Cherokee Trail

• PSP NEWS
• 6TH GRADE MUSIC PERFORMANCE
• COLLEGE FUNDING COACH
• DCSD RECRUITMENT FAIR
• HEART CHALLENGE
  
• BE EPICER
• WHAT'S HAPPENING IN WELLNESS
• COUNSELOR'S CORNER
• CALENDAR
• FROM THE PRINCIPAL
• NEW FLYERS 

1MAR - Yearbook Order Deadline

24MAR - Morning with Moms @ 8:00am

12APR - Spirit Night at Noodles & Co

28APR - All School Dance @ 5:30-7:30pm

MAY - School Supply Kit Orders due

1-5MAY - Teacher Appreciation Week

 

PSP Meetings @ 5:30pm 

February 28th

April 25th

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FROM STUCO - CAITLYN WEYHRICH

It's Kindness Week!! 13-16FEB23
 

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COLLEGE FUNDING COACH - TAMARA MAUPIN (@ SMS)

Dear Sierra Middle School Parents,
We have been working hard to provide college resources for your family.  I am excited to announce that Sierra Middle School is hosting the College Funding Coach on Monday, April 24th from 6:00-7:30pm.  The presentation will be offered in-person at Sierra Middle School (6651 E Pine Ln, Parker, CO 80138) and live webinar. This event is for any family wanting to learn how to pay for college (Preschool - High School).
The College Funding Coach was founded in 2002 to help families better understand the complex strategies for paying for college and making higher education more affordable. Mark DeBord, from The College Funding Coach is on a mission to help Colorado families pay for their children’s education.  This interactive workshop, Little-Known Secrets of Paying for College, teaches parents the rules of the game when it comes to paying for your child’s education.
This is a free educational in-person and web event.  Please register by clicking  HERE  or on the flyer attached to this email.
Thank You!

Sierra Middle School Hybrid Flyer 2223.pdf

Tamra L. Maupin - Counselor, Sierra Middle School
Taking Flight Coordinator
Sources of Strength Advisor
303-387-3844

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FROM MUSIC - GEORGE HALLEY

6th Grade Performance
Attention 6th Grade Families: Mr. Halley would like to announce that all of our 6th grade students will be putting on a performance on Thursday March 30th at 6pm in the gym at Cherokee Trail Elementary. The performance will be a telling of the story “The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse.”  We will include the use of a shadow screen, original expressive movement and music created by the 6th grade classes. We are working on our performance every day during music and if you want to see some sneak peaks please check the Music page on the CTE website over the next few weeks as we prepare our performance.  

If you have any questions, please email Mr. Halley.

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DCSD RECRUITMENT FAIR

Colorado Education Recruitment Fair - March 4

The first-ever Colorado Education Recruitment Fair is taking place right here in Douglas County at the new DCSD Legacy Campus. 

Saturday, March 4 | 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

DCSD Legacy Campus, 10035 S. Peoria Street, Lone Tree

Please help spread the word about this important recruiting event. READ the flyer and help spread the word!

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FROM PE - MICHELE WHITTINGHAM

Please read about the Heart Challenge at CTE here.

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BE EPICER @ CTE

At Cherokee Trail we focus on six traits, teaching and fostering them in our classrooms and school-wide in order to create learners who are strong academically and socially. They are:

ENTHUSIASM * PERSEVERANCE * INTEGRITY * COURAGE * EMPATHY * RESPECT
Read more on the EPICER page!
In January we will be focusing on EMPATHY. The indicators for empathy at CTE are:

   * I actively listen to others to understand their feelings and the situation

   * I  can put myself in someone else’s shoes 

   * I notice clues about how others are feeling: their words and body language

   * I celebrate how I am the same and how I am different from others

   * I consider other people's feelings/wants/needs when I act

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN WELLNESS - NOELLE DUNKER
Grades K/1/2: Teamwork will continue to be our focus this week. Teamwork required essential social skills. We will talk about how to cooperate, problem solve, communicate, listen, and create to be successful in life.

There is so much wonderful learning happening in our classrooms! 

In Kindergarten, we had a blast exploring different careers.  I read “Whose Hat Is This?” by Sharon Katz Cooper.  Students were then able to create their own career hat with a career that they are interested in.

In first grade, we will be continuing the 7 lesson series from the Safer, Smarter Kids curriculum.  So far, we have covered safety rules and the “trusted triangle”.  Next, I look forward to teaching “I mean business voice” and Think, Feel, Act.  First grade parents receive a parent newsletter after each lesson is taught.

In sixth grade, we started our bully prevention unit from Second Step.  In our last lesson, students learned the definition of bullying (includes repetitive, imbalance of power, and purposeful behaviors) and 3 common types of bullying (physical, verbal, relational).  Our next lessons will cover recognizing bullying and responding to cyberbullying.  If you are interested in reading more about bullying or how to help your child, take a look at this website.  Bullying can also be reported to Safe 2 Tell Colorado.

Sixth grade classes were also visited by Kelly Stewart, a school counselor from Sierra Middle School.  Students were given general information about middle school as well as how to request electives for 7th grade.  If your child is attending Sierra Middle School next year, their electives should have been submitted.    

I look forward to teaching the fourth and fifth grade students the bully prevention unit from Second Step next!

Parent Information

Is It Okay for Teens to Keep Secrets?

Publications about Anxiety Disorders

Mental Health Resources

* Is your child or someone you know struggling with anxiety?  The district has partnered with Dr. Scott Cypers to release a series of videos for parents with a ton of information and how to help someone.  All the videos can be found here.

* I Matter – Parents and youth (ages 12 and older) can take a brief mental health screening and schedule 3 free counseling appointments.

* STEM Center for Strength – mental health and well-being resources

Family Resources

DCSD Virtual Calming Corner

Life can be challenging at times! The great news is you have the power to overcome these challenges by integrating purposeful pauses throughout the day to calm both your brain and body. Maybe you need a quick nature fix, a guided relaxation practice or some quiet music in the background. Enjoy it all and explore! Be careful, some of these links can be rather mesmerizing -- you may want to use a timer ;-).

Safe 2 Tell Colorado

Do you know how to report a concern that threatens you, your friends, your family or your community?  Safe 2 Tell Colorado is an anonymous reporting tool for parents and students.  There are 3 ways to make an anonymous report – via website, app, or phone call.  

Weekly snack/food bags provided by Parker Task Force – If your family is interested in having a bag of snacks/food sent home in their student’s backpack weekly, please fill out this brief form.

Families with housing instability

Free/Reduced Meal Benefits

The Principal Chronicles continue ...

As I write this, it is a Wednesday and it is our Professional Learning Communities (PLC) day. It is one of my favorite days of the week because I get to sit and listen in on grade-level teacher planning. During this time the teachers meet with each other and look at student data. The data tells them what the students are understanding, what they don't understand, and what they plan on doing next with their students. It is essential to our student success and really helps our staff understand what the students needs are at an individual level. It is truly where we do some of our best work.
On the personal side, last week was my birthday. As most of my loyal readers know, I severely dislike my birthday as it is WAY too much attention on me and it makes me very uncomfortable. The worst is people singing Happy Birthday, I always feel so awkward. Luckily, this year I was at a Principal meeting most of the day so I was able to avoid most of the awkwardness. For my birthday, my family took me out to the Golden Corral (mostly as a joke). I'll have to say that was a very unique experience all in itself. First, I eat pretty clean 99% of the time and 99% of the Golden Corral menu is the exact opposite of eating clean. I think my family thought it would be funny and to punish me for always trying to avoid my birthday. 
If you have never been to a Golden Corral, picture a large buffet with every unhealthy thing you can imagine to consume. Luckily, they had a salad bar and meat. Expert nutrition tip, when in doubt pick something you can really do a lot to, like salad. Salad is pretty much what you see is what you get. Although I thought it was a bit strange that the salad bar didn't contain a single thing that was green (not even the lettuce). I tried to fill my plate as much as possible with vegetables and then went for the leanest cut of meat that I could find. I was able to find some steak as well as chicken that was relatively decent and I thought I might be able to come out alive. Unfortunately, I was not anticipating my family making me have dessert so they could sing Happy Birthday. That is where things went off the rails. They came over with a large sundae and a piece of what looked like cake with candles on it. They sang and sat there and waited for me to eat all the dessert they brought me. Don't get me wrong, I love a good dessert but I like to choose my own so I can limit the eventual pain of consuming so much sugar. What they gave me was like a fat, salt, and sugar bomb my stomach was not prepared for. On my way home, that sugar bomb detonated. My heart was pounding in my chest, I was sweating, and my stomach felt like I swallowed liquid Drano. Let's just say it was not a pleasant night in the Miller home. Can't wait for next year......

That is it for this week's edition, stay tuned for next time when the Principal Chronicles continue ...

NEW FLYERS

NONDISCRIMINATION NOTICE: The Douglas County School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, age, marital status, genetic information, or physical characteristics, disability or need for special education services in admissions, access to, treatment of, or employment in educational programs or activities. The School District’s Compliance Officer is Ted Knight, Assistant Superintendent, 620 Wilcox Street, Castle Rock, Colorado, [email protected], 303-387-0067. Complaint procedures have been established for students, parents, employees, and members of the public.