Monday message 08.09.2021
Countdown to the first day of school!
The first day of school is in less than a week! We are looking forward to meeting all our learners and families. Below you will find important dates and information.
Monday, August 9, 10:00 AM – Noon: New Learner Orientation – Lunch Provided
Please join us for orientation, where your learner will tour the building, meet the staff and learn what makes Colorado SKIES an amazing place to be. To assist with social distancing, we ask that only newly enrolled learners and their guardians attend this event. Masks will be recommended but optional. Please contact the Colorado SKIES Academy office at 720-400-7612. Orientation make-up will be Friday, August 13, from 2:30-4:00 PM.
Thursday, August 12, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM: CSA Family Block Party
Bring the entire family for food, fun, music and games. Families will also be able to visit information booths, including Spirit Wear, school supplies, lunch program, Hobby Quest, meet other Families, get your school schedule and meet your facilitators.
School Supplies
CSA will be asking families to pay a $20 school supply fee for each learner. This will cover any supplies needed for all learners over the course of the year. School supplies will be shared as a grade-level family. Facilitators have created lists of classroom supplies and will purchase items as needed. If you already purchased an Edukit, you will receive a reimbursement. Those supplies would be dispersed between your learner’s grade level. Please send cash or check in an envelope to school during the first week of school. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. We thank you for your patience and understanding.
Monday, August 16: First Day of School & Picture Day
Lifetouch will be here taking individual learner school pictures. All CSA learners will have their picture taken and then families can decide to purchase after they preview the photo. Look for an email to be sent with the flier attached later this week. CSA will offer class pictures in the spring. Also CSA will have their very first yearbook. Yearbook Club will be available to any learner who wishes to participate. Please see Mrs. H.C. in the art room to sign up!
Thursday, August 19, 5:30 – 7:00 PM: Back to School Night
- 5:30 PM: Families with last names beginning A-H
- 6:00 PM: Families with last names beginning I-M
- 6:30 PM: Families with last names beginning N-Z
Parent Portal
We encourage all CSA families to stay connected through PowerSchool. Logging in to this portal will allow you to receive emergency messages, view learner assignments and progress as well as complete all registration forms. It is also important that new and returning families complete the check-in through PowerSchool and update their information in the Parent Form Tile.
1. Go to my.cherrycreekschools.org.
- Click “Need Account Assistance” (in red).
- Fill out the required information (you will need your learner’s ID number).
- An email will be sent to the address you entered to confirm the account creation. It may take up to 15 minutes for you to receive the email confirmation.
- Click on the link in the email to verify your account. This link will return you to the my.cherrycreekschools.org website to begin the check-in process for your learner.
2. Select the PARENT FORMS tile:
- Check in each learner assigned to your household
- Be sure to click the “next” button at the bottom of each page until you have completed the process for each of your learners.
- You should have a green for each learner once check-in is completed. If you get a red X, something is incomplete for that learner.
These forms must be completed PRIOR to your learner attending school.
Chromebooks
Each Colorado SKIES Academy learner will be issued a learner computer for use during the school day. If a learner needs to use this device outside of school (take home), they will be asked to complete this form before taking a computer home. There will not be a need for learners to bring any devices from home.
Back to School Information
Registration
The registration process here at Colorado SKIES Academy is to fill out an Intent to Enroll. Once accepted, you will be asked to fill out our enrollment application. If you are living in the Cherry Creek School District, then you will not need to enroll into the district again. If you are coming from outside the district, please see the following document to complete the registration process: CSA District Enrollment.
If you have any questions regarding enrollment, please call the office at 720-400-7612.
New School Lunch Program at CSA
We are excited to announce that we have teamed up with Cherry Creek Food and Nutrition Services for the 2021-22 school year! The TITAN portal is the best place for families to access menus, view nutritional information/allergens, view account transactions, and add funds for snacks. Create your account at Titan. Due to COVID reimbursements for the government-funded school programs, the free breakfast and lunch program has been extended for all learners. Lunch and breakfast will be FREE for every CSA learner this school year! We would appreciate it if each family could help us by filling out this quick survey to make sure that we are meeting your needs: Parent Survey.
Daily Schedule
Our daily schedule for learners:
- Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM.
- Friday from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
Morning drop-off begins at 7:30 AM through the car line of the building.
Free breakfast is served to all learners from 7:30 AM to 8:30 AM.
Dismissal begins at 3:30 PM each Monday through Thursday and 1:00 PM each Friday. Please use the car lines with two lines for pickup.
Please display your carpool sign in your front window on the driver side. Carpool signs will be distributed at the CSA Block Party this Thursday.
From E. County Line Road, turn N. on S. Warren Court and then E. on Isbill Drive. Drive past the entrance to the Wings Over the Rockies parking lot and turn right into the CSA driveway. Drive around the circle to the front of the building to pick up your learner(s). Afternoon pick-up will be after 3:30 PM. Exit the parking lot and turn right on Isbill to Warren Court.
Carpool
If you need to carpool with another family and need help locating someone near you, please use this link: CSA Carpool. Thank you so much, Chris West, for putting this together!
Learner Schedules & Courses
Learner Schedules will be distributed at the Block Party on Thursday evening.
Humanities: 90 minutes daily. Projects and instruction based on Language Arts and Social Studies Colorado State Academic Standards.
STEM: 90 minutes daily. Projects and instruction based on Math and Science Colorado State Academic Standards.
Lunch/Recess: 45 minutes daily.
Leadership: 45 minutes daily. Quarter 1: Leadership will be scheduled for each learner. Quarters 2-4: Learners will be able to select a grade-level-specific course that extends learning opportunities in math, science, social studies or language arts.
Advisory: 45 minutes daily. Each day learners will meet in their designated homeroom for social-emotional development and team building.
R3 – Reading Research & Reach Out: 45 minutes daily. Learners will use this time to learn strategies for self-selected reading, guided research, how to participate in aerospace research) and application through community outreach.
Electives: 90 minutes each day. Learners will have one special that will change weekly: Exploratorium, Art, Physical Education & Makery and Cyber Spaces. Learners will participate in each of these electives throughout the grading period.
COVID Update
We are currently working closely with health experts, local health officials as well as Cherry Creek School District to provide you with the best information on COVID protocols for the 2021-2022 school year. Please use this information as a guide:
At CSA, learners and staff are strongly encouraged to wear a face mask in school, but it remains optional at this time. The decision on whether to have your child wear a mask in school will be up to each family. Even though masking is not required, unvaccinated and vaccinated learners and staff may choose to wear masks. CSA will ensure that every classroom is a welcome environment for learners and staff who choose to wear masks as a way to protect themselves.
These steps are in alignment with Tri-County Health Department (TCHD), which says:
- Arapahoe, like other counties across the state, is currently at a “Substantial Risk” for community transmission. In alignment with CDC’s updated guidance, Tri-County Health Department (TCHD) is now recommending that all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask indoors, including teachers, staff, students and visitors.
- Given new evidence on the Delta variant, the CDC recommends universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students and visitors, regardless of vaccination status. Children should return to full-time in-person learning in the fall with layered prevention strategies in place. This guidance is consistent with recent recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
- Like much of the guidance released by the CDC, CDPHE and TCHD for the 2021-22 school year, at this point, universal masking should be understood not as a requirement, but as a strong, science-based recommendation.
Before/After School
We are excited to continue to offer our popular Before and After Care program with Hobby Quest. Before Care will be available Monday through Friday from 7:30-8:00 AM for free, supervised by a CSA staff member. After Care will be available Monday through Thursday from 3:00-6:00 PM and Fridays from 1:00-6:00 PM at an hourly rate. Please click here for more information and to enroll your learner(s) in the program or email VadimBE@hobbyquest.com.
Monday Message and School Website
The Monday Message is sent out each week to all our families with articles, upcoming events, pictures of learners, updates and other pertinent information regarding school activities. Please sign up at the bottom of our website. You can also find all our Monday Messages and other important information archived on our website here.
Social Media
Colorado SKIES Academy invites you to join our family Facebook group. Our Facebook and Instagram accounts are updated frequently with pictures of our learners and descriptions of the learning process. Please check them out!
Looking forward to meeting everyone on Thursday at the Block Party!
Anne Wodetzki
Colorado SKIES Academy
School Director
anne.wodetzki@coloradoskiesacademy.org