Blevins Bulletin

Hello Blevins Families,

December is flying by, and it is a busy and fun time at Blevins! This week, our GT teacher, Ms. Monica Jankow engaged her students in "Night of the Radishes". In this very unique and engaging enrichment activity, students participated in a Oaxaca tradition of decorating radishes for the holiday season. I was fortunate to see some incredible carvings and arrangements - the students had a blast!

We also concluded Bruin Club for the semester (please note that this is not available next week), but will kick back up again on Monday, January 13. While that concludes, we have still have plenty of excitement in our upcoming final week before Winter Break. Boys' basketball playoffs begin, and we get to see our Theatre class perform Murder on the 518 on Thursday at 7pm. Please join us! It is also Spirit Week, so please check out the dress ideas for each day. This all concludes with a Bruin assembly for all students on Friday. Can't wait!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Monday, December 16th:

• Murder On The 518 Rehearsal 3:00-5:00pm

Tuesday, December 17th:

• Murder On The 518 Rehearsal 3:00-5:00om
• PTO/SAC Meeting 5:30-7:30pm (Collaboration Café)

Wednesday, December 18th:

• Mr. Holders' Aviation PBL Field trip to Ft. Collins/Loveland Airport 11:50-2:00
• Murder On The 518 Rehearsal 3:00-5:00pm

⭐Thursday, December 19th:

• Performance of Murder On The 518 7:00pm (Blevins Auditeria) (Actor Call Time 5:00)
• No Charge for Admission/Donations Accepted

December 23rd- January 3rd:

• NO SCHOOL/Winter Break

Monday, January 6th:

• NO SCHOOL/Teacher Workday

Congratulations to our 2024-25 Blevins Spelling Bee champion, 7th grader Rhys Liggett. Rhys battled with runner-up Austen Smith and finally came away with the victory. Rhys will go on to represent Blevins at the District Spelling Bee in January. Congrats and good luck!

Our Dec. GT Enrichment: Night of the Radishes was a hit! Students previously learned about the Dec. 23 holiday celebrated in Oaxaca, Mexico and then carved their own radishes yesterday.

Red-eye travelers on the westbound 518 are in for a surprise when first one passenger, and then another, mysteriously drop dead right before their eyes — just as the train is halted by a rockslide in an isolated canyon. Because the pair appears to have been poisoned, anyone and everyone in the train dining car is a suspect!

Hold on tight — Murder on the 518 is quite the ride!

Thursday, 19 December 7:00 PM (Blevins Auditeria)

No Admission Charge, Donations Accepted

Happy Holidays!

Can you believe Winter Break is almost here?? What an incredible semester! We kicked of with a super successful Bruin Bash and the money raised has already allowed us to do some great things for students and staff. We bought a Reading A-Z subscription for the ESL program, restock the Bruin Store, dinner and snacks for teachers during conferences as well as we had an information booth at the 5th Grade Open House and was able to treat all the prospective students to Mary Mountain Cookies! These are just a few of the ways your donations have supported the Bruin community. Thanks so much!

After the crazy year last year, we finally have our PTO Officers elected and have created some new Chair/Committee positions to better support our Bruin Family! Below are the current officers for our 2024/2025 year. We understand that not everyone can commit to being a full-time PTO member, but we would love to have more diverse and experienced input. If you see any sub-committees below that you might be interested in helping with, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the respective chair. We would love to tap into the unique skills and gifts you have to offer! Your contributions, no matter the size, will make a big difference!

Executive Board:

1. PTO President – Shauna Moffatt (shauna_moffatt@excelfg.com)

2. PTO Vice President - Megan Elder (megan@kaliczak.com)

3. Secretary – Beth Rasmussen (bethrasmussen970@gmail.com)

4. Treasurer – Eric Bowman (enamwob@gmail.com)

Additional Committees/Chairs:

1. Volunteer Coordinator – Haley Richards (haley.richards@gmail.com)

2. Marketing Co-Chairs – Sara Bryan/Xali Sommers (sljoens@yahoo.com/ xsommers@hotmail.com)

3. Teacher Appreciation Co-Chairs – Xali Sommers (xsommers@hotmail.com)

4. Dining for Dollars and Business Donation Chair – Sara Bryan (sljoens@yahoo.com)

5. School Spirit Chair – Megan Elder (megan@kaliczak.com)

We are always eager to incorporate more diverse viewpoints and expertise. If you see any sub-committees above that you might be interested in helping with, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the respective chair. We would love to tap into the unique skills and gifts you have to offer! Your contributions, no matter the size, will make a big difference to our Bruin Community!

Lastly, we once again would like to show our appreciation for our wonderful teachers and staff this next week! We will be bringing in Cups to host a Coffee Bar in the teacher’s lounge Monday morning (they definitely need that extra “boost” to handle a school full of middle schoolers already daydreaming about Winter Break!) and we will be organizing a holiday cookie & treat bar on Fri. to send each teacher and staff member off with a wonderful assortment of goodies to take home for the holidays. All you bakers out there, get out your aprons and even you non-bakers, please pick up your favorite holiday treat and drop them off at the school no later than Thurs. 12/19. Link to sign up – https://signup.com/go/ptPvdpq

Sincerely,

Shauna Moffatt

PTO President

Shauna_moffatt@excelfg.com (Please reach out! Love letters preferred but hate mail will be read )

Hello Blevins families! Tis the season to celebrate our wonderful Blevins teachers and building staff with some holiday goodies! Blevins PTO will be hosting a holiday cookie/treat bar on Friday, December 20th. Blevins staff can take home a box of cookies to enjoy.

Please sign up to make or purchase 2 dozen cookies or treats

• Deliver them to the Blevins office by 12pm on Thursday, December 19th.
• Please bring in paper plates if possible.

The PTO will provide boxes for the staff. Any trays that you bring in can be picked up at the end of the school day on Friday.

Thank you for helping if you can!

Sincerely, The Blevins PTO

Hello Blevins Families - If you are in need of any Holiday assistance , winter coats, or other resources, please reach out to Erin McCain, emccain@psdschools.org or 970-488-4009 (please leave a message with your full name and number!).

OPEN MAT

Open mat will begin 12/2/24 -12/20/24 2:45pm-3:45pm on school days in the Auxiliary Gym.

*Please bring a water bottle, tennis shoes, shorts/sweatpants. Please bring inhalers, if needed.

Students will need their silver card prior to the first official day of practice 1/21/25

This is a non-cut sport available to 6th, 7th and 8th grade students.

Preseason Camp

Open mat will begin 1/13/25-1/17/25 2:45pm-3:45pm on school days in the Auxiliary Gym.

*Please bring a water bottle, tennis shoes, shorts/sweatpants. Please bring inhalers, if needed.

Students will need their silver card prior to the first official day of practice 1/21/25.

This is a non-cut sport available to 6th, 7th and 8th grade students.

Official Practices

Official Practices will be from 2:45pm-4:15pm on school days and non-meet days in the Auxiliary Gym.

To receive their silver card, they need the following items:

-Sports Physical (once per year)

-Registration (for each sport)

-Payment of fees/Shared waiver of fees (for each sport)

A silver card is required prior to tryouts and first day of practice. For more information on how to complete the above requirements, please visit our Blevins Middle School Athletics page at https://www.psdathletics.org/blevins

Also, feel free to reach out with any questions you may have.

Thanks,

Coach Ben Rees

brees@psdschools.org

A silver card is required prior to tryouts and first day of practice. For more information on how to complete the above requirements, please visit our Blevins Middle School Athletics page at https://www.psdathletics.org/blevins

Preseason Camp: No preseason camp.

Tryouts: 1/13-1/15 2:35pm-4:10pm in Gym 200. Cuts will take place on 1/15/24. Please wear athletic clothing/shoes and bring a water bottle. Please pick up students promptly at 4:10pm.

Practice: Practices will be 2:35pm-4:10pm in Gym 200 on school days and non-game days.

Also, feel free to reach out with any questions you may have.

Varsity/JV Schedule

Varsity/JV Coach-Trey Cormia

fcormia@psdschools.org

C1/C2 Schedule

C1/C2 Coach-Ken Hartley

khartley@psdschools.org

We are students from Rocky Mountain High School who are participating in our annual Adopt-A-Family program that aims to help bring all the joys of The Holidays to families in need. Our homeroom Entrepreneurship class is currently working on a project to develop products that can be sold in order to generate proceeds to fund some of our efforts to provide for our family in need. We have web pages showcasing our specific products linked below. On those pages you will be able to find order forms and all of the information needed to support our cause.

Rocky’s Entrepreneurship Website

We are reaching out to the feeder schools and (feeder school) specifically because we wish to encourage more participation in the Adopt-A-Family program, especially from individuals outside of Rocky. We also wish to encourage the soon-to-be members of the Rocky community to participate in the program as well.

The Impact of School Threats

While most threats do not materialize into actual danger, the psychological impact on students, teachers, and parents is profound. Fear, anxiety, and the disruption of daily activities undermine the safe learning environment schools strive to maintain. Additionally, dealing with these threats often leads to school closures, emergency procedures, and increased security measures, which can further strain educational resources.

What Can Be Done?

1. Education and Awareness: Schools must educate students on the seriousness of making threats and the consequences they can face. School Resource Officers teach 6th and 9th graders about school threats and the consequences they can have.

2. Preparedness and Protocols: Schools need to have clear, practiced emergency protocols in place. Regular drills, updated safety plans, and partnerships with local law enforcement help ensure that all staff and students know how to respond in the event of a real threat.

Poudre School District uses the Standard Response Protocol provided by the I Love you Guys Foundation. All schools in Poudre School District complete three lockdown drills. The Poudre School District also completes a fire drill every month.

3. Encourage Reporting: A crucial step in preventing threats from escalating is encouraging students, teachers, and parents to report suspicious activity immediately. Poudre School District utilizes Safe2Tell for students to make anonymous reports.

4. Support Systems: Poudre School District provides mental health resources and counseling to students who may feel isolated or are struggling with anger or distress. Proactive mental health initiatives can reduce the likelihood of violence.

While threats to schools remain a concern, the collaborative effort between school officials, law enforcement, and the community is key in ensuring safety. Everyone plays a role in fostering a culture of awareness, respect, and accountability to protect our schools and keep our children safe.

Order a yearbook now so you don’t have to worry about it later! ✔ Check it off your to-do list today: https://www.jostens.com/yearbooks/students-and-parents/about-yearbooks

Bruin Gear Store

#BruinStrong Shirts Available for Purchase

Thank you to Ed Carroll Motor Company for Sponsoring our

Lego Robotics Team. We appreciate your support!

Regardless of what high school your students eventually attend, this camp is open to ALL girls 1st - 8th grade. Our goal is to have camp style learning with our players and coaches for the first two hours followed by open scrimmages and awards. Family and friends are welcome to watch!

Here is the link to the December Camp Registration Form

https://forms.gle/dBugw8HJiunENyQz9

Joe Zappa, Principal

970-488-4001

jzappa@psdschools.org

Dusti Sanger, Assistant Principal

970-488-4002

dsanger@psdschools.org

Scott Schreiner, Assistant Principal/Athletic Director

970-488-4036

scotts@psdschools.org

Michele Trujillo, Office Manager

970-488-4004

mtrujill@psdschools.org

Kirsten Bovbjerg, 6th/7th Grade Counselor

970-488-4010

kbovbjerg@psdschools.org

Anna Burris, 7th/8th Grade Counselor

970-488-4091

annab@psdschools.org

Erin McCain, Academic Dean* & School Counselor

*Guidance for academic supports for Blevins students

970-488-4009

emccain@psdschools.org