Dunstan Newsletter

October 25, 2024

Greetings Parents and Guardians,

I hope you are enjoying the incredible October! We have been having so much fun with the kids from all grade levels! This week the first group of students went to Windy Peak Outdoor Lab School. I was able to join them for a few hours on Wednesday morning. The weather was warm and some Aspen leaves were still on the branches of the trees. The students were enjoying the experience with the staff, interns, high school leaders, and peers!

Thank you to many parents who contributed to meals for our staff during Parent-Teacher Conferences last week! We had a strong turnout for conferences and enjoyed the opportunity to connect with you! Thank you for your participation and engagement!

Last week our Community Superintendent, Instructional Coach, and I walked through Language Arts classrooms. We noticed significant improvements from this time last year to this year. We specifically looked for learning targets that are aligned to Standards, tasks students were working on aligned to posted learning targets, and engagement of the students. We are encouraging our staff to design instruction that encourages more student discourse about content. The teachers at Dunstan are very responsive and will continue to adapt over the course of this school year.

This week some of our students enjoyed a trip to the Arvada Center to watch the performance of “Once Upon A Mattress.” This was coordinated by Ms. Rowlison and Ms. Waterhouse who are coordinating our musical. We are blessed to live in an area that has many opportunities to see live performances such as this.

We also had some students and parent chaperones go to downtown Denver and experience Sakuro Square as part of our World Language and Cultures class. Thank you to the many parents who volunteered to support our students on this field trip!

Please encourage your students to continue to grow and mature, in spite of the many struggles they encounter with being a teen! We have recently experienced some struggles with students posting inappropriate videos on social media. Technology is an easy way to post messages and videos without thinking. If you allow your student to use social media, please regularly check their various accounts and provide guidance about what is and is not appropriate uses of social media.

Next week our next two groups of sixth graders will go to Outdoor Lab. We are such a large

school that we require the use of both sites, Windy Peak and Blue Sky Outdoor Lab Schools. Please continue to read the rest of the newsletter to see photos of these joyous events.

In partnership,

Jen Pennell

October:

• 28-31: Outdoor Lab (Windy Peak and Mt. Blue Sky)
• 30: GMHS Trick or Treat Street 6:00-8:00 PM

November:

• 1: Professional Development Day for staff (NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS)
• 6: Cyber Safety Parent Presentation 4:45-5:45 @ DMS (library)
• 6: PTA Meeting 6-7 PM @ DMS
• 25-29: NO SCHOOL FOR THANKSGIVING BREAK

December:

• 2: GMHS Future Ram Showcase 6:00-8:00 PM
• 5: Open House 5:30-6:30 PM
• 10 Area Band Festival GMHS Gym 6:00 pm
• 17: Orchestra Concert @ GMHS
• 19: Choir Concert @ DMS
• 23-30: NO SCHOOL FOR WINTER BREAK

January:

• 1-2: NO SCHOOL FOR WINTER BREAK
• 3: Professional Development Day for staff (NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS)
• 6: Professional Development Day for staff (NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS)
• 8: PTA Meeting 6-7 PM @ DMS
• 20: NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS AND STAFF (MLK Day)

February:

• 12 and 13: Parent Teacher Conferences 5:00-7:30 PM
• 14: Professional Development Day for staff (NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS)
• 17: NO SCHOOL FOR PRESIDENT'S DAY
• 27: Orchestra Concert @ DMS

March:

• 5: PTA Meeting 6-7 PM @ DMS
• 6: GMHS Spring Musical matinee for DMS 8th graders
• 6: Choir Performance @ DMS
• 10: Orchestra Concert @ GMHS
• 13: Band Concert @ DMS
• 17-21: NO SCHOOL FOR SPRING BREAK
• 24: Professional Development Day for staff (NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS)

April

• 16: 5:00-6:30 PM SEL Resource Fair for incoming 6th grade students and families
• 25: Professional Development Day for staff (NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS)

May:

• 7: PTA Meeting 6-7 PM @ DMS
• 9: 8th Grade Dance
• 16: GMHS Graduation
• 22: 8th grade last day of school
• 23: Last day of school for 6th and 7th, Early Release

Dear Parent/Guardian,

We are happy to share information about a new program starting at our school and throughout Jeffco Schools for students in grades 5-12. It’s called Signs of Suicide (SOS) for Students and includes classroom lessons and check-ins with our mental health professionals, based on student request. Youth suicide is a public health issue affecting many youth across the nation, including students in the Jeffco community. According to the most recent statewide Healthy Kids Colorado Survey, 22.8% of participating Jeffco Middle School and High School students anonymously reported considering suicide in their lifetimes. Through SOS for Students we will discuss suicide prevention and teach students about warning signs and risk factors for suicide, as well as the lifesaving measure of seeking adult help.

Over 1.5 million students throughout the US receive SOS lessons annually. Studies have shown that it effectively teaches students about depression and suicide while reducing the number of students’ self-reported suicide attempts. Students report that after taking the SOS lesson, they are 64% less likely to make a suicide attempt.

Through the program, students learn:

• that depression is treatable and they are encouraged to seek help

• how to identify depression and potential suicide risk in themselves or a friend

• to ACT (Acknowledge, Care and Tell a trusted adult)when there is a suicide concern

• who they can turn to at school for help, when needed

Students will watch age-appropriate video clips and participate in a guided discussion about depression, suicide, and what steps to take when you have a concern about suicide. Following the discussion, students will complete exit slips and specify if they’d like to speak with an adult about a concern. School staff will conduct brief meetings with any student who asks for support.

We encourage you to visit the SOS Parent & Guardian Site for information on warning signs for youth suicide, useful resources, and some of the key messages students will learn.

We are including:

• An infographic (Spanish) with ACT

• An SOS parent resource sheet (Spanish)

• Crisis Numbers / Walk In Centers (Spanish)

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s participation, or would like your child to opt out of this program, please contact Leslie Pruitt at leslie.pruitt@jeffco.k12.co.us.

Sincerely,
Jen Pennell, Principal

Our only fundraiser of the year launches November 1. Your donations fund specific teacher projects, school-wide initiatives, and other programs to improve our school community.

The link for Dunstan's PTA Colorado Gives Day page is HERE.

Scroll down to the "Supporting Campaigns" section to view the individual teacher fundraising campaigns. Each teacher will receive 25% of the funds raised by their Advise class.

Dunstan staff and faculty have a lot of great ideas for how they would use funds raised during Colorado Gives Day. These include a Mural for the front of school, mental health supplies, technology updates, audio upgrades, band and orchestra equipment, musical choreographer, school clubs, reading enrichment, WEB Leaders, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) for students, 8th grade continuation, staff appreciation, and more.

For more information, to create a matching gift, or to learn more about how you can join or support the PTA, please reach out to aadams3633@gmail.com.

We appreciate your generous support as we help all Dunstan Middle School students and staff be ENGAGED, INSPIRED and EMPOWERED.

Hello 6th Grade Parents! The countdown is on and we will be leaving for Outdoor Lab at Windy Peak / Mt. Blue Sky unjust a few weeks. Please read the information below in its entirety.

• Medication: If your student takes ANY type of over the counter medication daily not listed below, prescription medication, or herbal supplement, we MUST have a medication administration form signed by the physician or it can NOT be administered at Outdoor Lab.
• Do NOT send: (These are available at camp if you gave consent on the OELS Consent form) ● Aloe Vera Gel ● Acetaminophen (Tylenol) ● Antacid (TUMS) ● Benadryl (liquid, chewable, tablet) ● Cough Drops ● Eye Wash Solution ● Gatorade ● Hydrocortisone 1% Topical Cream ● Ibuprofen (Advil/Motrin) ● Insect Sting Relief Pad ● Throat Lozenges (Chloraseptic/Cepacol) ● Triple Antibiotic Ointment (Neosporin/Bacitracin)
• Please ONLY send the amount of pills needed plus ONE extra dose in the original packaging with the correct expiration date. We cannot accept expired medications or medications in baggies. Your pharmacy can provide labels and containers.
• If your child has any self carry medications (emergency medications only such as albuterol or epi-pens) they must turn those into the Nurse and Health Aide for the bus ride. They then will receive their self-carry medications back once they get to Outdoor Lab. Their medications WILL travel on the bus with them if they were to need them for the bus ride.

***Please drop your meds off in the health room the Wednesday before departure.*** Do NOT wait until the morning of departure. Meds will NOT be collected the morning of without a scheduled appointment with your Health Aide or District RN. This will allow us to make sure your student is able to depart on time with the bus. Medications that have not been appropriately accounted for will NOT be able to travel with your student.

If you have medications in the health room that you plan on having sent with your student please make those arrangements with our Health Tech, Simone Meyer.

Thank you,

Dunstan Middle School Health Team

Katie Buckman, RN Email: katie.buckman@jeffco.k12.co.us Phone: (720) 315-3849

Simone Meyer, Health Tech Email: simone.meyer@jeffco.k12.co.us Phone: (303) 982-9270

Learn about what's going on at the high school.

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, things you would like to add to the newsletter or if you notice any errors, please reach out directly to Leslie Pruitt at leslie.pruitt@jeffco.k12.co.us or Michael Kitch at michael.kitch@jeffco.k12.co.us. Thank you!

We are looking for volunteers to fill important roles on the Dunstan PTA next school year:

• President
• Vice President
  
  

Learn how these PTA roles support our community at https://sites.google.com/view/dunstanpta/about-us

You can support the Dunstan PTA even through the summer by linking your King Soopers card to the PTA. It's an easy way to support our school - at no cost to you!

Simply log in to Community Rewards and search for us: https://bit.ly/2R6y1mk.