CFL December Family Newsletter
December 2022
How to translate Smore Newsletters (English) or Cómo traducir boletines informativos de Smore (Spanish)
Mission and Vision Statements
CFL Vision
At CFL, we are an uplifting crew who embrace our students, staff, and families in a kind and fun learning environment where all can grow.
CFL Communication
Dear CFL Families,
I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving Break, and now the winter holiday season is upon us! As I reflect on the first half of the school year, I am feeling grateful for the CFL community of students, staff, and parents who all make this a wonderful place to learn and grow!
Reminder: Please support your child in dressing appropriately for the winter weather. On most days, our students will be outside to play which means hats, coats, snow pants, boots, mittens, etc. will be important for them to stay warm and dry! (Be sure to label all clothing, and check our lost & found if you find items missing!)
The last day of school prior to winter break will be Friday December 16th. Winter Break is December 20th -January 3rd. Classes will resume on Wednesday, January 4th. As a reminder, we begin school at 8:40 and end at 4:20.
I want to wish you all a very Happy and Safe Holiday Season and hope you all enjoy a wonderful and relaxing winter break! See you in 2023!
Sincerely,
Kim Frees (Principal)
Winter Benchmark will be happening the week of December 12th
Star Assessment
In 2012, Colorado passed the READ ACT. The READ ACT focuses on early literacy development for all students, and is especially targeted for students at risk to not read at grade level by the end of the third grade. To determine if a child is on-track with their reading, the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) mandated the use of specific literacy tests to track student reading in elementary school. Garfield 16 uses the CDE approved STAR Assessment.
Star Assessments are short tests that provide teachers with learning data. Star tests are computer adaptive, which means they adjust to each answer your child provides. This helps teachers get the best data to help your child in the shortest amount of testing time (usually about 20 minutes).
STAR Assessments are given to all Garfield 16 students in Kindergarten through Grade 3. Students who are not reading at grade level according to Star Assessments are placed on a READ Plan. Students who are on a READ Plan take STAR Assessments past their 3rd grade year, until they reach grade level.
STAR Assessments are taken several times a year as both progress monitors (every 4 weeks) and benchmark tests (Fall, Winter, and Spring). In December, students take the STAR Assessment winter benchmark.
If you more questions about the Colorado READ Act or STAR Assessments please click on the resources below or reach out to your child's teacher.
Holiday Parties
As the Holiday Season approaches, we are preparing for our holiday traditions and classroom celebrations. Parties will be from 3:15-4:00 on December 16th. Most classrooms will have simple treats (individually wrapped and prepackaged) and fun activities. All food brought in needs to be store bought. If you plan to participate, all volunteers need to be in our safety system, Raptor. If you have not already, make sure to stop at the office with your ID so we can get you in the system. We will have multiple check in tables to expedite check in.
Our school as a whole will participate in JOLLY Dress Up Days, see details below.
Tuesday, Dec. 13th- Flannel Day: Lumberjacks Unite
Wednesday, Dec. 14th - Candy Cane: wear your red and white
Thursday, Dec. 15th- Ugly Sweater and Crazy Socks: wear your most festive gear
Friday, Dec. 16th - Pajama Day: wear your favorite winter PJ’s
Fundraiser Update
Our top selling classrooms were:
Ms Yutkowitz's Kindergarten Class
Ms. Bozeman's 1st Grade Class
These classroom will receive a popcorn and juice party.
Our top Wreaths sellers were:
Nina from Ms. Yutowitz's Class
Kennedi from Ms. Bozeman's Class.
These student will earn a special lunch with the principal.
If you have not picked up your wreaths please come by the school during school hours.
Atendance Matters
Dear Families,
Our goal every school year is to ensure that every student attends school regularly.
Showing up for school has a huge impact on a student’s academic success starting in kindergarten. Parents play a key role in making sure students get to school safely every day and understand why attendance is so important for success in school and in life.
We realize some absences are unavoidable due to health problems or other circumstances. But, we also know that when students miss too much school regardless of the reason, it can cause them to fall behind academically. Your child is less likely to succeed if he or she is chronically absent—which means missing 18 or more days over the course of an entire school year.
Research shows:
Children chronically absent in kindergarten and 1st grade are much less likely to read at grade level by the end of 3rd grade.
We don’t want your child to fall behind in school and get discouraged. Please ensure that your child attends school every day and arrives on time. Here are a few practical tips to help support regular attendance:
Make sure your children keep a regular bedtime and establish a morning routine.
Lay out clothes and pack backpacks the night before.
Ensure your students go to school every day unless they are truly sick
Avoid scheduling vacations or doctor’s appointments when school is in session.
Talk to teachers and counselors for advice if your children feel anxious about going to school.
Develop back up plans for getting to school if something comes up.
Call on a family member, neighbor, or another parent to take your child to school.
ELL News
Greetings ELL Families!
Holly, Jolly, Oh by Golly! The holidays are upon us! December is a short month packed with
lots of fun and events but we continue to strive to maintain structure and consistency while having fun. We will continue on our personalized pathway in phonics, vocabulary, reading, writing fluency and reading comprehension.
Starting in January, all ELL students in grades kindergarten through 12th grade will participatein the ACCESS assessment. ACCESS provides a standardized measurement of academiclanguage proficiency for English language learners (ELL) students throughout the state of Colorado. Each form of the test assesses the four domains of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. This information allows us to monitor individual ELL student progress on an annual basis.
Again, thank you for sharing your amazing children with me! If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to me. mkerrigan@garfield16.org
Melanie Kerrigan
ELL Teacher CFL
Intervention News
Who doesn’t love December? The perfect time to cozy up with a good book and a cup of cocoa. This season is the perfect time for reading at any age. I wanted to share with you a couple of places to find books for you and your child this year without breaking the bank.
Garfield County Library- https://www.gcpld.org/
There are so many great books at the library. On the website there is even a kids section. Check it out.
Book Outlet- https://bookoutlet.com/
This online store has thousands of books, and offers great sales.
Thrift Books- https://www.thriftbooks.com/
On this site you can find used books. Great if you are looking for a buy.
Story Line Online- https://storylineonline.net/
This site will read books to your child. Thousands to choose from.
I hope you have time to check some of these amazing sites out. As you know, a love of reading is one of the best gifts you can give your children at Christmas, and always.
Happy Reading,
Melissa Bradley
Reading Interventionist CFL
Pre-School News
We are excited to be back in session beginning a new month of learning and exploration in our preschool classes. Our current Creative Curriculum study is “Wheels”. As children play, they often gravitate towards items that move, turn, and roll. As we study wheels, we will learn concepts and skills in language and literacy, math, science, social studies, and the arts. We will also be using thinking skills to investigate, ask questions, solve problems, make predictions, and test our ideas.
What You Can Do at Home
Talk with your child about any wheels that you see around your home and neighborhood, such as car wheels, tractor wheels, rolling pins, and wheelbarrows. Create a list of wheels you find and add to it when you are out in the community and discover a new type of wheel. This builds children’s observational skills and helps them make connections between what they are learning at school and things in the community. We would love it if you could share pictures of wheels you discover with our classrooms! Questions such as “how do wheels work?” and “Why does the car have four wheels?” will help your child think more deeply about this subject.
At the end of this study, we will have a special event to show you what we have learned. Thank you for participating in our learning!
As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please stop by the office.
Meri Nofzinger~Director of Preschool
Early Childhood Council Meeting
At our last meeting we discussed, the Annual Report Feedback, our Quality Improvement Plan
and Families as Partners.
The ECE parent advisory is here to support, encourage and improve the quality of education and the well being of students by:
Exchanging ideas and information
Providing information about educational and community matters to parents
- Providing the parental voice to educational decision-making
PE News
Happy December CFL Families,
Please remember to have your kiddos bring sneakers to school everyday for PE class, this is mostly to move safely in the gym. This month we will be continuing our basic locomotor movement patterns. Students earn a bead, for their beads and charms bracelet, everytime they master a movement (8 locomotor movements). We will also be working on bounce/ dribble in the ball handling skills progression chart. This will mainly come in the sport of basketball. As always, please reach out to me with any questions and thank you for sending your kiddos to school everyday.
Mr. Cora
Afterschool Programs
Our first session of afterschool programs will be wrapping up on December 6th with a showcase for families from 4:30 -5:30. We had seven clubs and served 80 children! The kids all had a great time and made some new friends. Please look for more information to come home for our next session which will start on January 17th. Some programs fill up very fast so please send the forms home as soon as you get them if your child is interested. We will send the forms home on January 4th.
Please contact me if you have any questions at jjablonsky@garfield16.org.
Mrs. Jablonsky
Family Resource Center
Please do not hesitate to reach out to our School Based Family Resource Center for more information.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Claudia Flores Cruz
Center Coordinator
970-285-5262
Transportation and Bus Routes
In an effort to even out busloads and to achieve quicker drop-off times, some bus routes have changed. Please click the button below. If you have questions please call the Transportation office at 970-285-5700 ext. 5130.
If you need more information please contact our Transportation Director - Steve Gardner at
970-285-5700 ext 5130
Breakfast and Lunch Menus are available on our district and school website!
School Breakfast and Lunch menus are currently being created and updated for the start of the school year. If you are ever looking for the breakfast and lunch menus, please visit our district Nutrition Department Website where you can link directly to each month's menus. These menus can also be accessed on the CFL Website. Menus will be posted as soon as they are ready for the year!
Please keep in mind that menus have the potential to change A LOT depending on staffing issues, and product availability. Our Nutrition Department does their best to honor the posted menus, however they can be heavily impacted for a variety of reasons. If you ever have any questions, please call 285-5701 ext. 4180 with any questions or email jwilliams@garfield16.org
Center For Family Learning
Email: kfrees@garfield16.org
Website: https://cfl.garfield16.org/
Location: 100 E 2nd St, Parachute, CO 81635, USA
Phone: 970-285-5702