DMHS Community Update October 29, 2020

DMHS Community,

I hope that your students have settled into their Q2 courses and are off to a good start. This week we held the SAT and PSAT assessments, and our students did an awesome job! It went smoothly, everyone practiced careful social distancing and mask wearing. It was lovely to see them on campus – we truly miss your children and the energy they bring to the building!

Unfortunately it looks like it will be a while longer until we are all back together as a whole community. I’m sure you are aware that on Tuesday Superintendent Susana Cordova communicated that DPS secondary schools will remain in “remote learning” through the rest of this semester. This decision was made in alignment with Denver’s decision to shift to “Safer at Home Level 3” status. If you are interested in reading more, you can access Superintendent Cordova’s announcement at:  www.dpsk12.org/our-dps-weekly-october-27-2020/.

It is with mixed feelings that many of us received this message. We are eager to have our students and teachers back together on our campus, and yet we understand, and agree, prioritizing the safety, health and well-being of our community is paramount.

Previously, I’ve shared that we are hoping to offer a Learning Center option, and we are still moving forward with this idea. With some of the new restrictions we will be limited to a very small number of students each day and will need to prioritize those students who qualify for Special Education Services, English Learners and our most at-risk students. We are currently working to staff this option and will provide a special update when the plan is completed.
Over the course of this first quarter we prepared for a number of scenarios. Remote learning is one in which we have grown and become stronger and even more effective in. With this decision comes a sense of stability, one which leverages the tremendous amount of effort and energy that our teachers have put into developing effective and engaging tools and strategies for online learning.  I couldn’t be more proud of the work our staff has done to provide high quality learning to our students and I am confident that will continue through this quarter.
We know how that the many changes, shifts and moving goal posts can bring difficulty and frustration. We continue to be available to support students in processing their feelings, emotions and experiences. Should you feel your child could benefit from this type of support, please let your child’s adviser know and they can put you in contact with the appropriate person. As always, please also feel free to connect with me directly via phone or email should you have any ideas, suggestions or feedback you’d like to share. Thank you and take good care! Cor

Please welcome Christine Valdez, our new Health Tech and Tate Dempsey, our new Farm School Math Specialist! Christine  will be helping out Obdulia with attendance and other office duties while we remain in the remote setting.   Tate will be supporting Tehronne and Annie with their math classes and offering small group  math intervention. 

CSC ELA PAC Meeting 

 The next CSC ELA PAC meeting will be Wednesday November 4 from  6-7 pm.  Everyone is welcome to join!   Among other topics, we will be discussing hiring and budget updates, and remote learning and learning center updates.  The zoom link is here: https://zoom.us/j/98212387411

Report Card Updates

We are in the process of sending out Q1 report cards. Farm school families will receive them this week.  High School families will receive them next week.   Please remember that current  students grades are  in Schoology.  

Picture Day

We are organizing a socially distanced school picture day.  This will be an optional opportunity for your student to get their picture taken for school IDs and the yearbook.  More details to come in next week’s update. 

Information Sessions 

Usually around this time of year, we offer opportunities for our 8th and 9th grade  families to learn more about our High School program.  We are planning to offer these sessions in early January.