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Teller Elementary School

PRIDE Post- September 14th, 2023

09/14/23, 12:15 PM

Hello Everyone!

This week’s PRIDE Post is a BEAST, please read through it fully and reach out if you have any questions!

1) Late Arrivals and Late Pickups:

Friendly reminder to all families. The school day starts at 7:40am. Please ensure that you are arriving on site by then to drop off your student. If you are late, you are required to walk your student(s) to the Main Entrance door and walk them up to the front desk. Students may not be walking themselves to the front door and the desk, they need to be accompanied. It is a safety concern.

Additionally, late guardian pickups afterschool are not permitted. Please ensure you are at the accurate pickup location at the end of the day.

Lastly, we wanted to ensure you are all aware that 10 days of absence will result in truancy. Each minute a student is late to school will also add to this time.

2) Farmer’s Market Tomorrow!:

Join us tomorrow, September 15th, for the next Teller Farmer’s Market of the 23/24 School Year! This market will be led by students in Ms. Schwarz's 5th grade class. The market will take place right after school, from 2:40pm-3:40pm, on the south playground. Stop by and pick up some fresh food and veggies!

3) Teller Pantry:

We have some changes in pantry hours for the remainder of this week and next. Please plan accordingly, we don't want anyone to miss out!

Friday, 9/15: 7:15-9:30am & 12:30-5:00pm (no change)
Saturday, 9/16: 8:30am-12:30 pm (during Saturday school)
Tuesday, 9/19: 12:30-2:30pm (no change)
Thursday, 9/21: 7:15-9:30 am & 12:30-5:00pm (due to no school on 9/22)
Saturday, 9/23: 8:30am-12:30 pm (during Saturday school)

Would you believe that in these first 5 weeks of the school year, we have stocked our shelves with over 4.900 pounds of goods from the Food Bank of the Rockies?! In addition to this, we are recipients of the Teller garden harvest and as of this week, we are a new beneficiary of Grow Local Colorado (check out our social media for details)..

The pantry team is moving mountains to get our community what it needs but we need your help to keep it going at this pace! Please consider volunteering. We have numerous opportunities and would love to have you for any amount of time you have to give!. Please complete the required DPS background check HERE and then sign up at Teller Pantry Friends volunteer opportunities SY 2023-2024

4) Hispanic Heritage Event:

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Teller is thrilled to welcome both Focklorico de Colores and El Mariachi Juvenil de Bryant Webster to perform for Teller Students on Thursday, September 21st!

5) Shelter in Place Drill

Teller will be holding our first Shelter in Place drill for the 23/24 school year on September 20th.

6) From the PTA

Totally Teller is right around the corner, and you won't want to miss it! This year marks our 7th year of hosting this fundraiser, and we'll be Soiree-ing in Style at the Botanic Gardens. Tickets are available to purchase here, and the website has all the details about the event. If you'd like to donate something for the auction, we'd love to have it! Fill out this donation form and we'll be in touch! In previous years families have donated vacation homestays, professional services, a beautiful cutting board, you get the idea, get creative! Not only is this a great event to get to know fellow families, but it's also a great opportunity to showcase what you do, and your hobbies or donate something you know will get people bidding!

Should you have any questions, email anyone from the PTA and we will be glad to help. You can find all of our email addresses here on our PTA website aka the Teller Community Toolkit. The Toolkit is your community hub for so much of what Teller has going on, which, fortunately, is A LOT! You will find information about events, Teller Pantry Friends, and ways to get involved; which can range from working with us on Dining Out nights, sponsorships with banners on the fence, volunteering in school or with the PTA, ordering Teller wear, and more. This is the same "toolkit" that you may have registered with to order school supplies or use to become a member of the PTA. We've worked hard the last few years to build this site into a place where you can have your questions answered and be in the know. Check out the site when you have a chance!

We want to thank the hard-working teachers and staff for the amazing block party last week! You all have really outdone yourselves, thank you for the great evening! This year is off to such a great start and we recognize all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes and in the hallways of Teller for our kids.

Lastly, please keep an eye out for an email from your child's room parent. If you have not received an email from a room parent yet, that classroom might not have gotten someone to volunteer. If you would like to volunteer to be a room parent, get in touch with your child's teacher or roomparents@tellerpta.org. Room parents help coordinate events, class gifts, and support items for teachers, and there can be two to help ease the load if you're concerned you don't have time.

Other Upcoming events

Dine for Teller: Teller’s PTA is planning a “Dine for Teller” night at Chook on Monday, September 18th and Tuesday, September 19th! Use the code “SCHOOLS20” or mention Teller. For more information, please check out their flyer here!

Dine for Teller: The second Dine for Teller night will be on Tuesday, October 10th, from 5-9pm at Culinary Dropout- Denver. Please be sure to mention Teller Elementary during checkout with your server or over the phone for take out orders. We will be donating 30% of sales (excl. alcohol) generated during this time for anyone who mentions Teller.

7) DEN Nights

Teller staff members will be offering a spring DEN (Lock-In Sleepover) Night on Saturday, October 7th. Drop your Teller Tiger off at 5pm on October 7th and pick them up between 7am and 8am on October 8th. 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, October 7th and pick them up between 7am and 8am on Sunday, October 8th. 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.

8) Volunteering Requirements:

Friendly reminder for all, if you would like to volunteer at Teller for the garden, pantry, tutoring, or anything else, youAll volunteers must have completed a DPS Volunteer Background Check.

9) September 22nd- No School:

This day is a TEAL Day and a non contact day for students. Discovery Link camp will be offered this day, if you are interested please contact: charise_barela@dpsk12.net

10) Fall Festival

Join us for our 3rd annual Fall Festival on Friday, October 27th from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Our Fall Festival is free for all participants and will include a Trunk-or-Treat, pumpkin patch, costume contest, outdoor dance party, and fresh-pressed apple cider.

We are looking for parents/guardians who are willing to decorate their vehicles or tables (tables will be provided by the school) and hand out candy from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. If interested, you can sign up here. Spots and tables are limited, so sign up today!

If you are in need of Trunk-or-Treat ideas, you can check out some creative ideas here.

We are collecting donations of individually wrapped candy. Donations of Individually wrapped candy can be dropped off at Teller Office starting Monday, September 18th.

We will be holding a Food Drive on this day as well, please standby for more information!

11) Fall CogAT Sign Up

Fall CogAT Testing Sign Up If you are interested in having your child (1st, 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade only) take the CogAT assessment this spring, please complete the nomination form. Applications can be found at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScunmyJy06R1QW-BL3tv8DpV566k_YgwuXUa6g8spX0JrYj7g/viewform. Applications for testing are due Friday, October 13th. Students can only take one cognitive assessment per calendar year, so if your child was already given the NNAT or the CogAT in the fall, they cannot be assessed again this fall. During the fall semester, DPS students enrolled in Kindergarten, 2nd, and 6th grades are tested with the NNAT or NGAT as part of the universal screening process; those families do not need to submit this form unless their child was not assessed during the fall screening. If you have any questions, please contact marian_dorsey@dpsk12.org

12) GT Info Night Recording

If you wanted to attend the GT Info Night, but didn't get a chance, Teller has included a recording of the virtual presentation, as well as the slides from the information session. Click here for the link to the recording and click here for the slides that accompany the video. If you have any questions, please email Marian Dorsey at marian_dorsey@dpsk12.org.

13) How to Register and pay for Field Trips on MySchoolBucks:

1) Website Instructions:

Log into your MySchoolBucksAccount
From the top bar on the right hand side, please select “School Store”
From the dropdown menu select “Field Trips” under Categories
On the right hand side, select Teller under the “Filter by School” section( **Only if you have students at multiple schools**)
Please ensure you are selecting the correct student when selecting programs
For example:
- If Janet is in KG she cannot be registered for Slow Foods: Lil’ Sprouts as that is a 1st-5th class.
- Add to cart (**Quantity must equal 1**)
When ready to complete purchase, go to your cart and complete payment

2) App Instructions:

Log into your MySchoolBucksAccount
From the options at the bottom, select the “Store” icon in the center.
Select “Teller” for your School
All available/open offerings and enrichments will populate. (**It is highly recommended you filter for “Field Trips” **)
Select your desired class, scroll down and select the specific student and add to cart (**Quantity must equal 1**)
Go to your Cart and complete payment

14) 22/23 Yearbooks!

We still have a small number of last-year's Teller Yearbooks available for $30. They are 60 pages full-color and chock full of Teller photos from last year. If you did not purchase one last year and would like to, please contact our Office Manager, Treisi Martinez at treisi_martinez@dpsk12.net.

15) Upcoming Events/Dates:

9/15: Teller’s Farmer’s Market will be led by Schwarz’s 5th grade class
9/15-9/16: Erev Rosh Hashanah and Rosh Hashanah
9/16: First day of Saturday School
9/21: Teller will host a Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration 9:15 - 10:00am
9/22: TEAL Day and a non contact day for students. DL camp will be offered, contact: charise_barela@dpsk12.net
9/24- 9/25: Erev Yom Kippur and Yom Kippur
9/29: Teller’s Farmer’s Market will be led by Kraft’s 4th grade class
10/2: National Custodian Day
10/2:Safe to Tell Presentation 9-10 (Bully Prevention Kickoff)
10/3: Teller Town Hall #1 6-7:30am in the cafeteria or gym
10/6: Farmer’s Market will be led by Gray’s 4th grade
10/7: Totally Teller- PTA DEN Night sleepover
10/9: Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Have a wonderful day!