Cougar Community Connection

Dear CRUNFmaily,

It was a short but productive week. We wrapped up our beginning of the year diagnostic assessments and will be diving into the data analysis in our PLCs this week. What are PLCs you ask? Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are a powerful approach to improving student outcomes. In DCSD PLCs, teachers collaborate regularly to analyze student data, share teaching strategies, and support each other in refining their practices. This teamwork ensures that all students receive the best possible instruction. What an effective way to support our students! One of our district initiatives for the past several years has been to improve our PLC processes in our buildings knowing that there is so much power in this type of collaboration about student learning and teacher practices. We will be hard at work in our PLCs this next week, analyzing where our students are now in order to plan for intervention support needs and enrichment for our students. Look for the reports to come home in Friday Folders and then teachers will be using a more detailed report of this data to share with you at conferences.

Be sure to sign up for conferences by clicking on the link below, or on the link your child's classroom teacher sends to you. https://signup.com/mobileweb/2.0/vspot.html?groupkey=61334652083

Don't forget to check out the PTA section that is announcing our upcoming Fun Run. We only do one major fundraiser at Cougar Run and this one is HUGE and so much fun! We are excited to kick of Fun Run season with you all!

Have a great weekend!

Hello #CRUNFAMILY

Mark your calendar: CRUN Restaurant night at Cranelli's in Lone Tree is BEXT Tuesday, 9.10 from 4-9pm!! Book your resy now: https://www.cranellis.com/

As a reminder - this week will be the launch of our ONE big fundraiser, our 2nd Annual (In-House) Fun Run. Rather than working with companies that take 40% of your donations, we will handle everything in-house! This will include a CRUN t-shirt, donation-level prizes, set-up, and running of the event. The Fun Run will be on Friday, October 4th, so expect to see fundraising information heading your way VERY SOON!

Don't forget to check out our revamped web page for all things PTA!

Schedule your Rock reservation, get details of events, and of course donation information: https://sites.google.com/dcsdk12.org/cougarrunparent/?usp=sharing

The PTA is here to help the whole CRUN community. We are always available at crunpta@gmail.com.

Sincerely, CRUN PTA

There aren't very many humans in the world who have the inside and out perspective of an organization over a 30 year time span. Andrea is one of those humans who has been a part of our Cougar Run Community for nearly 3 decades. From being a parent of our school back in the 90's, to a volunteer, then Volunteer Coordinator, Attendance Clerk and now school secretary, Andrea knows our school like no other. Andrea's philosophy is customer service above all else. She bends over backwards to create a welcoming and loving culture at the front of our school and all of our stakeholders feel that when they walk into our doors. If information and perspective is what you need, you have come to the right place when you reach out for Andrea. She is an incredible asset to our learning community and if you haven't met her, stop in and say hi. She is a wealth of knowledge and is always happy to help.

Detectives from the Douglas County IMPACT team have identified and arrested the suspects allegedly involved in a vehicle trespass and theft outside of Cougar Run Elementary School in Highlands Ranch on August 27th. The suspects were located and taken into custody on September 3rd at a hotel in the 7600 block of E. Union Ave in Denver. The suspects are identified as 24-year-old Reese Bilyeu and 27-year-old Devon Lynn Ashley.

Bilyeu was arrested in the hotel lobby, armed with a handgun and extra ammunition. Ashley was apprehended shortly after, near a stolen Toyota RAV4 parked outside the hotel. Upon searching the vehicle, detectives recovered a hoodie and mask matching the description of those worn during the Cougar Run trespass, as well as illegal drugs and multiple stolen credit cards. Detectives also executed a search warrant on the suspects’ hotel room and found stolen property, including four computers, numerous passports, driver’s licenses, social security cards, and credit cards, and other personal information belonging to various victims.

“I am incredibly proud of our IMPACT team detectives who worked diligently and relentlessly to track down and apprehend these criminals. Their determination reflects the high standards we hold at the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. While many agencies may not prioritize property crimes, we take these offenses seriously and pursue suspects with the same dedication as we would any other crime. The recovery of stolen items and the arrests made in this case demonstrate our commitment to ensuring that Douglas County remains a safe place for our residents,” said Sheriff Darren Weekly.

Both Bilyeu and Ashley had multiple outstanding warrants. The two will face additional charges related to this case, including motor vehicle theft and vehicular trespassing. Charges are allegations, and the suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

This investigation is ongoing, and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is working to identify other potential victims linked to the recovered items.

Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Tip Line at 303-660-7579.

Thursday, Sept. 12 - Gr. 3rd-6th Battle of the Books Parent/Student Information Meeting 7:45am - 8:30am in the Library.

Monday, Sept. 16 - International Dot Day - Wear your polka dots!!

From the Librarian, Mrs. Woody

Calling all readers!!! If you are in 3rd,4th,5th.6th and like to read, then come to Cougar Run’s Battle of the Books Parent/Student Informational Meeting on Thursday, Sept. 12th at 7:45am. Students have information in their Friday Folders on how to participate in this fun FREE enrichment program that meets Every Thursday morning at 7:45am in the Library for some fun book competition! Get your friends together, form a team and read some amazing books! This program runs from Oct. 3rd - Nov. 21st! See you all next Thursday! Please reach out to Mrs. Woody if you have any questions wjwoody@dcsdk12.org BOTB Webpage

Hello HRHS feeder schools! My name is Elin Robinson and I am the President of the Choir Boosters at Highlands Ranch High School. Each year after the Homecoming parade, we host a cookout for the community and we wanted to include your families. Pre Order HERE

Homecoming week is September 23-27 this year, with the parade (in the neighborhood near HRHS) on Thursday afternoon followed by the choir cookout and later, the bonfire. The Homecoming varsity football game is Friday, September 27 at 7PM at Halftime Help Stadium.

A quick endorsement about this program from Cougar Run-

We value the integration of an elementary band and orchestra program through our high school knowing that igniting this passion early in kids is an incredible way to engage them in learning music at a young age. So many of us at CRUN have had our kids participate in this invaluable program in the past, but right now, due to low enrollment in the program, we are at risk of not having enough kids to run this program this year at HRHS. Please consider registering your child for this great opportunity. We have never had students regret being participants and most went on to become involved in music in middle school and high school.

From HRHS EBOP

Parents!

4th, 5th and 6th Grades- EBOP Instrument Rental Night is Wednesday, August 28th 5-7pm at HRHS. Classes start Tuesday, Sept 3rd at 7:15am! If you can't make it on August 28th, no worries, you can rent your instrument from any local music shop or go to https://goldenmusic.co/ . Last day to sign up is September 26th. Also, don't forget to check out our blog for more information https://hrebop.blogspot.com/. See you soon!

We all love to celebrate occasions and birthdays. With student health concerns in nearly every classroom, the district now requires that there be NO HOMEMADE treats brought to school to share. All shared foods must be store bought with a label. Thank you so much for helping us with this.

Kindergarten and Make-Up Photo Day is Friday August 30- for any students grades 1-6 and any NEW students, that did not have a photo taken at supply drop off, their photo will be taken for the yearbook and for parent purchase. Kindergarten classes are scheduled to go as a class to have their photos taken.

Here is the link for ALL to view and order or to pre-order: https://shop.imagequix.com/g1001155615

The online code will be your child’s student ID number.

Student Fees- Parents/Guardians should have paid fees through Express Check In. Previous years’ outstanding fees will also show on your child’s account. It is best to always check on your accounts for outstanding fees, they carry over year to year.

Fees for new students have been assessed to student accounts. Please create your account at My School Bucks.

Class field trips will be sent to families throughout the year for purchase.

Cougar Run ROCKS Council is a student leadership opportunity for students in grades 4 - 6. ROCKS Council members will model and promote the core ROCKS traits throughout the building and during the educational day, work together to create philanthropic events that support local and broader communities and organizations, and grow communication and leadership skills through authentic opportunities with peers and teacher leaders. If your child is interested, we have an informational meeting (for students only) on September 5th from 3:30 - 4:30 pm in the Learning Commons.

Please take a few minutes to familiarize yourself on the upcoming Bond measure that will be on the November election. This will positively impact our school with much needed repairs and replacements of things like our windows that are leaking, carpet that needs replacement desperately and many other behind the scenes operational items that are barely hanging on. THE KEY PIECE TO THIS MEASURE IS THERE IS NO, I REPEAT, NO TAX INCREASE TO YOU AT ALL!!!!!!

September 9-13- NO CRUN BUS THIS WEEK

September 10- Cougar Run Restaurant Night Cranellis

September 13- 8:45am PTA Meeting in the LC

September 16-19- Parent Teacher Conference Week (Teacher Sign Ups Will Come Soon)

September 20th- No School For Students, Teacher Professional Development Day

September 23rd- Highlands Ranch High School Homecoming Spririt Day, WEAR BLUE AND BLACK

September 25-27- 6th Grade Outdoor Ed Trip

October 4th- Annual Cougar Run Fun Run

October 8- Cougar Run Restaurant Night

October 11-7:30am Donuts with Grown Ups

October 11- 8:45am PTA Meeting

October 14-18- Fall Break

October 21-25- NO CRUN BUS THIS WEEK