saturday, 1/25: “All Pro Dad” Chapter Meeting, 9:30 - 11:00 am
• If you are a father (or father figure), please bring your child(ren) and join us!
• Breakfast will be provided.
• Please RSVP, via email, to MissionAPD@gmail.com.
• Tuesday, 1/28: Parent Information Network (PIN), 9:15-11:00 am (Fremont Building)
• The Fremont Building is located at: 14603 E. Fremont Ave, Centennial, CO 80112
• Topic: Raising Mentally Strong Kids: How to Combine the Power of Neuroscience with Love and Logic to Grow Confident, Kind, Responsible, and Resilient Children and Young Adults
• Read the announcement below for details on how to be entered to win a gift card for attending this PIN meeting and every PIN meeting this year.
• Thursday, 1/30: Glow Run (PTCO Fundraiser), all day (During Specials)
• Additional details will be sent on Sunday, 1/19 or sooner.
• Thursday, 1/30: Mission Viejo PASS Parent Meeting, 6:00 - 8:00 pm.
• This month’s PASS meeting will be a special parent workshop on how to help your child with friendships
• Dinner and childcare will be provided
• For a flyer with additional details and to register, please click HERE.
• Friday, 1/31: District (written) Spelling Bee, all day (SARC)
• Please wish good luck to the three students from Mission Viejo who will be participating in this year’s district bee: Zoe Weingartner (5th grade), Andre Talybov (5th grade) and Ben Koos (4th grade)!
• Top spellers from the written bee go on to compete in the oral bee on Saturday, 2/1.
• To learn more about the district spelling bee and process, please click HERE.

Girls on the Run

Calling all 3rd – 5th grade girls! Join Girls on the Run this spring! Get ready to activate your star power as you run, walk, jump, hop, or skip your way through training for a 5K! Teams will complete activities to help them learn to be happy, healthy and confident before running a 5K at the end of the season. Girls on the Run will start the week of March 3rd. We will meet Tuesday and Thursday from 2:45-4:15!

Open to all 3rd, 4th and 5th grade girls!

Registration opens February 3rd. For more information about the program go to www.girlsontherun rockies.org. Questions? Karen Weingartner, Mission Viejo GOTR Site Coordinator kweingartner@cherrycreekschools.org

AVID Informational Night: Wednesday, 1/29 (5:30 - 6:30 pm)

• Are you interested in your child being involved in the AVID program in middle and/or high school? If so, please join us for an information night.

• This virtual event is primarily designed for 5th grade families, but it’s open to any and all Cherry Creek families to learn about the AVID courses and program that is offered for students in grades 6-12.

• For additional details and to register, please click HERE. For Spanish click HERE

Car Seat Safety Guidelines: Updates for 2025!

• Student safety is always one of our top priorities. Not only while at school, but at all times.

• The state of Colorado recently passed new guidelines for car seats that took effect on January 1, 2025!

• Please take a moment to read the new car seat guidelines by clicking HERE.

• If you have someone new to dropping off your child(ren) in a vehicle, please take a moment to have them read our parking lot guidelines, by clicking HERE.

• In addition, we made a short (5 minute) video, to demonstrate the “do’s and don’ts” of parking lot safety. You can watch the video by clicking HERE.

Parent Academy: Thursday, 1/16

• The CCSD Parent Academy is for recently arrived immigrant families.

• This event is led by our district cultural liaisons and the topics include:

• Basics of the American school system,

• Purpose and how to use Powerschool,

• Food and Nutrition Services,

• Transportation Services, and

• Student Conduct Expectations

• This is also an opportunity for immigrant families to connect with our cultural liaisons.

• The next session will be Thursday, 1/16 at Smoky Hill High School.

• To register, please click HERE.

Dyslexia Community Group Meetings (2024-25)

• Although “dyslexia” is a very common term in education, there are a lot of myths and misinformation about this condition.

• If your child has been diagnosed with dyslexia or if your child has reading difficulties, please plan to attend these meetings.

• For dates and location please click HERE.

Mission Viejo Choir Performing at the Nuggets Game! (Deadline: Thursday, 1/16)

• Our choir will be performing before the Denver Nuggets game on Thursday, 2/6 at 7pm (versus the Orlando Magic).

• If you would like to support the choir and purchase discounted tickets for this game, please click HERE.

• The deadline for purchasing tickets at the group rate is Thursday, 1/16 at 10am.

Parent Information Network (PIN) Meetings: Attend & Win!

• PIN’s mission is to provide informative local and national speakers on topics relevant to current parenting, education and youth-related issues and to provide a forum for parents to connect and create a caring community.

• PIN has monthly meetings. Click HERE for this year’s meeting topics, dates and locations.

• To encourage parent attendance at PIN meetings: any parent/guardian of a Mission Viejo student who attends either of these workshops will be entered to win a $25 gift card to King Soopers.

• These raffles will continue for every PIN meeting during the 2024-25 school year.

• For the details on how to enter the raffle, please click HERE.

Free & Reduced Lunch Application

• Even though school meals are free for all students, part of our school funding is based on the number of students who qualify for free/reduced lunch (using national income guidelines). In addition, there are other benefits if you complete the application and qualify for free/reduced lunch. Click HERE, to learn more about the benefits of applying for free/reduced lunch as well as the income qualifications.

• There is no income verification required for the free and reduced meal application. All information is “on your honor.”

• If you would like to apply for free/reduced lunch, please click HERE.

• Be sure to read the entire “Getting Started Page”, then click the “Begin Application Process” button near the bottom left of the page.

Non-Food Birthday Celebrations: Strongly Recommended

• Sending in food treats increases the spread of germs. In addition, we have students with food allergies and other dietary restrictions that cause food treats to exclude many students. For those reasons (and a few others), we are strongly encouraging “non-food birthday celebrations” during the school day. For some “non-food” ideas, please click HERE.

• Always check with your child’s teacher first to see what he/she finds acceptable for their classroom and be sure to provide advanced notice to make sure that they can fit the birthday plans into their schedule.