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Barney Ford Elementary

Weekly Update: September 12, 2024

09/12/24, 1:54 PM

Dear Families,

This year we are excited to host a series of events to bring our Black families together. The purpose of these events is to strengthen our community and partner together to support our students' academic and social-emotional growth. We welcome all who support, relate to, and engage with the Black community. Our first event is scheduled for Thursday, September 26 from 3:00-4:00 in the library. Food will be served and childcare will be provided. We will send home a flyer with an RSVP form soon.

Free Afterschool Enrichment Programs Starting Soon

We are excited to offer free after-school enrichment opportunities for our 2nd-5th graders. Please contact Discover Link Program Director Ariana Rodriguez or other Discovery Link staff to register.

Tutoring

Mondays, 3:00-4:00
Grades 4-5

Denver Children's Choir

Tuesday, 3:00-4:00
Grades 2-5

Soccer

Monday & Thursday 3:00-4:00
Grades 4-5

Boy Scouts

Friday, 3:00-4:00
Grades 2-5

Discovery Link

We are grateful to partner with Discovery Link again this year to provide free after school for our families. Registered families can have students stay after school up to 6:00 pm. This year the Discovery Link director is Ariana Rodriguez, ariana_rodriguez@dpsk12.net. Ariana is a bilingual Spanish speaker and is ready to help your family enroll in after-school care.

4:30-6:00 in the lunchroom
9/17, 10/1, 10/15, 10/29

How Sick is Too Sick?

Our goal is to have every student at school every day. Missing just two days a month can results in being chronically absent. Students are considered chronically absent if they miss 10% (two days per month) or more of the time enrolled in school.This includes late arrivals and early pick-ups from school.

At the start of the school year and when returning from breaks, it’s common for students to come down with colds. Use this guidance to determine if your students should stay home.

Keep your child home or seek care if they:	Send your child to school even if they:
Have a fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher.	Have a mild cold, which may include a runny nose and/or cough.
Have vomited two or more times in the last 24 hours.	Have eye drainage without fever, eye pain or eyelid redness.
Have a persistent cough, difficulty breathing or trouble catching their breath or if they develop a fever with the cough.	Have a mild stomach ache.
Have a rash with blisters that are draining, are painful, look like bruises and/or if a fever develops.	Have a mild rash with no other symptoms.
Have eye swelling, eye pain, trouble seeing or an eye injury.	Have head lice. Though they are annoying and should be treated, lice are not a reason to exclude a child from school.
Have a sore throat causing drooling, trouble swallowing or a fever and/or rash.	Haven’t had a fever overnight and they have not taken fever-reducing medicine during that time

Planning Ahead with Calendars

Access the 2024-25 school year calendar to plan appointments and vacations around important days to ensure your child does not miss valuable learning time.

The Colorado Department of Education has also provided printable calendars to aid families and students in keeping track of all the days they attend school. These calendars are available in English and Spanish.

Complete the BESS Screener

DPS uses the BESS screener to provide a quick and reliable way of assessing the behavioral and emotional strengths and potential risk levels in children. Just as students participate in screenings for vision, hearing, physical health, reading, and other academic areas, the BESS provides an indicator of a student’s mental health risk level. Screening allows for early identification of supports that can help offset current or future mental health risk in students.

Please use this link to complete the screener for your children. You will need their student's ID number and date of birth to access the form. Please see the attached flyer for more information and contact our school psychologist, Beulah Morman (beulah_morman@dpsk12.org) for more information.

Collaborative School Committee (CSC)

It’s time to vote for the Barney Ford CSC family representatives. Please use this link to see who is on the ballot and to vote for three representatives. These parents will advise the school on the budget, hiring priorities, family engagement, and more. Vote today.

Attendance Update

Last week our attendance rate was 92%, just one point away from our school goal.. Congratulations to 5th grade! They had the best attendance rate of 93.6%!

More students miss Mondays and Fridays than any other days at Barney Ford. Each Monday and Friday we will be raffling prizes to students are here. We hope that your students will be here to learn and win!

Upcoming Events

Friday, September 20: Dollar Dress Down Day
Thursday, September 26: Black Family Gathering 3:00-4:00
Friday, September 27: No School: Teaching Planning Day
- Discovery Link is open 7:00-5:30

View the September Monthly Calendar here.