Hello Carver Elementary Community!

Happy New Year and welcome to 2025!! It is hard to believe that we are already in the second half of our school year! We hope the winter break provided time for families to rest, recharge, and create some memories. Now, that we have midyear data from STAR and DIBEL's, we are setting goals as a school, grade, class, and students will also set goals.

We are really looking at tardies, attendance, behaviors and how they impact student achievement. We are planning on inviting parents to meetings to discuss our concerns and we appreciate your support with this! We want ALL of our students to experience academic success.

We completed our DIBEL's Middle of the Year testing for reading. Our biggest takeaway is that students need to be READING or read to, EVERY single day. We have students that still do not know their letter or sounds. Please take time each day to practice letters, sounds, and reading with them. Students also need to be at school, EVERY single day, attendance is directly impacting student achievement.

We completed our Middle of the Year testing for K-5th STAR Math and 2nd-5th grades for STAR reading. Teachers and interventionist will discussed DIBEL's and STAR results and we will begin setting goals for second semester! We had a lot of success and students received certificates if they showed growth in Reading/Math. Thank you for having your students to school on time and please continue this for second semester.

Now that we are in January, the temperatures are even lower in the mornings! Please LABEL your student's belongings with their first and last name. Our lost of found is overflowing and we want our students to be warm before school and at recess. Please send your student with a jacket, hat, and gloves because we send students outside if it is above 17 degrees. All students were provided a brand new hat and gloves/mittens on Friday, December 20th. IF your student is in need of a coat, please let our Community Liaison, Kellie Gasper, know and we will see what we currently have in our Community Closet. If you need items for your family, please reach out!

Reminder, our gym doors open each morning at 7:30 AM for a free breakfast for all students! Please do not drop your student off prior to 7:30 AM. Our first bell rings at 7:45 AM and the second bell at 7:50 AM. Gym doors close at 7:55 AM and you MUST sign your student in at the front office. Learning begins by 7:55 AM each day. Please have your student to school on time to ensure a successful start to their school day!

Our Family Night on Monday, December 9th was rescheduled to Monday, January 27th! Please save the new date! We will have pizza at 5:00 and daycare for your students from 5:30-7:00 PM. The community closet will be available from 5:00-7:00 PM also and Scott Pilcher will provide opportunities for you to bond with your child! Please RSVP below:

https://forms.office.com/r/yJ8RBgMQvQ

Please continue to mindful of picking up your student at dismissal at 2:50 PM and by 4:00 PM if your student is in an after school club or tutoring. Our staff are at school by 7:30 AM and it is a long day if you are late.

Ms. Kelly Dawson returned to Carver on January 3rd! We are excited to have our Staff Assistant back to support our students, staff, and families!

Ms. Teneshia Taylor is our new Fifth Grade Teacher and she also began on January 3rd. We are excited to welcome her to the Carver Community and please reach out if you have any questions or concerns!

Ms. Krista Keiter will transition from fifth grade to second grade. She will replace Mr. Slater for the month of January, until Mr. Pua takes over in February for the remainder of the school year.

We appreciate your flexibility, support, and kindness with these transitions.

Basketball practice will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays, beginning January 7th for selected students.

If your student was NOT selected, please sign up for the YES program on Mondays and Wednesdays beginning January 13th. Paper sign up forms were sent home last Thursday or sign up below!

Our School Store is updated! Please click this link to purchase some Carver items to represent our Carver Community! They are having a New Year sale!

https://sideline.bsnsports.com/schools/colorado/coloradosprings/carver-elementary

Again, welcome to Carver Elementary! If you are a returning family or if this your first year at Carver, we are excited to work with you to achieve great results. Please know that our doors are always open for communication, and we look forward to partnering with you in your child's education. Please look for opportunities to participate in the Parent Teacher Association, the School Accountability Committee, and other volunteer opportunities.

Thank you for your support!

Mrs. Bizzell

Proud Principal of Carver Elementary!

As a quality neighborhood school in D11, the Carver community is supportive and safe as staff, parents, and students are valued and involved in creating engaging, intentional learning experiences that are responsive to student needs and results in a place where everyone wants to be.

Thank you for voting for our new logo and Carver Elementary is proud to be the Heart of Our Community!! Our staff recently attended the Capturing Kids' Heart training and we are excited to build relationships, challenge ourselves and our students, and truly become the Heart of Our Community! We will continue to partner with local businesses, resources, and community members to enhance our identity statement and challenge our students to be the BEST they can be, every day at school. We are providing intentional learning experiences that involve and engage all of our students and our staff. We look forward to this school year and partnering with YOU!!

January 7th Students Return! Start of 3rd Quarter

January 9th Parent Meeting 3:00-4:15 PM

January 14th-February 7th Parent 5 Essential Survey

January 17th 2nd Quarter Awards Ceremony

January 20th No School-MLK Day

January 27th Parent Child Opportunity 5:00-7:00 PM

January 31st MTSS Parent Meetings

February 3rd No Students District PD Day

February 17th No School-President's Day

February 25th Skate City 5:00-7:00 PM

Breakfast in the cafeteria 7:30-7:45 AM (cold breakfast 7:45-8:10 AM)

Office Hours: 7:30 AM-3:45 PM

Carver School Hours: 7:50 AM-2:50 PM

Tardy bell rings at 7:50

Students will have a 15 minute recess, prior to lunch.

10:50-11:10 Kindergarten and First Grade

11:10-11:30 Second and Third Grade

11:30-11:50 Fourth and Fifth Grade

Under the Healthy School Meals for All program the State of Colorado provides free meals for all D11 students. Please take a moment to fill out our Free and Reduced Meal Application regardless of whether you think you would qualify or not. This program benefits the school as well as your family. Our goal is 100% participation. As a reminder, Carver is a free breakfast and lunch school. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the front office. Carver is currently 85% free or reduced lunch and we receive Federal Funds for this.

https://linqconnect.com/public/meal-application/new?identifier=JX9G3Q

K/1 12:10-1:00

2/4 1:05-1:55

3/5 2:00-2:50

Essentials: Art, Music, PE, Technology

Adaptive PE/Art: Fridays from 9:00-10:05 AM (Selected students)

Band for grades 4th and 5th (Tuesdays and Wednesdays)

Orchestra for grades 4th and 5th (Mondays and Wednesdays)

We are still accepting interested students for BAND and ORCHESTRA! Please stop by the front office for a permission slip!

We LOVE having family members in the building! Please complete the link below if you have some time to volunteer to help at school. Some activities include: cutting, tearing out workbook pages, reading to students, testing sight words, and sometimes just helping in class.
Please join us!

Happy new year everyone!

I am so excited to see you, a lot of things are happening this year. As always, some of the services that I will (or can) provide are : Classroom Social/Emotional Learning (SEL) Lessons, Friendship Groups, Lunch Bunches, Restorative Circles, Group Counseling, Individual Counseling and well as check-ins or just drop-in Counseling. I want every child to feel seen and like they belong to our amazing school.

SEL is the counselor's time in the classroom, when I get to spend 20-30 minutes with class learning the variety of Social and Emotional skills so they can be more successful in their academic learning. Lunch bunches will start for all grade levels Jan. 13, ALL students will benefit from this and will get to spend their lunch with me while having fun learning and practicing some life skills (please let me know if you have any questions or would like more info)

The Character trait from January 6 until February 14 is CARING, students will be learning this with their classroom teacher every day and will do projects with a different grade level 12 Caring - Being kind to yourself and others; being compassionate; showing that you care; expressing gratitude; forgiving others; helping people in need.

But why learning character traits in elementary school is important …… because it helps children develop a strong moral foundation, understand social interactions, build positive relationships, and make informed decisions throughout their lives by teaching them key values like integrity, kindness, responsibility, courage and empathy, which are crucial for success both inside and outside the classroom.

If you have any questions, please reach out to me 719-328-2171

With kind regards

Mrs. Gio (Giovanny) Franco-Diaz, MA, LPCC

School Counselor - 504 coordinator , Student Council Advisor

Phone # 719-328-2171

We are a PBIS (Positive Behavior and Support School) and we will continue to practice our School Wide PAW expectations.

P- I am Prepared

A-I have a great Attitude

W-I Work hard

S-I am Safe

Thank you for supporting Student Council, KIDS NIGHT OUT was a success, so we will be doing another one on THURSDAY FEBRUARY 13, from 3pm -5pm - $10 per student $15 per family (includes pizza and a drink) Different areas for students to enjoy movie and games, while you have a nice dinner or time for yourself. sign up ASAP https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=FjejtSMeM0u6mmGKVudqGCsMen_Vn0ZLglynP-2oXIJUREVON1o2RVpOVkJVNDA2UllET1daNU1ZTS4u

STUDENT COUNCIL: New applications are now open, there will be one application per class 4th – 5th due January 22.

Thank you for those that supported our first fundraiser at Dickey's BBQ! We are looking for a fun game night in January and we will have computers available to complete the Parent 5 Essentials Survey. We appreciate your feedback.
Thank you to those that completed the PTA feedback form of the day and time that works best for you! We are planning our January meeting now!

Our PTA board is:

President: Brittany Shelly

Vice President:

Treasurer: Betty Barnett

Secretary: Kelly Dawson

Our next meeting will be in January. Please complete the PTA feedback form and send back to school!

All our welcome to attend our meetings!

Safety is our top priority at Carver Elementary School, and we are committed to ensuring the well-being of all students, staff, and visitors. We now have a secured entrance to monitor ALL visitors and a fence that surrounds the back of the school. To this end, we follow the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) to prepare for and respond to various emergency situations. We conduct monthly and quarterly drills to practice these protocols, ensuring that everyone in our school community knows what to do in case of an emergency. Here is an overview of the SRP we follow:

• Hold - In Your Classroom or Area

• Directive: "In Your Room or Area"
• Purpose: This protocol is used when hallways need to be kept clear of occupants. Students and staff remain in their rooms or areas until further notice.

Secure - Get Inside. Lock Outside Doors

• Directive: "Get Inside. Lock Outside Doors"
• Purpose: This protocol is used to safeguard people within the building by securing all exterior doors. Normal activities continue inside the building.

Lockdown - Locks, Lights, Out of Sight

• Directive: "Locks, Lights, Out of Sight"
• Purpose: This protocol is used to secure individual rooms and keep occupants quiet and in place. Doors are locked, lights are turned off, and everyone stays out of sight.

Evacuate - To a Stated Location

• Directive: "Evacuate to [Location]"
• Purpose: This protocol is used to move people from one location to a different location, either within or outside the building. The specific location will be communicated during the drill or emergency.

Shelter - State the Hazard and the Safety Strategy

• Directive: "Shelter [Hazard] and [Safety Strategy]"
• Purpose: This protocol is used for group and self-protection based on the specific hazard (e.g., tornado, hazmat). The safety strategy will be clearly communicated.

Monthly Drills:

To ensure we are prepared, we conduct monthly/quarterly drills for each of these protocols. These drills help students and staff practice the appropriate responses and become familiar with the procedures. Your support in reinforcing the importance of these drills at home is greatly appreciated.

Communication:

In the event of an actual emergency, we will communicate with families promptly. Please ensure that your contact information is up to date in our records so that you can receive timely notifications.

Thank you for your cooperation and support in keeping our school safe. If you have any questions or concerns about our safety protocols, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Together, we can ensure a safe and secure learning environment for all our students.

Carver Elementary is a Title I school.

The purpose of Title I is to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments.

If you have any questions, please reach out:

https://www.d11.org/TitleI

Email: lisa.bizzell@d11.org
Website: https://www.d11.org/Page/69
Location: 4740 Artistic Circle, Colorado Springs, CO, USA
Phone: 719-328-7100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carver.d11.org/