masthead

Weekly News from Steele Elementary

03 10 2016   
Contents
From the Principal
School News
PTA News
Community News
Quick Links
Dates To Remember
From the Principal
Living the Steele Code
As many of you know, we start every day with student-led announcements. I love listening to our students lead the entire school through a brief set of announcements, the Steele Code, and the Pledge of Allegiance. Students come to the office with different confidence levels, and it's fun to see our anxious students work with their fear, delivering the announcements to over 500 people. When was the last time you spoke to 500 people? It really is a pretty big deal.
 
My favorite part is when we say the Steele Code together. By the time our students make it to 4th grade, this is as normal a part of their day as brushing their teeth. This is why I love that we're focusing on individual lines of the Steele Code this year, and honoring students for exemplifying the code. Last week, we honored students who exemplified the line, "We have the courage to take risks and learn from our mistakes."
 
Every day, I see our students take risks -- reading the morning announcements, sharing an answer in class when they're not sure they're correct, admitting they've make a mistake. They're learning the valuable skills of being vulnerable and stepping out of their comfort zones.
 
In the upper grades, a classmate of the honoree tells the rest of the assembly how the "winner" lives the code. Students cheer like mad for the winner. The care our children show for one another is touching.
 
I'm sharing these thoughts because this time of year can be challenging for students, teachers, and parents. There's a lot of talk about state assessments. The workload for students can seem high. And spring fever is starting to emerge! It's important to remember how valuable it is to teach students to live responsibly and care for each other.
 
We're not perfect, but I'm proud of our teachers and students. Every day, they to grow both academically and as positive human beings.
 
Thanks for all you do to help our students be happy and successful!
 
Cheers,
Kevin
School News
Clothing Donations for the Health Office
The Steele Health Office is in need of clothing donations, mostly pants (boys and girls) in sizes ranging from 5T up to size 8. Soft, stretchy pants for girls and adjustable pants for boys are preferred. Please leave your donations in the school office. Thank you!

DIDestination Imagination
Steele has four teams competing in the Denver Regional Destination Imagination (DI) Tournament this Saturday, March 12 at Thomas Jefferson High School:
  • Stacy Crum-Duran and Beth Kapadia's Pretzel Warriors go on stage doing the Improvisational challenge at 8:20 AM.
  • Mr. Miller's Angel Biscuits 6.1 follow at 9:00 AM, also in Improvisational.
  • Nashville or Bust, Jenny Cargile's team (which went to DI Global Finals last year) is back doing the Project Outreach challenge at 12:00 PM.
  • Lindsey Ayers's Amazing Spartan Bobslobucks perform at 1:20 PM, competing in the Scientific challenge.
Many Steele alum from Merrill, DSA, DSST-Byers, and other schools will also be competing. Room assignments will be posted at Thomas Jefferson on Saturday. All are welcome -- please join us to cheer on this year's DI Stallions!

- Mr. Miller 

BoxTopsStudent Council Box Top Contest
Box Tops for Education logoStudent Council is collecting Box Tops for Education! We are challenging each classroom to collect at least 100 box tops by March 24. The class that raises the most box tops
will earn a pizza party on Friday, March 25! We'll continue a school-wide collection for the remainder of the year but only box tops collected between now and March 25 will be part of the competition. Containers are in classrooms for students to put their box tops in. Questions? Contact Ms, Parks, Room 306.

The Wizard of Oz
The third grade classes are presenting Wizard of Oz on the following dates. All shows at 5:30 PM.
  • 308: Tuesday, April 19
  • 211: Wednesday, April 20
  • 312: Thursday, April 21
After School Enrichment
It's that time of year to start thinking about Spring Enrichment Classes! Numerous after-school programs are starting new sessions in the coming weeks -- Little Chickadees Nature Club for K/1, CELL, Garden Club, Chess Wizards, Young Rembrandts, and many more! Visit the Steele website for further details on these and other programs offered.

Summer Camps
Looking for fun activities for your children this summer? Many terrific camps will be offered by our enrichment providers, teachers, and associated community partners (such as South High and SPREE). To view all current opportunities, click here -- and make sure to check back, as other camps will be added when information becomes available.

NEW CAMP LISTING: Count Me In! Math Camp for Girls. Teachers Betsy Maletz, Rhonda Marguiles, Sarah Kirkwood, and Kaiman Triplett welcome incoming 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade girls (current K, 1st, and 2nd graders) to join the fun! For more information, click here and scroll down to Count Me In!
PTA News
SDO PTA LogoSteele Dines Out at MOOYAH - Monday, March 14, 5:00 - 9:00 PM
Bring your family and friends to MOOYAH (1390 S. Colorado, Blvd, Suite 900) for burgers, fries, and shakes! Bring the flyer posted online (or pickup one in the school office) and MOOYAH will donate a percentage of all sales to Steele. MOOYAH's donation back to Steele is based on a sliding scale -- the higher the sales, the higher percentage of sales is donated back to Steele! Bring your appetite and your friends!

HomeTourWash Park Home Tour 2016
SPONSORS & ADVERTISERS NEEDED
For just $250, you can purchase an ad with the Wash Park Home Tour, and be an important part of an effort that raises money for Steele's second educators, specials, and technology -- in addition to the DPS Education Outreach Program, which helps Denver's homeless students.

This year's event features 5 amazing homes on the east side of Wash Park. The Home Tour is expected to attract close to 2,000 visitors, each of whom will see your business featured in the event directory. To get a sense of the event directory, click here to view last year's directory.

Multiple sponsorship levels are available! If you own or work for a business that might be interested, please contact Rebekah Marcus. Deadlines are quickly approaching!
 
Check out the homes and tickets, and sign up to volunteer here.  
 
DigItSteele Garden "Dig It! Day" - Saturday, May 14 
Save the date! The garden committee of parent volunteers hosts this one-day event from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, when we come together as a community and prep the garden for planting. The garden beds need to be turned, weeds must be pulled, and cages and trellises need to be set-up -- and so much more! Bring your shovels, rakes, tools, and gloves. Join the effort as families and friends ready the garden for another season.
Community News
A Message From a South High Student 
My name is Courtney and I am a student at South High School. Our school will be holding an event TODAY, March 10 in collaboration with local law enforcement. The purpose of the event is for students to come out and socialize with police through various lighthearted activities. In order to include as much of the community as possible, we would love to have students from all of your schools in attendance! To view a flyer that has more information, click here. We hope you and your students will be able to join us! Thank you!

Merrill Middle School 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.