Teller Elementary School

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Upcoming Events

• Tuesday, April 11th - Thursday, April 13th - 3rd - 5th Grade Math CMAS Testing

• Tuesday, April 11th - CSC Meeting @ 5:00 p.m.

• Tuesday, April 11th - PTA Community Meeting @ 6:10 pm

• Tuesday, April 18th - Thursday, April 20th - 5th Grade Science CMAS Testing 

• Friday, April 21st - 3rd - 5th Grade Science Fair

• Thursday, April 27th - 4th Grade Shakespeare Performance @ 5:00 p.m.

• Friday, April 28th - School Dance @ 5:00 p.m. 

• Saturday, April 29th - Teller DEN Night

• Tuesday, May 2nd - Teller Town Hall @ 6:00 pm

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School Safety Updates

As the principal of this amazing school, I want to emphasize the continued importance of school safety for our students, staff, and visitors. To ensure the safety of everyone in our building, we will be reverting back to our previous policy of not allowing parents or guardians in the building during drop off or pick up times. If a parent or guardian needs to drop off or pick up a child early, a Teller employee will meet the parent/guardian and child at our main entrance. 

As a reminder, volunteers are required to check in at the main office upon arrival using our Raptor System, which allows us to screen visitors and monitor who is in the building at all times. 

Additionally, any parent or guardian who wishes to volunteer in the classroom or on field trips will need to complete a background check prior to volunteering. If you would like to volunteer or attend an upcoming field trip, but you have not yet completed a background check, you can do so here.  

Finally, we will continue to practice emergency drills per DPS policy to ensure that everyone knows what to do in case of an emergency. We take the safety of our school community very seriously, and these policies are in place to help keep everyone safe and secure.

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Colorado Measures of Academic Success: April 11th - April 13th

The Colorado Measures of Academic Success, or CMAS, is the state summative assessment for language arts, math, science and social studies. CMAS is aligned to the state’s rigorous academic standards and designed to gauge how well students are mastering the standards and are prepared for their next grade. 

Our 3rd - 5th grade students will be taking the math portion of CMAS Tuesday, April 11th - Thursday, April 13th. 

Please help us in preparing your child for CMAS by going to bed on time, eating a healthy breakfast, and arriving at school by 7:30 a.m. on testing days. 

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CSC Meeting: Tuesday, April 11th

Our monthly CSC meeting will be held virtually this month. We will be discussing Teller’s budget, enrollment updates, staff vacancies, and the annual principal review. You can join us here: 

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/apv-nxwk-gmi

Or dial: ‪(US) +1 530-636-6822‬ PIN: ‪578 337 902‬#

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PTA Meeting: Tuesday, April 11th

Please join us on Tuesday, April 11 from 6:10 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. for our April PTA meeting. This meeting will be held virtually. A separate push notification will go out with login details. 

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Teller Community Partner: RIDWELL

We’re doing a hard-to-recycle plastics drive with Ridwell! Bring in your plastic film (stretchable plastic like plastic bags, bubble wrap, and bubble mailers) to Teller From Friday, April 14th through April 28th to be recycled by Ridwell and upcycled into composite decking and outdoor furniture. Let’s see how much waste Teller Elementary can divert from the landfill! To learn more about what can be accepted, visit the Ridwell website here. Additionally, sign up for Ridwell between now and May 6th using get.ridwell.com/teller-elementary and Ridwell will donate $25 to our school! This generous donation can help us reinvest in our sustainability efforts and community garden. Please email earthrangers@tellerpta.org with any questions or ideas.

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Earth Rangers Parent Support

Consider signing up for a volunteer slot to support Earth Rangers, our new after-school Sustainability Club. Join guest speakers as we focus on reducing our carbon footprint and wasting less. Earth Rangers' meets after school on Thursdays, from 2:40-3:40. You can access the sign-up here.

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Outdoor Container Design and Maintenance

Do you have a green thumb or a passion for gardening? Consider signing up as our container designer for the Spring season. Your plant purchases will be reimbursed by the PTA and contribute to the beautiful campus we want to maintain for our staff and students. Please email membership@tellerpta.org if interested.

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2023-2024 OPEN POSITIONS: PTA BOARD

Are you looking for a meaningful way to support Teller’s staff, students, and community with your time and talents? The Teller PTA Board has three open positions for the 2023-2024 school year. If you’re interested in volunteer leadership, we’d love to start a conversation with you! ALL ARE WELCOME.

Time Commitment

- 1x month Board Meeting

- 1x month Community Meeting or Teller Town Hall

- 1x month meeting with school leadership (President-Elect, Treasurer-Elect only, when available)

- Support School Community Events, when available

President-Elect

Join the PTA Board for a shadow year to learn about the President’s role and responsibilities. Attend standing meetings and support the current President with overall coordination efforts, when available. Participate in any PTA-supported activities that are of interest. Project management skills are a plus but not necessary. Assume the role of President in 2024-2025.

Treasurer-Elect

Join the PTA Board for a shadow year to learn about the Treasurer’s role and responsibilities, to include managing the PTA annual budget. Attend standing meetings and support the current Treasurer with purchase approvals and disbursement of funds, if needed. Participate in any PTA-supported activities that are of interest. Accounting skills are a plus but not necessary. Assume the role of Treasurer in 2024-2025.

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Teller DEN Night

Teller staff members will be offering a spring DEN (Lock-In Sleepover) Night on Satruday, April 29th. Drop your Teller Tiger off at 5pm on April 29th and pick them up between 7am and 8am on April 30th. Led by Teller's dynamic duo of Treisi Martinez (Ms. Treisi) and Ken Gray (Mr. Gray), your kids will have a fun night playing games and enjoying other fun, age-appropriate activities.

At the Teller Den Night, your child will be fed dinner and enjoy a whole array of activities including a scavenger hunt/escape room, arts & crafts, movies (age appropriate), and reading stories before settling down to spend the night in the school. You can drop your kiddo off at 5pm on Saturday, April 29th and pick them up between 7am and 8am on Sunday, April 30th. They will get breakfast snacks on Sunday morning as well.

Members of Team Teller are the awesome people caring for your kids all night. There will be one adult per 15 children. Kids will be in small groups based on grade level. They will also have time for fun as one big group, and older siblings will be allowed to tuck in younger siblings if the need arises.

We will have one chaperone identified to help with medical and allergy needs should they arise. You will be able to share relevant information in the information form that will be sent once you purchase the babysitting. 

Register here. 

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Save the Date: Teller School Dance

Its back…Teller’s School Dance will be held on Friday, April 28th from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Boosterthon will DJ this FREE event. Everyone is welcome, and there is no need to RSVP. Additional information will be available soon. 

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UPK Colorado Results Now Expected by April 26

Elementary ILT Members

As was shared last week, ECE families should now expect to receive their UPK Colorado results from the CDEC by April 26. Based on the initial data that we are seeing from UPK, please be prepared to hear from frustrated parents about their results. Please remind families that DPS is unable to change UPK Colorado lottery results as this is a state-run program, not a program run by DPS. If families have questions about their initial UPK assignment, they should call the UPK Colorado helpline at 303-866-5223 or email cdec_upkcolorado@state.co.us.

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How Sick is too Sick?

When Children and Staff Should Stay Home from School or Child Care Evaluation of a sick child must consider which diseases are currently circulating among students, staff, and the community. Known exposure to cases or an outbreak of a contagious disease (including but not limited to those listed here), even without a confirmed diagnosis, may necessitate more stringent return to school Requirements. During Colorado's ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, children and staff who have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 should receive testing, and follow the COVID-19 isolation guidance until testing is completed or if they test positive. If the individual tests negative for COVID-19, the individual should then follow the recommendations for their disease or symptoms using the below guidance.

There are four main reasons to keep children and adults at home:

1. The child or staff is at risk of infecting others with COVID-19 or another contagious illness, either because of symptoms or recent close contact.

2. The child or staff member does not feel well enough to take part in usual activities. For example, a child is overly tired, fussy or will not stop crying.

3. A child needs more care than teachers and staff can give while still caring for the other children.

4. The child or staff member has symptoms or an illness is on this list, and staying home is required.

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Teller Field Day!

Please join us for Field Day Thursday, May 4th. All 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes will have their field day from 8:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. All Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade classes will have their field day from 12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. 2:15 pm. Help our students feel ready to move with a reminder to dress for the weather, wear tennis shoes, bring water bottles, hats, and sunscreen. Field Day questions can be sent to dlinger@dpsk12.net. 

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Teller Backpack Friends Need Our Support!

Teller Backpack Friends was started 10 years ago to ensure that Teller students went home on Friday knowing they had food for the weekend.  To do this, the program maintains a pantry inside of Teller using space graciously provided by the school administration. The program was created with the intent of helping identified families on a consistent basis throughout the entire school year. In recent years, Teller Backpack Friends has begun holding open pantry days for the families in the weekly program to "shop" the pantry. These open pantry days occur in order to provide these families an opportunity to ensure they have enough food to keep themselves fed during extended school breaks.

Teller Backpack Friends wants to ensure that everyone at Teller knows the pantry is here for you if you are ever in need. It is here for every member of Teller that is experiencing food insecurity. With this in mind, we recently expanded our monthly open “shop” the pantry day to help any that need it, regardless of if as part of the weekly program or not. If a Teller family needs help, Teller Backpack Friends’ hope is that they will find comfort in relying on the pantry. Please help us ensure we can continue to stock the shelves and provide a variety of nutritious foods and on occasion, personal essentials and home supplies. Donate to Teller Backpack Friends Visit the Teller Backpack Friends website

Chef Zorba's is a Congress Park favorite and Teller Backpack Friends supporter. They are hosting an all-day dine-out event next Thursday, April 13th. Be sure to mention Teller Backpack Friends for 10% of your sale to be donated to us!  April 13th Chef Zorba's Dine-Out

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Early Bird Registration

Reduce the time and effort of school registration by updating your family’s information online—it’s quick and easy! Early bird registration will open on May 1st and close on May 19th. Our goal is to get as many Teller families registered as possible. For more information on early bird registration, click here. 

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DPS Climate Summit

DPS is sponsoring a student-led Climate Summit at Manual High School on Earth Day, and 5th graders are invited to attend (for free with Chipotle provided!). With the support of the district, DPS Students for Climate Action will empower the next student climate leaders to turn their environmental concern into positive action. 

DPS Climate Summit

5th-12th graders welcome

Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, 1-4pm

Manual High School

Register and find more information here

Contact Heather Jackson with any questions: heather.b.jackson@gmail.com