Cougar Community Connection

Dear CRUNFamily,

What an amazing way to end our week with our Fabulous CRUN Fun Run! We can't thank our wonderful PTA for the countless hours they put into making this event happen. We have raised over 68,000 dollars for our sweet school and that was all due to the hard work from PTA rounding up corporate sponsors as well as the work our kids and families put into fund raising. As you all know, school funding continues to be an issue and we appreciate all that our Cougar Run Family does for our school to allow us to provide top notch programming for the best kids in Douglas County. It was a super fun day and we thank all of you for being a part of it!

Hello #CRUNfamily!

The PTA would like to send out a huge thank you to everyone that helped with the Fun Run. Thank you to Rick and Christine Garcia for the awesome playlist. Thank you to Meagan Stuart for being an energetic rock star as our emcee. Thank you to Holly and Andy Quirk for the sound system. Thank you for the coolers. They are in the school entryway, if you haven’t picked up yet. Thank you to the great set up crew. Thank you to Mrs. Baird for rearranging the cones, so the course worked better. Thank you to Mrs. Joines for her endless energy. Thank you to the bib markers. That took courage as the kids came running up to you. Thank you to the clean up crew. Thank you to Sunny Party Rentals for the tents and tables. Thank you to Andy’s Frozen Custard for rewarding all of these hard working kids. Finally, thank you to our planning team: Kayla Vice, Abby Durrant, Meagan Stuart, and Megan Noraddin.

We have extended the time for donations to Sunday at 7:59pm! We have made our original goal! Yay!! Thank you for your generosity. Now let’s reach for the stretch goal of $80,000! Reaching the stretch goal will get a FREE End of Year Carnival and we can turn Mrs. McPherson into an ice cream sundae! The link to donate is here: https://www.givebacks.com/onboarding/causes/crunpta/campaigns/c863e86efacebd

Our next PTA meeting is Friday at 8:45am in the Learning Commons. Join us! All are welcome.

Have a lovely weekend.

CRUN PTA

Here are the themes for the week. Let’s have fun and celebrate all the hard work we have done this first 8 weeks of school!

• Monday 10/7: Dress to Impress Day

• Wear fancy clothes

• Tuesday 10/8: Multiples Day

• Match with your friends (2, 3, 4 or more)

• Wednesday 10/9: Crazy Hair Day

• The sky's the limit - Be creative!

• Thursday 10/10: Sports Day

• Wear your favorite sport team gear

• Friday 10/11: Pj Day

• Let’s be comfy before Fall break!

The CRUN Special Education Team is truly the best there is! This incredible team of educators bend over backwards to support the needs of our students through special education. The education and training these humans have is off the charts allowing them to have the cutting edge best practices necessary to meet the needs of our most divergent learners. In case you didn't know, we have 2 educational psychologists, Bowman and Wu, 2 learning specialists, Vickers and Carr, 2 speech language pathologists, Dinkins and Morris, an occupational therapist, Thorn and an Autism Spectrum Disorder Center Based Teacher, Pennell. Together this team makes magic happen for students who have daily challenges and help all find success here at school. We are so grateful to this talented group for all they do for students and staff here at CRUN!

As we continue to do an amazing job of sending in Longmont Milk caps for recycling, we are in need of a family that would be willing to place the large bagged collection of milk caps on their front porch for pick up when they get a milk delivery. If you can assist with this, please let Lorie Aksamit know at laksamit@dcsdk12.org Thanks!

An opportunity for RETAKES will be on October 11. Please let your teacher and Mrs. McNamara know that you are wanting your child to retake their photo on that date. ajmcnamara@dcsdk12.org

For students who want retakes, and have already ordered packages, they would return those packages to the photographer to have the packages reprinted. For digital images, parents need to send in a copy of the printed receipt.

Students having a makeup photo taken will not be able to preorder on the website, but will have access to order a package once the retake day photos are uploaded.

Here is the link to the ordering website again: https://shop.imagequix.com/g1001155615

and families can use the student's school ID/lunch number as the online code.

Thank you to all of the Dads and Grandpas who turned up at the Watch DOG Informational Meeting. We heard some incredible testimonials from our Watch DOGS. If you missed out, please email me and we can send you the slide show. If you want to try it out, please sign up for a full day or participate day here.

Huge shout out to all of our #CRUNfamily who volunteered at our annual FunRun Fundraiser. We couldn't have been as successful without all of your help.

Next up, we will be hosting a free community event Donuts with Grown-ups. A SignUp for volunteers to help setup and serve will be released after you enjoy your Fall Break.

October 30, 2024 5:30-8:00pm Find all the details HERE!

Diwali

The DCSD Diwali celebration on October 28 is at RCHS on Monday, October 28 from 7:00 to 8:30 pm.!

RSVP by October 7!

Here is the invitation for students and families.

Hispanic Heritage Month

Conexion is hard at work to celebrate the Hispanic culture.

When: Tuesday, October 22, 6:00-7:30 pm

Where: Legacy Campus, Liniger Hall

Please print the JPEG image above or here is the flier as a PDF format or PNG file.

**We hope you are able to share these respective invitations with families and staff.

People must RSVP on the link below - space is limited:

(https://forms.gle/D55veSiqx9Mcsfxg9)

CogAT Universal Testing and Referral Information

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 5 & 6. 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.

Parents,

We are excited to create a memorable keepsake for students this year, but we cannot be everywhere to photograph every event nor every classroom. We have to depend on YOU to submit photos in order to create this keepsake. Please submit your information and photos to this form. You can fill out the form as many times as you would like! Thank you for being the eyes and the photographers to make this successful!

HERE is the Yearbook Submission Form.

Mental Health Wellness Night Flyer

Thursday, October 24th at Cresthill Middle School 5-7 pm

Join us for an enriching evening dedicated to supporting your child's mental health and well-being. This FREE event features insightful workshops designed to equip you with practical strategies and knowledge on various

aspects of student mental health.

Dear Cougar Run Elementary Community,

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 main electrical service equipment

• Replace flooring

• Install new intercom system

• Replace sink countertops

• Replace theater and stage equipment

• Upgrade sound system

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!

Sincerely,

Shannon McPherson

Principal

Cougar Run Elementary School

October 8- Cougar Run Restaurant Night

October 11- 8:45am PTA Meeting

October 14-18-NO SCHOOL-Fall Break

October 21-25- NO CRUN BUS THIS WEEK

October 25-Donuts with Grownups

November 8th- PTA Meeting 8:45 in the Learning Commons

November 12- CRUN Restaurant Night

November 18-22- CRUN Book Fair

November 25-29- NO SCHOOL THANKSGIVING BREAK

December 2-6- NO CRUN BUS THIS WEEK

December 9-13- CRUN Holiday Shoppe (Hosted by PTA)

December 12- ROCKS Assemblies 9:00 PK-2nd Grade, 2:15-3rd-6th

December 20-January 6- NO SCHOOL WINTER BREAK-School Resumes January 7th