Blevins Bulletin
December 8th , 2023
April 5th, 2024 Principal's Message
Each spring, schools throughout the state engage in the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS). These assessments provide an important measurement benchmark for each student's academic achievement and growth in Mathematics and English-Language Arts, as well as Science at the 8th grade level. With these measures, we can reflect on the effectiveness of our instructional practices and systems of support for our students, while also providing accountability for our performance to the Colorado Department of Education (CDE).
Last spring, our Blevins students showed tremendous achievement and growth in their CMAS results. As a school, we met “Performance” status, according to CDE, which is the highest rating. This was a result of the hard work and dedication of our students, as well as intentional strategies and support systems implemented by our staff. This school year, we’ve continued that same work, while adding on more layers of support for our students. We believe that the positive results will show again in our students’ assessment. I hope that you consider joining us in ensuring that our students are ready and excited for the assessments. A good night's sleep, some healthy food, and a positive attitude go a long way.
As a school, and in partnership with our PTO, we are excited to continue our implementation of prizes during our testing week. We saw this bring high levels of enthusiasm and effort from our students last year. Students will be given bronze, silver, and gold raffle tickets for their levels of engagement during the testing sessions. These prizes include snacks, fun school supplies, Stanley water cups, sports equipment, a Nintendo Switch, and even more! Students whose families have elected for their child to not engage in the test will also be provided access to raffle tickets while at school during the testing sessions.
CMAS Test Days will be April 11, 16, and 17th. Our 8th grade students will also complete their Science tests on April 12th. At the end of each test day, we will hold our Bronze ticket raffle. On April 17th, we will hold our Silver ticket raffle. And, most exciting, we will hold our Gold ticket raffle at our Spring Reading Fair on Monday, April 22nd from 5:30-7pm at Blevins’ back fields! Families are invited for this event.
With the efforts and collaboration of our staff, and student leadership groups, I strongly believe that this will be a great experience for our students and an exciting opportunity for Blevins.
If you would like to exempt your child from the assessments, please reach out to Dusti Sanger, our Assistant Principal and assessment coordinator. Our hope is to support you in the best way possible.
Believe in Blevins!
Joe Zappa, Principal
970-488-4000
IMPORTANT Facilities Planning Steering Committee Information
Please take note to the deadline extension for the online questionnaire.
The deadline to fill out a questionnaire for the Facilities Planning Steering Committee has been extended to 5 p.m. on April 17. The questionnaire provides information about the four draft scenarios for school consolidation and boundary adjustments the committee presented to school board members last month, asks participants to rank the scenarios and provide reasons for those rankings. After attending one of the committee’s listening sessions or watching the committee’s March 19 presentation, take the questionnaire online in English (link here), Spanish (link here), or Arabic (link here).
Please email longrangeplanning@psdschools.org.
CONGRATULATIONS
The following students will have artwork featured in the Designs and Images Art show at the Foothills Mall.
Iyla Ameson
Amara Bandong
Elena Bowman
Sophia Vander Broeck
Savannah DeGear
Jacob Dodson
Jackson Jarvis
Lillian Larson
Lilly Maxwell
Alex Miller
Dakota Miner
Lulu Richmond
Katrina Rockwood
Emma Shannon
Sam Sidgwick
Kinsley Sommers
Emma Wallis
Eisley Wight
Designs and Images
Art Show Dates: April 4th - May 6th, 2024
Reception Date: Thursday, April 4th | 5-7pm
Location: 215 E. Foothills Pkwy, Fort Collins
SPIRIT WEEK FUN
Rocky StuCo members (and former Blevins Bruins) came to Blevins to encourage 8th grade students to apply for a position next year.
Important Dates
Friday, April 5th: School Dance 5:00-6:30 $5.00
❗❗April 16th: Board of Education Steering Committee Listening Session 5:30-10:00pm in the auditorium at Poudre High School, 201 S. Impala Drive in Fort Collins. Microphones will be available so attendees may share thoughts with the board. Board listening session will be recorded and posted on the PSD website, they will not be livestreamed.
Thursday, April 18th: Last Day of Bruin Club
Friday, April 19th: NO SCHOOL
😃Monday, April 22nd: SAVE THE DATE- Bruin Club Bloomin Bonanza Community FUN Night 5:30-7:00 (Flyer Below)
Tuesday, April 23rd: Blevins SAC Meeting 5:30-6:30 (Collaboration Café)
Friday, April 26th: RMHS Stuco Interviews 8:00am-9:00am (Blevins Library)
PSD Honor Band & Orchestra Performance @ FCHS 6:00-8:00
Monday, April 29th: Finding Nemo JR. rehearsals 3:30-7:30
Tuesday, April 30th: Finding Nemo JR. rehearsals 3:30-7:30
BLOOMIN BONANZA FUN EVENT AT BLEVINS!!
BONANZAMONDAY, APRIL 22ND FROM 5:30PM-7PM
FOOD- BOOK FAIR- GAMES-
POUDRE VALLEY BOOK MOBILE (EVIE)-
BRUIN CLUB END OF YEAR SHOWCASE
BONANZALUNES 22 DE ABRIL DE 2024 DE 5:30 P.M. A 7:00 P.M.
COMIDA - FERIA DEL LIBRO - JUEGOS
LIBRERIA MÓVIL DE POUDRE VALLEY
(EVIE) - EXHBICIÓN DE FIN DE AÑO
DEL CLUB BRUINS!
A Message from Blevins PTO
Happy National Walk to Work Day from the Blevins PTO! This is Eric Bowman, your PTO President! Awww, it’s the end of the work day and you didn’t know it was National Walk to Work Day? Darn.
Thank you to everyone who attended our final PTO meeting of the year on Tuesday!
As you are aware, the Poudre School District and Facilities Planning Steering Committee are considering many options for boundary modifications, school consolidations and educational program changes that would take effect in the 2025-26 school year. All of the current options have an impact on the future of Blevins Middle School. If you are unfamiliar with the options being presented, please find them in the link below:
On April 16th, the Poudre School District Board of Education will host a listening session from 5:30-10:00 at Poudre High School. Please attend if you are able to.
I have been made aware of a petition being shared by PSD families that opposes the consolidation of Poudre District Schools. As of this writing, over 300 people have signed the petition. Since this PTO newsletter bit comes out over official PSD channels, I won’t specifically link the petition here. If you are interested in looking, the petition is on change.org. You could also email me directly and I can forward you the link.
Blevins has some fun events coming up in the next couple of months that we’ll need some help with. In April there is a Scholastic book fair, and we will be looking for some help to run cash registers and set up! In May we’ll be celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week, so be on the lookout for that!
BELIEVE IN BLEVINS!
Eric Bowman
303-885-9734
Bruin Spring Athletic Schedule
Meets/Games for Bruin Softball, Track and Golf
Blevins Unified Basketball
Unified Basketball
6th-8th Grade
First Practice Monday April 8th
Coach: Megan McDonough mmcdonough@psdschools.org
Bruin Club Spring Session
Even if your student does not need homework help, we encourage them to attend this drop-in program to meet other students, engage in fun activities, or to have a safe space to hang out after school. Please see the list of additional fun programs that are offered along with Homework Help.
Bruin Club Information Spring Session Dates: 3/18/24 – 4/18/24
*Please note, programs do not run on holidays, school out days, or when PSD has early dismissals or cancellations*
Daily Schedule Monday - Thursday 2:45pm-5:45pm Students meet and sign-in, Blevins Library
Student Check- In (Library 2:45)
Homework Help 2:45-3:15
Program of Choice 3:15-4:45 (See List of Daily Programs below)
Homework Help/Community Building (Library) 4:45-5:45
Finding Nemo JR. Coming Soon
Friday, 3 May at 7:00 pm
Saturday, 4 May at 3:00 pm
Friday, 10 May at 7:00 pm (Select Understudies take lead roles)
Saturday, 11 May at 3:00 pm
Information will be communicated when tickets sales begin
Bruin Gear
Rocky Mountain High School Cheerleader Tryouts
Rocky Mountain High School Cheerleading
Tryout Packet 2024-2025
Head Coach: Lauren Roth
Rocky Mountain High School Dance Team Tryouts
Dance Team Tryouts
Bauder Elementary Community Fun Night
Girls Basketball Camp @ FCHS
Support Blevins
Thank You Blevins Sponsor
Thank you to Ed Carroll Motor Company for Sponsoring our Lego Robotics Team.
We appreciate your support!
Who To Contact
Joe Zappa, Principal
970-488-4004
Dusti Sanger, Assistant Principal
970-488-4002
Scott Schreiner, Assistant Principal/Athletic Director
970-488-4036
Michele Trujillo, Office Manager
970-488-4004
Anna Burris, 7th Grade Counselor & 6th Grade Panda Den Counselor
970-488-4091
Meg Stump, 8th Grade Counselor & 6th Grade Polar Den Counselor
970-488-4010
Erin McCain, Academic Dean* & School Counselor
*Guidance for academic supports for Blevins students
970-488-4009
2023-2024 Calendars
PSD Information
9th annual Mental Health Matters event
Dear PSD families:
Here at Poudre School District, we understand the importance of supporting our students’ mental and emotional health, as well as their physical health. That's why we are excited to announce our 9th annual Mental Health Matters event. This event provides our community with invaluable information on a variety of mental health topics. Come check out lectures from knowledgeable community members and take home valuable tips and tricks to benefit your whole family!
Please join us on April 16 at Fossil Ridge High School, 5400 Ziegler Road in Fort Collins
- Doors open at 5:15 p.m. for a Resource Fair showing off all of the amazing community support we have in the Fort Collins area.
- We are thrilled to announce that Michael Kutcher is this year's keynote speaker from 6-7:30 p.m., talking about overcoming the odds and “Diffability.”
- From 7:45-8:30 p.m. there will be five breakouts sessions running concurrently on a variety of Mental Health topics, such as cyber safety education, resiliency, substance use trends and harm reduction, the circadian clock and how sleep affects our life, and more!
About Michael Kutcher: www.michaelkutcher.com/
Mental Health Matters Website: https://tinyurl.com/PSD-MentalHealthMatters
We look forward to seeing some of you there!
Be well,
Poudre School District
CSU SWiFT STEM Camp
Front Range Community College Girls Welding Camp
Parent Cafe
Pack Pantry Options