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Cougar Community Connection

A weekly newsletter from your principal, Shannon McPherson

Cougar CommunityConnectionA weekly newsletter from your principal, ShannonMcPherson

10/27/23

Dear CRUNFamily,

It was a great first week back. We kicked it off with an AWESOME community night at HRHS where the Harlem Wizards took on the elementary staff teams in our Highlands Ranch High School feeder. A huge thanks to Cale Aerenson, Stephanie Hinkle, Kia Brown and Tanya Cote for showcasing their athletic skills giving the Wizards a run for their money. We had a great turn out from our CRUNFamily who were there to cheer on the team and enjoy a super fun night of laughs and fun. Halloween lands on Tuesday of next week. Make sure to check out the section about our costume parade and teachers are communicating about class parties. It's going to be chilly but the parade is pretty quick. Kids are welcome to pop on a coat over their costume if they would like. We ended the week with another fabulous event put on by Nate Biggs and the PTA, "Donuts With Grownups". These events are a ton of work and we appreciate Nate for spearheading it and also to those folks who showed up to set up, serve and clean up the event. Thank you to everyone who came and had breakfast with us to end our first week back from fall break.

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Go Hinkle!!!!

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Team CRUN~Cote, Hinkle, Aerenson and Brown

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Go Cote!!!

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Donuts with Grown Ups

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Donuts with Grown Ups

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Donuts with Grown Ups

A Note From PTA


Thank you to everyone who volunteered and attended the Donuts with Grownups last night and today. It was a labor of love.


Upcoming Events:

1. Friday, November 10th - PTA Meeting

2. Thursday, November 30th - Art & Cultural Night - 5-7pm - More info coming soon! Start thinking about your favorite cultural dish!

Spotlight on~ Christine Baird Music Teacher

We are excited about what Mrs. Baird is bringing to our music program. Because of her incredible work advocating for elementary school music programs, she has received grants both from our community through PTA fundraising, as well as donations from her own outreach and our students are beginning their music programming, learning how to play actual instruments. She is finishing up her last units of study and in two weeks the instrument learning will begin. She is kicking it off with the intermediate grades learning keyboards followed by Ukuleles. Our primary students will be learning drums, musical movement with scarves, followed by orchestra string instruments. We are so lucky to have her expertise and are excited for the transformation of musical instrument education at Cougar Run.

Facts About the Upcoming Bond/MLO Measure


Dear Cougar Run Elementary Community,

On August 8, the Douglas County School District Board of Education unanimously voted 7-0 to place a $66 million Mill Levy Override (MLO) and $484 million Bond on the November 2023 ballot.

If passed by voters, these new funds would be used at our school to:

  • Increase teacher and staff pay

  • Enhance safety and security

    • Addition of Campus Security Specialist

  • Refresh student and staff technology

  • Make much needed repairs and upgrades to our building

    • Replace boilers

    • Replace flooring

    • Replace restroom countertops

    • Install new intercom system

    • Upgrade sound system

Teachers in the Douglas County School District earn, on average, $19,000 less compared to a neighboring school district. Additional MLO funding, if passed by voters, would enable DCSD to pay teachers and staff more competitively and to increase security staffing support for our schools.

  • DCSD teachers, on average, would receive a 9% pay increase, as reflected in these salary schedules

  • Support staff, such as bus drivers, educational assistants, custodians, etc., would receive a 9% pay increase

  • Other staff would receive a 7% pay increase

A $484 million Bond, if passed by voters, would be used to expand trade, career and technical education opportunities; perform safety and security upgrades; and ensure safe and adequate learning environments for students and staff. The Bond would provide for three new elementary schools in growing areas of our county, as well as the expansion of two middle schools.

If the MLO and Bond are approved by voters, Douglas County homeowners can expect to pay approximately $200 per year for a home valued at $1,000,000.

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


Sincerely,

Shannon McPherson
Principal

Cougar Run Elementary School

Halloween At Cougar Run October 31st

It's a tradition at Cougar Run to have a Halloween costume parade the morning of Halloween in our Cougar Run Park. We will continue this tradition this year at 9:00 am. Families can line the park and watch the parade which will start at the bus loop doors, following the sidewalk on the south side of the building, passed the Park Pavilion, coming down the hill and back into the building. Please have your child wear their costume to school and bring a change of clothes for after the parade. We won't have time to help students get dressed in their costume at school, so please take care of that at home. We want to remind families that Cougar Run has students as young as 3 years old, so we need to refrain from wearing costumes that are overly scary or gory. Students can wear masks that are appropriate, but no facsimile of weapons of any kind (fake guns, swords, knives, axes, pitch forks etc). Teachers will be sending out information about their Halloween party details and needs in their classroom newsletters. Parties occur at different times throughout the day, so watch for the time for your child's class. If you are sending in treats, please make sure they are store bought so the allergy information can be identified. For specific questions about Halloween parties, please reach out to your child's teacher.

Art to Remember

Hi families and friends,

Our school is participating in a creative fundraiser with Art to Remember that allows you to purchase keepsake products customized with your child's art. There are over 60 products and many are less than $15. These make great gifts and a percentage of every purchase goes right back to our school. Click on the link below and enter the online order code shown on your child's order form or to search for your child's artwork. Then, have fun shopping!

https://arttoremember.com/school/4WEEK9

Enjoy!

Emily Joines

Memos From McEachen~Your Volunteer Coordinator

It’s that time of year, again! Our Fall Book Fair is right around the corner!! Mrs. Woody relies on volunteer help to make this a fun and successful event. Please sign up HERE to volunteer November 10th - 17th! Questions? Please reach out to Beckie McEachen. Thanks, again, for supporting CRUN’s Learning Commons.

Counselor's Corner~ Mrs. Boisson

Enrichment topics/lessons for the week of 10/30-11/3

K: Bullying Prevention Lesson

1: Bullying Prevention Lesson

2: Bullying Prevention Lesson

3: Bullying Prevention Lesson

4: Bullying Prevention Lesson

5: Bullying Prevention Lesson

6: Bullying Prevention Lesson


We would love to host Girls On The Run again for the spring of 2024. If you are interested in volunteering as a coach and/or would like more information on the program, please reach out to Tara Boisson at tboisson@dcsdk12.org


Helping Hands for the Holidays is an Integrated Family Community Service enrichment program that provides children aged newborn to 10 years old with holiday gifts through the generosity of community sponsors and donors. Please have your families use this site to apply.

Veterans Day Celebration

Friday November 10 is our Veterans Day celebration (Saturday November 11 is the official day.) We are going to have a small celebration on Friday morning.

We invite any active duty and veteran parents, family members and community members that morning at 7:45 there will be a gathering near the flag pole out front. Our students who are in Boy Scout Pack 696 will ceremoniously raise the flag. Afterwards we will host bagel slices and coffee for our Active Duty and Veteran parents and community members that attend.

Open Enrollment Deadlines (Out of our Attendance Area Families)

Hello Cougar Run family,

This message is for our out of CRUN attendance area families only:

Application for Open Enrollment for the 24-25 school year is opening up soon. IF you have a NEW student who you would like to attend Cougar Run for the upcoming 24-25 school year AND your address is out of the Cougar Run boundaries, then you will need to apply for Open Enrollment for your NEW student.

Once a student is accepted for Open Enrollment they are accepted at our school through 6th grade - you do not need to apply each school year. This means that your current Cougar Run Elementary open-enrolled student is good through 6th grade But if you have, for example, a kindergarten student for the 24-25 school year, you will need to apply for open enrollment for your kindergarten student.

You can check your address here to see which Elementary School is associated with your address.

If you want to apply for Open Enrollment for your NEW student for the 24-25 school year you can go to this link starting November 1st. The Open Enrollment application window opens November 1st and closes December 1st at 4pm.

Feel free to contact our registrar, Charlene (clube@dcsdk12.org) or Choice Programming (303-387-9506) if you have any Open Enrollment questions.

Charlene Lube

Cougar Run Elementary

Registrar

charlene.lube@dcsdk12.org

Nominate your 2024 Apple Award Nominee Today!! Link is LIVE!!

As of today you will find the 2024 Apple Award Nomination link LIVE on your school's page on the FoundationDCS.org website. The 2024 Apple Award Nomination window will be open from Monday October 2, 2023 through Sunday November 12, 2023. We invite our DCSD students, teachers, staff and community to join us in nominating their favorite teacher(s), principal, classified employee and department employee. After the Nomination window closes on November 12th we will return the list of nominees to each school for your own selection of this year's school representatives. Each school may submit one educator and one classified representative to be considered for the 2024 Apple Award!

Why Does Attendance Matter?

Advanced/Gifted Programming 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).

6th Grade Universal Screen

As part of this process, ALL students in Cougar Run not identified for gifted programming will take the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) on November 7 & 8. 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 information about this process.

Gifted Identification Referral Testing

  • If your child is in grades 3, 4, 5, and you believe they need evaluation for Gifted Identification and Services, you may refer your child for testing by initiating the Gifted Identification Process.

  • NOTE: Requesting this assessment automatically initiates the process to evaluate for Gifted Identification.

  • Please request CogAT testing for your child by completing the Referral for Gifted Identification linked HERE

  • Upon receipt of this form the Gifted Education Facilitator will connect with you to discuss next steps in the gifted identification process.

Upcoming Dates to Remember

October 30-November 3- CRUN Bus Canceled

October 31-9:00 Halloween Parade/Classroom Parties Vary Times

November 3-Staff Development Day- NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS

November 7-Election Day

November 10-7:45 Veterans Day Flag Ceremony (Front Flag Pole at CRUN)

November 10-9:00 PTA Meeting (Welcome to all parents!!)

November 13-17- Fall Book Fair

November 20-24- Thanksgiving Break-No School

November 28- 9:00 Cougar Run SAC Meeting

November 30-5:00-7:30pm Art and Cultural Celebration Night

December 8-9:00 PTA Meeting (Welcome to all parents)

December 11-15 Holiday Shoppe

December 11-15- CRUN Bus Canceled

December 15- ROCKS Assemblies 9:00 prek-3rd/ 2:15 4th-6th (ROCKS Invites will come home in Friday Folders the week of December 4 for any student who was chosen for ROCKS this first semester. )

December 22-January 8-Winter Break No School

January 9-Classes Resume at CRUN