Dunstan Newsletter

February 7, 2025

Greetings Wonderful Parents and Guardians of Dunstan Students,

This has been a long but productive and positive week! Earlier this week our 7th graders went on a field trip to International Town, which is the older version of Young Ameritowne. This is the first time Dunstan has attended this learning experience. If you have a 7th grader, please extend your thanks to Mr. Reynolds and Ms. Prentiss for organizing this for the grade level!

Yesterday several of our choir students participated in the All State Choir at the Denver Center for Performing Arts. This is a wonderful opportunity for them to interact with other students who are passionate about vocal music and hear choirs from all around the state! If you have not seen this event, it includes thousands of students! We are blessed to live in an area that provides opportunities and venues, such as the DCPA, and that we have educators such as Ms. Rowlinson who see the benefit in these experiences!

On Wednesday night, I served as the secondary principal who met with our Board of Education during a study session. Our Board wanted to hear from a secondary principal, an instructional coach, and a teacher about how secondary schools are implementing our HMH Into Literature resource for language arts instruction. It was great to be able to share with them all of the wonderful things our ELA teachers are doing this year. We are already seeing gains in student performance as this is implemented, which is really exciting!

Now is a good time to make sure you are reviewing grades with your child in Infinite Campus and seeing all of the great things they are doing in Google Classroom. Next week we are looking forward to Parent-Teacher Conferences. These are invitation-only so that each team can work with each family for 25 minutes. Our goal during these conferences is to set some specific goals to help students for the remainder of this school year. If you did not receive an invitation to conferences, but you have questions or concerns and/or would like to schedule a meeting with your team’s teachers on a Wednesday morning when we meet to discuss supports for students, please contact your student’s counselor and/or grade level administrator:

6th Grade:

Jennifer Pennell; jennifer.pennell@jeffco.k12.co.us;

Jennifer Baker; jennifer.baker@jeffco.k12.co.us

7th Grade:

Megan Devitt-Haggstrom; megan.devitt-haggstrom@jeffco.k12.co.us ;

Leslie Walker; leslie.walker@jeffco.k12.co.us

8th Grade:

Michael Kitch; michael.kitch@jeffco.k12.co.us;

Ryan Cole; ryan.cole@jeffco.k12.co.us

This week we have addressed a few issues that are a result of and/or are being intensified by use of cell phones to say negative or hurtful things to others. As parents who care and want to know all about their kids, I would highly encourage all parents to not go down the road of assuming “not my kid” and instead regularly review your student’s cell use including texting, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, and calls. Some parents have been truly surprised to see the negative conversations that are occurring online that they were not aware of. If you find conversations that are negative, and that your child has contributed to the negativity, please review expectations that cell phones are to be used for good. Over my years of experience working with teens and their parents, it is good and healthy to reinforce boundaries and expectations with students, especially for online use.

Ms. Ivy received recognition from JeffCO secondary math for excellence in the classroom.

February:

• 12 and 13: Parent-Teacher Conferences 5:00-7:30 PM (Invite Only)

• 14: Professional Development Day for staff (NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS)

• 17: NO SCHOOL FOR PRESIDENT'S DAY

• 25: 5th/6th grade Orchestra Concert, GMHS auditorium, 6:00 PM

• 25: Career Fair for 7th grade students @ Evergreen Middle School

• 26: 5th grade Band Concert, DMS gym, 6:00 PM

• 27: Dunstan Band and Jazz Band Concert, DMS gym, 6:00 PM

March:

• 5: PTA Meeting 6-7 PM @ DMS

• 5: 8th graders and select 6th and 7th grade students attend Mamma Mia matinee at GMHS

• 6: Choir Performance @ DMS cafeteria, 6:00 PM

• 11: 7th-12th Grade Orchestra Concert, GMHS auditorium, 6:30 PM

• 17-21: NO SCHOOL FOR SPRING BREAK

• 24: Professional Development Day for staff (NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS)

April

• 8, 9, 10th: CMAS Testing
• 15: CMAS testing (8th grade ONLY)
• 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

• 12: Elementary/DMS Orchestra Concert, GMHS auditorium, 6:00 PM

• 13: 5th Grade Band Concert, DMS gym, 6:00 PM

• 14: Dunstan Band and Jazz Band Concert, DMS gym, 6:00 PM

• 15: Dunstan Choir Concert, DMS cafeteria, 6:00 PM

• 16: GMHS Graduation

• 22: 8th grade last day of school

• 23: Last day of school for 6th and 7th, Early Release

Please see the following signup to show our staff some love during the month of February! Link to sign up HERE. Thank you!!

"The Social Justice Group is hosting a movie night on February 28th to raise funds for the school garden, which will be starting this spring. Snacks will be available for a small donation, so come enjoy a great film while supporting a greener future for our school!"

There is growing concern about social media’s impact on youth. The Surgeon General recently issued an advisory to the public about its potential risks to youth mental health.

However, families often report challenges navigating social media with their youth. Jeffco Public Schools, in conjunction with Partners for Children’s Mental Health at Children’s Hospital Colorado, is hosting a virtual workshop that will explore the potential effects and signs of concern around social media use. Families that attend will receive a template for developing a social media plan with their youth and tips for navigating discussions around digital wellness. Click the photo below for the registration link!

Wednesday, February 26 | Noon – 1 p.m. | Virtual

Zoom link will be shared via email and on website closer to the session date.

All 8th grade students and select 6th and 7th graders, based on Exploratory classes, will have an opportunity to attend a matinee showing of Mamma Mia at the high school during school hours. More information coming in the future!

Let's spoil our amazing teachers and staff with a fiesta dinner on Wednesday February 12th for parent/teacher conferences. Please sign up to donate money (see below) or other dinner items HERE.

We also would like to support staff with a pizza dinner on Thursday, February 13th as well. Please sign up to donate money or other dinner items HERE.

Please drop off food items to the office the day before (February 11th) or no later than 1:00pm on Wednesday, February 12th.

Thank you for making this meal extra special for our hardworking teachers and staff!

Jackie Bell (303) 564 5651

Last call for career fair presenters!

On February 25, 2025 the following schools will have a joint Middle School Career Fair for 7th grade students: Evergreen Middle, Dunstan, Bell, and West Jeff middle schools, hosted by Evergreen Middle School.

If you are interested in showcasing your career or company, please sign up to join us at the event (and/or any others in the Middle School Career Fair Series!). See flyer linked below.

Event flyer

Event Options and Sign Up

If you are interested in volunteering in another capacity at the career fair (supervising students, helping with set up/break down, keeping refreshments stocked for presenters, etc.), please reach out to Leslie Walker.

Questions about presenting or specifics of the event? Contact Miranda Ziegler at Miranda.Ziegler@jeffco.k12.co.us

Questions about Dunstan 7th graders’ participation? Contact Leslie Walker, 7th grade counselor at Leslie.Walker@jeffco.k12.co.us

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.