October, 2025

Elementary families,

It’s been a great start to our elementary school year!  It has felt really busy with so many fun, community events… but we are now really feeling settled into the new school year.   Our amazing elementary students are in such a good groove, and have already been such a blessing to us.  What amazing kids you have!  Thanks for sharing them with us every day.

*Remember, each month I post the most recent Elementary Update on the home page of the Elementary Site.  So you can always go back there to be reminded of the details for these events as we get closer.  It’s a good idea to *bookmark* that website if you haven’t already.  You’ll also notice on this site that the Chapel Schedule page has been updated, so you can look ahead to when your child(ren)’s homeroom is leading chapel.

Below you’ll find a few elementary-specific details:

Theme Week:  Last week our Specials team (Art, Music, PE, STEM, Library) led us in a great Theme Week, looking to the past and to the future.  The teachers brought in old technology (with floppy disks!), talked about the oldest record of music/hymns, and shared about some of the most famous “classic” authors with students.  It was fun to see such creative costumes on Friday’s dress-up day!  A big thank you to our awesome Specials team of teachers!

After School Clubs / Break Camps:  Clubs and Camps are up and running!  We also are offering Break Camp days during Fall Break, Thanksgiving, and some of Christmas Break.   You can find more information on After School Clubs and Break Camps on our website.

• There are still openings to join for this week’s Break Camp days on Wednesday and Thursday!  Register online or you can email Robbie at rjordano@denverchristian.org for more information.

Fall Break:  Students will have Fall Break starting tomorrow (no school Weds-Friday the remainder of this week).  Our staff will be here for Professional Development tomorrow- we have two trainings lined up for teachers on learning styles/differences and on using the Danielson framework for teaching and learning.  School resumes on Monday, October 13.  

Sick Days / Extended Absences:  Please report sick days to the attendance line:  attendance@denverchristian.org

• We will collect whatever work is necessary for your child to make up, and send it home with them once they return to school. 

• If your child is going to be away from school for medical reasons for an extended period, please email me at lveenstra@denverchristian.org to help set up a plan with your child’s homeroom teacher on what the learning plan from home would look like. This would be something we would set up in advance, and may not be requested the morning of for the teachers.  

• Extended Absences/Trips

  • Please communicate in advance any extended absences your family may be taking.  School is important, and it’s hard on the teachers and the students when kids miss a lot of school.  While we understand that sometimes things come up, please know that our stance as a school is that it’s important for your child to be in school, and we kindly ask that you do your best to take vacations according to the school calendar breaks.

  • While we will work with families, it cannot be expected that our teachers will provide classwork ahead of time when students have extended absences.  We are happy to collect work while the student is absent and then work together on a plan to complete the work upon return to school.  Generally speaking, students will have 2 days per day absent to complete all missing work upon their return.

MAP Testing:  Our 2nd-8th grade Fall MAP testing window is now closed.  We have printed out student reports and will be sending those home in sealed envelopes today.  Please look for the report in your child’s backpack. 

Parent-Teacher Conferences:  Elementary Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held after school on October 29 and 30.  Kim Vande Griend will send out the sign-up for conferences next week.  As a sign of partnership, the expectation is that all of our elementary families will attend conferences during these times.

• Lost and Found will be set out for parents to look through during parent teacher conferences. 

• I mentioned this in my Principal Talk on the first day of school, but wanted to remind you all that we have switched from trimesters to semesters this year.  This means that there are two formal report cards going home (in December and in May), but you will also be getting a progress report at both fall and spring parent teacher conferences undating you on how your child is doing in class.

Early Release Fridays:  Our staff has had a good start to our collaboration time on Friday afternoons.  This year’s focus for this time is working through our new math curriculum, vertical alignment, and Teaching for Transformation.  The link to RSVP for Thunder Club during early release Fridays is found on the calendar page of the the elementary site.   

*Live Streaming Performances in the PAC - For our big events in the Performing Arts Center, we will plan to turn on the live stream.  Every live stream will always be at this same link, found here https://www.youtube.com/@DenverChristianSchool

Once it is live it will populate at the top of the channel so you can’t miss it!  After the stream is done you can go back and watch it on the “Live” tab, which will show all past livestreams.

We will be live streaming our weekly chapels, our 4th grade Veteran’s Day performance during chapel on November 6 at 8:30am, Grandparents Day, and our upcoming Christmas Concerts.

Grandparents Day:  We are excited to host Grandparents Days this year the Friday before Thanksgiving. You will receive more detailed information later, but please Save the Date and invite your grandparents to this event now!  It will be on Friday, November 21 (leading directly into Thanksgiving Break).  Grandparents will be invited into the classrooms that morning, hear from a guest speaker, and see a special presentation..  There will be a noon dismissal that day.

Carline Reminders:  Overall, carline is going very well this year!  Just a reminder to always pull up as far as you can (to where the yellow paint ends) to the front of carline so we can fit 8 cars in at a time for morning drop off.  Also, we are asking that all cars queue tightly to fit as many cars on campus as possible so that we can try to get more cars off of Wadsworth for afternoon carline.  If you have other adults picking up your children in carline, please remind them to not get out of the car to buckle kids (instead, pull off to the side once your through carline to get out an buckle young students).  

• If you have middle school siblings, please always have your family/car use the MS carline side every day, even if your MS student is not in carline that day.  It’s just easiest for our elementary students to consistently do the same side for carline.

• During my Principal Talk in August, I mentioned that we will likely be moving to a new system for dismissal and carline called PikMyKid.  We are currently pausing the implementation of this new program as we work with PikMyKid on a few items we would like to see changed before introducing it to our community.  I will send out an update when I have more information on this.

October Elementary Devotions Highlight

Last Spring, in partnership with the Proactive Parenting Collective, we invited Protect Young Eyes to host an assembly on stewarding technology in the classroom and the home. This month during our devotions in elementary classrooms we will build upon their content, continuing the fun and practical idea of "be a bug, not a slug." Students are encouraged to get up, be active, and build resilience (be a bug!) rather than getting consumed with screens in ways that make our eyes pop and our bodies sluggish (not a slug!). This aligns with God's design for relationships, moving our bodies, and working through challenges. Feel free to interact with your kids around these ideas and utilize this language in your homes. You're also invited to join the next Proactive Parenting Collective (PPC) gathering on Friday, October 24th, 8:30am in the dining hall. Learn more about this community through their landing page..

You made it to the end!  Thanks again for the opportunity to partner with us in Christian education.  I am grateful for the team I get to work with every day that is dedicated to teaching our children in the way of our Lord, I’m grateful for these precious students who give me hugs and make me laugh every day, and I’m grateful to partner with all of you (families) in preparing our kids to make a difference in God’s kingdom.  

Have a wonderful Fall Break!

Lauralee Veenstra, Elementary Principal