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Weekly News from Steele Elementary

11 05 2015  
Contents
From the Principal
School News
PTA News
Community News
Quick Links
Dates To Remember
From the Principal
ScienceScience Fair
I'm excited to announce Steele will be hosting a school science fair for our students this year. We had great success last year, with one of our winners going on to win the DPS Science Fair!
 
Please join us for a Science Fair information night on Wednesday 11/18 from 5:00 to 5:30 PM in the library. We'll share important dates/logistics for this year's fair and also review the scientific process with a live demo experiment. Peter Laz, a Steele parent and Denver University professor, will lead the demo. Thank you, Peter! You will also be able to see posters and visit with a few of last year's winners.
 
StandardsStandards Night and Performance Review
Have you been wondering how the new Common Core math standards are being applied in the classroom? Please join me on Thursday 11/12 as Courtney Waring, the Southeast Regions math facilitator, leads a session on Common Core shifts and how that affects classroom instruction and student learning. I'll also talk about our performance on standardized tests last year and the implications of new testing. This presentation will be in the auditorium from 6:00 to 6:45 PM.
 
Bringing the Steele Code Alive
It's our job to help students develop into well-rounded individuals who are self-confident and who care for one another and their surroundings. One way we do this is to recite the Steele Code every morning. This helps ground us in behaviors that help students grow as learners and human beings. (One day last year, I muttered under my breath, "We do the right thing, even when no one is watching," as I left a note for the person whose side-view mirror I knocked off.)
 
The Code is a great starting point and we want to help our students see how it applies to their daily lives. We believe it's important for students to see, hear and talk about how to live the Code. To that end, we're going to start focusing on a line of the Code each month. Once a month, we'll have assemblies where students nominate other students to honor them for living the Code. In between assemblies, teachers will be taking time once a week during morning meeting to teach students what living that specific line of the Code looks like. We'll kick off next week with a video created by Ms. Natalie and Ms. Allison, and look forward to using student exemplars in the future. Our first line in the Code is: "We respect ourselves, each other, our school and our community."
 
If you're not familiar with the Steele Code, it's on the Steele website - click here.
 
Special Thank You
This is a little late but I want to thank Jenny Cargile and Liz Marvan for organizing a fantastic School Carnival. They have both taken on this task for many years - at least twice the amount of time I've been here. Jenny and Liz, your service and dedication to Steele is very appreciated. Thank you!
 
Thanks for all you do!

Cheers,
Kevin
School News
Print Directories - Out of Order!
Are the pages in your Steele print directory out of order? You're not alone - some copies were collated incorrectly. This was an error at the print shop. Your directory is complete, but the first 12 and last 12 pages were incorrectly collated (these pages should be in the center of the directory). We apologize for not catching this error before the directories were distributed.
 
Aladdin
The 4th and 5th grade classes will be presenting Disney's Aladdin in December. For information about show times and costumes, click here.

School Choice Information
Choice season begins January 5, 2016. Completing the Choice application online saves time for families and gets results back to families sooner. We hope to start pushing Online Choice now, and one of the first things we need to accomplish is making sure our families have active Parent Portal accounts. Click here to view the how-to guide, so you can get started. Please note that if you do not log into your Parent Portal account, after two months it becomes a closed account.
 
Also if you have been attending Steele and have moved out of Steele's boundary or have changed your address, you need to fill out School of Choice forms for the 2016-17 school year. Your student(s) will still have placement here, but the paperwork has to be done. Questions? Contact Melissa in the Steele office.

After-School Enrichment
New sessions of enrichment programs are starting weekly! Check out all that's offered and register here!  
PTA News
PTA Logo
PTAMeetingNext PTA Meeting: November 10  
The next PTA Meeting will be Tuesday, November 10 at 6:00 PM. The agenda will include a middle school Q&A with parent and student representatives from DSA, GALS, DSST-Byers, and Merrill. View October's meeting minutes here. Child care is available in the gym for $3 per child. Continue the conversation and camaraderie after the meeting at Blackbird Public House.

Please join this month during our fall drive. PTA membership is only $10/individual and $6 for Steele teachers and staff.  
 
Student Garden News
Rainbow Week is November 9 through 13, with daily cooking demonstrations and food tastings by Steele parents during lunch. Students can show their support for Rainbow Week by wearing clothes of each day's color.   
  • 11/9: Red Day with Apple Cider
  • 11/10: Yellow/Orange Day with Candy Corn Fruit Cups
  • 11/11: Green Day with Kale Smoothies
  • 11/12: Blue Day with Homemade Blue Corn Chips
  • 11/13: Purple Day with Purple Smoothies
HavanaHavana Nights: Friday, November 13 
Dust off your dance shoes and pull out the fedoras. We are less than two weeks away from Havana Nights! Please keep your eyes open and check your child's backpack for a flyer listing the many items that will be up for auction on November 13. See the Sneak Peaks below!
 
Teacher Experiences Sneak Peaks
Who would like to be Steele Secretary for a Day? One lucky student gets to help Ms. Paula run the school!

Is your child a nature lover? Join Ms. Feller and Ms. Mitchell for a scavenger hunt and hike at the Lookout Mountain Nature Center!

Steele Exclusives Sneak Peaks
Bourbon & BBQ: Get ready to sample some of the best bourbon money can buy! Add to that an amazing selection of smoked meats expertly cooked in the Rimkus family green egg and you will most certainly have a night to remember.

Bratoberfest 2016: Dust of your lederhosen and practice your polka and join Wisconsin Natives (and Packer fans) Doug and Carrie Newton for a feast of bratwurst, potato salad, hot pretzels, Oktoberfest brews and more.

What's that? You haven't purchased your ticket yet?! Get on it! 
VISIT https://www.blacktie-colorado.com/rsvp/index.cfm (Event code SEHN1113) 
 
Please support our faculty and staff by donating a full or partial ticket through BlackTie! They deserve it!
 
SDOSteele Dines Out at Noodles & Company: November 18
Although the end of November is a busy time, on Wednesday, November 18, please make time to pop in to Noodles & Company at 1502 S. Colorado Blvd, on the corner of Colorado Blvd and Florida. Stop in for a quick dinner (or carry out) between the hours of 4:00 to 9:00 PM. Please be sure to mention that you are there for the Steele Elementary fundraiser, or present this flyer, and Noodles & Company will donate 25% of sales back to Steele.

Blackbird Thanksgiving Feast Fundraiser 
Blackbird is offering a prepared Thanksgiving feast for 10 for $150, and will donate $15 to the Steele Stallion Fund for every $150 order placed!  Download a flyer and order form here or look for a copy sent home with your child this week.  
Community News
Wash Park Playground/Restroom Improvements Public Meeting 
Please join Denver Parks & Recreation (DPR) on Tuesday, November 17 from 6:00 to 7:30 PM for a kickoff public meeting to discuss Wash Park playground and restroom improvements. The public will learn about the project and is invited to provide DPR with input that will shape a regional-scale playground and restroom located at the "diagonal" area of Wash Park. For more information, click here.

Merrill News
To check out what's happening at Merrill Middle School, click here.
To submit information to this newsletter, send it in edited, final-draft format to the appropriate person from the list below by 5 PM on Tuesdays:
For all other questions, please email Cynthia Swanson and Liz Marvan (parent volunteers) at steelestallionpress@gmail.com.