John Cackowski Class Site Page.

Email: jtcackowski@dcsdk12.org

Room: 2540 Office: 2540

2021 PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCE LINK TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT
I will not be available on Thursday September 23rd. If you need to sointment with me since I will not be here Thursday please email me. 

(Click here to meet with me at your scheduled time)

I am very excited we are back in school. I'm entering my 23rd year teaching, and I'm a former HRHS graduate graduating in 1992 (Was the 3rd graduating class HRHS had). I actually went to HRHS for 5 years. HRHS started out in 1987 with middle and high school together before Cresthill was built, so I went here in 8th grade.  I'm married to a former 1994 HRHS grad named Natalie, and I have a daughter who is a senior at Arapahoe, and a son who will be a incoming freshman at Arapahoe. 

I have taught many different courses in 22 years. I graduated from Colorado State and I'm actually a history major. I spent a lot of years teaching World History, US History, Government, Economics, Modern Euro, and Geography. I have taught strength and cond                     itioning, and I got my masters in Educational Technology, and HRHS needed me to help out in the Business Tech department 5 years ago because I also had a background in teaching television productions when I started teaching at ThunderRidge HS. So I have had a pretty diverse teaching history. 

My favorite sport is baseball. I love baseball. I used to be the head baseball coach here for 10 years. We had a good run making the playoffs in 8 straight years including back to back Final Four appearances, and at one point we were ranked 18th in the country. I have coached for USA Baseball, I have had a job as a professional baseball scout, and I also was a head softball coach at one time when I was at ThunderRidge. 

I was born in Staten Island, NY, and moved out here when I was 5 years old, however my parents divorced and my mother moved back to Staten Island, so I spent a lot of time going back and forth, so I feel like I grew up in both places, however you can't beat Colorado. I love it here. Being that I was born in NYC, I'm a huge Yankees fan, and huge NY Giants fan, however I also love the Nuggets, Avalanche, and I like the Broncos. 

As a teacher, I would say I'm pretty laid back and patient, and teaching tech classes has forced me to be even more patient because sometimes technology doesn't want to work with us. (Spinning wheel of death, computer crashes, internet goes down, wifi goes down, deleted files..etc.) I error on the side of communication, and I ask for you to as well because if there is something wrong, and you don't communicate with me, then I don't know how to help you. I'm of the belief of "less is more" especially during these unprecedented times. I will work very hard to make this new transition to a hybrid model (hopefully soon to go back full time), as painless and easy as possible. We will learn a lot of new things together this year, and there will be I'm sure unexpected challenges, so I think patience is a virtue. Look forward to the year and getting to know you. 

The Tale of Cack the Storyweaver

I’ve spent my life teaching others how to craft stories—how to breathe life into blank pages and turn simple sketches into moving wonders. But deep down, I always wondered if my own life could become a tale worth telling. One winter evening, as I sat grading storyboards, a strange envelope slipped under my door. Its shimmering parchment and golden script felt like something out of a dream. It summoned me to the ancient oak in the forest by moonrise, promising that my gift could save the unraveling fabric of stories. Curiosity got the better of me, and before I knew it, I stood beneath the great oak as a portal of light opened before me.

What I stepped into defied imagination: a land where stories came alive, yet many lay broken and fading. A sprite named Lumina explained that a rogue Shadow, born from unfinished tales, was consuming the threads of their world. She called me a Storyweaver, someone who could create with courage and emotion, and begged for my help. With my sketchbook in hand, I journeyed into the Forest of Forgotten Plots, crafting allies to guide me—a sly fox named Flicker, a wise owl named Ink, and a fierce warrior named Sable. Together, we faced trials of lost ideas and tangled narratives until we reached the Shadow’s lair. It loomed vast and formless, taunting me with whispers of doubt. But I began to draw, weaving a tale of hope and bravery. My creations sprang to life, overpowering the Shadow and restoring the broken threads of this wondrous land.

The victory was sweet, and Lumina offered me a place among eternal storytellers, but I couldn’t stay. “My students need me,” I told her, knowing my true calling lay back home. In a blink, I returned to my studio, as if no time had passed, yet everything felt different. My lessons became richer, my stories brighter, and though I never spoke of what I’d seen, I could feel the adventure in every line I drew. And so, I continued weaving stories—not for myself, but for those who would carry the magic forward.

Your website is editable by anyone

From, John Doe