Week of January 23, 2017

Thursday Folder Fliers:

Momentum Spirit Night

LHS K-6 Art Camp

Iron Horse Choir

PTO Newsletter

Parking Lot Update:

Please DO NOT drop students off in our parking lot areas in the morning as this is an unsafe procedure. All students must be dropped off in our supervised drop off lane next to the sidewalk. Also, cell phone use is not permitted in our parking lot. Please do not use your cell phone until you are outside of our parking lot area. Thank you for your help in ensuring the safety of our students and staff. 

Students in the Morning:

Student supervision begins at 8:15am. Students should not arrive before this time as there is no supervision available. 

Band and Orchestra Students:

Please remind your band and orchestra students that they need to enter the building through our front doors so that we can ensure that they are safe and account for their attendance. Many of our students are choosing to stay on the playground where there is no supervision. Thank you for your help with this!

Office Procedures:

As you may have noticed, our office has changed! When you arrive at Iron Horse, please check in at the office window. You will check in electronically via computer and will need to check out upon leaving. This system will ensure that we have an accurate count of all adults in the building in case of emergency. 

Clean the World Soap Drive:

We are collecting bars of unused soap for our Clean the World soap drive. About every 15 seconds, a child dies from a disease that could have been prevented with proper hygiene. The bar soap your we collect will save lives. Depending on demand, your soap will be used in the hygiene kits Clean the World distribute to homeless shelters here in the United States, or sent to at-risk people in developing regions abroad. Since 2009, Clean the World has distributed in 100 countries. Please have your student bring in donations of unused soap to their classroom teacher. Donations will be accepted until February 10th. 

Upcoming Events:

January 25-February 10: Clean the World Soap Drive

February 8: PTO Meeting 6:00-7:00pm

February 15: SAC Meeting 4:00-5:00pm

February 17: No School - Teacher Professional Learning

February 20: No School - President's Day

Week of January 16, 2017

Thursday Folder Fliers:
Strategic Chess
Lego Engineering
Momentum Spirit Night

Minecraft Club offered by Mrs. de la Pena at IHE

Gym Rats offered by Ms. Ghidotti at IHE
Choir. offered by Mr. Craig at IHE

PLC Day:
Our teachers had a great day of learning during our PLC on Friday. Teachers worked in groups to learn more about running records and how they drive instruction in reading to make it more personalized for each student. 

Cold Weather:
We are now in the midst of winter weather. Students go outside as long as the temps are 22 degrees or higher (we do factor wind chill into this number). Please ensure that your student is dressed for the weather - snow boots, coat, gloves, no bare legs. In the event of an emergency, we may be outside for extended periods of time and they need to be dressed appropriately in order to be safe. Thank you for your support.  

Parking Lot:
As the weather turns, our parking lot tends to get very crowded. Thank you for continuing to utilize the appropriate procedures for exiting the lots, as well as your patience while we are getting everyone home safely. 

Staff Appreciation Lunch and Snacks for Teachers:
Thank you to all of the parents who supported the staff appreciation lunch in December and the healthy snacks for staff in January. We appreciate your support and loved the goodies! 

Upcoming Events:
February 8 - SAC Meeting 4-5pm in the Learning Commons
February 15 - PTO Meeting 6-7pm (Child Care is Provided)
February 16 - Chick Fil-A Night for Iron Horse

Week of January 9, 2017

Thursday Folder Fliers:

Denver Nuggets Night

Douglas County Upcoming Events

Welcome Back~
I hope you had a wonderful two weeks with your family and friends! Last week was a bit interesting with our snow day, but this week we are moving forward. We are so excited to start the second semester with your children. Have a wonderful weekend! 

Writing Curriculum Update:
As you may know, Iron Horse teachers have researched multiple writing resources to support our students' learning. Of particular importance to our staff was a resource that provided differentiated learning opportunities, sound assessment practices, development of the 4Cs and 21st Century skills, transference to other content areas, alignment within our feeder area, and the ability to internalize the skills and strategies used by effective writers. We truly believe that we have found that resource in Thinking Maps and Write from the Beginning. We are excited to begin training this spring and summer. Please be on the lookout for more information about Thinking Maps after our training in February.

5th Grade Parents:

On Wednesday, January 11th at 9am, Cimarron Middle School is hosting the next Parent Orientation/Coffee Talk opportunity for future 6th grade parents to gain more information about the exceptional student learning experiences at Cimarron Middle School for the 2017-18 school year. This informal event will allow you to learn about Cimarron's middle school academics, transitions, athletics, and activities. Please click on the link to sign up for this opportunity.

Cimarron Coffee Talks 2017-2018

Additional Dates:

February 1 - 6pm

May 3 - 9am

Apple Awards:
The deadline for nominations for the Apple Awards is this Friday, January 13th. This is an amazing opportunity to honor the hard work that our DCSD staff does on a daily basis. Please go to https://www.dcsdk12.org/apple-awards to nominate your favorite employee! 

Upcoming Events:
January 11: SAC Meeting - 4-5pm in the Learning Commons
January 13: NO SCHOOL - Teacher Professional Learning Day
January 16: NO SCHOOL - Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
January 18: PTO Meeting - 3:45-4:45pm in the Learning Commons
February 8: SAC Meeting - 4-5pm in the Learning Commons

Week of December 12

View Thursday Folder Fliers HERE

Iron Horse Staff wishes you and your family a wonderful holiday season filled with joy! 

Polar Express Night TONIGHT:
Please join us tonight for the Polar Express Night. Doors will open at 5:30pm. The movie will start a t 6:00pm and will end at 7:45pm. Hot chocolate and goodies will be served. We hope you can join us! 

Elementary Progress Reports:
Elementary Progress Reports (EPRs) will be available tomorrow at 12:00am. You can access your student's EPR by logging into your Parent Portal account. 

From there, on the left hand tool bar, you will see EngagED Parent Portal. 

Click on this and then use your credentials to log in again. 

From there, you will be able to find the student and view the EPR. 

Please make sure to click on "View Full Report" in order to see teacher comments. 

Family Giving Tree:
Thank you to all of our families for supporting the giving tree this year. It is truly special to see our community pull together to help one another! 

Open Enrollment:
Open enrollment ends on January 5th. If you know of a family interested in attending Iron Horse next school year, please remind them to complete the open enrollment application through Parent Portal. 

Kindergarten Enrollment:
Kindergarten enrollment is now open. We are accepting the first 25 students with a $100 deposit into our full day program and would love to offer another section if we receive enough enrollment. We will also offer a half day program. Please see the flyer in the online Thursday folder (above) for more details. 

5th Grade Parents:

Wednesday, January 11, 2017 at 9am, Cimarron Middle School is hosting the next Parent Orientation/ Coffee Talk opportunity for future 6th grade parents to gain more information about the exceptional student learning experiences at Cimarron Middle School for the 2017-2018 school year. This informal event will allow you to learn about Cimarron's middle school academics, transitions, athletics and activities. Please click on the link to sign up for this opportunity.

Cimarron Coffee Talks 2017-2018

Additional Coffee Talk dates:

February 1 6pm

May 3 9am

Upcoming Events:
December 16: 12:00am - EPRs available to view
December 16-January 2: No School Winter Break
January 3: Students Back to School/Second Semester Begins
January 9: Spelling Bee in the Gym
January11: SAC Meeting in the Learning Commons
January 13: No School - Teacher Learning Day
January 16: No School - Holiday
January 18: PTO Meeting - 3:45-4:45pm in the Learning Commons

Week of December 5

                                             View Thursday Folder Fliers HERE

Polar Express Night:
Please join us on Thursday, December 15th from 5:30-8:00pm for a fun evening with the Polar Express! Students may come in their jammies and bring a pillow or blanket for the event. We are in need of donations to make this a success. Please view our Sign Up Genius to donate an item: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0b4ba5aa2fa20-polar. Donations for this event allow us to provide the event free of charge to all families.

Parking Lot and Winter Weather:
With the winter weather upon us, there is an increase in the amount of parents parking and picking up their students. Please continue to follow the traffic flow established below. Please remember that you may NOT exit from the south entrance to the gravel lot due to traffic and student safety concerns.

PARKING LOT INFORMATION

Upcoming Events:
December 14: SAC Meeting - 4:00-5:00pm in the Learning Commons - Please bring a treat to share to celebrate our hard work!
December 15: Polar Express Night - Doors open at 5:30, Movie starts at 6:00 and the event ends at 8:00pm.
December 16 at 12:00am: Report Cards available to view
December 16-January 2: Winter Break - No School
January 3: Students Return to School
January 11: SAC Meeting - 4:00-5:00pm in the Learning Commons

Week of November 28

View Thursday Folder Fliers HERE

Happy Holiday Season! 

Elementary Progress Reports (EPRs):
EPRs for the first semester of school will be released on December 16th at 12:00am. Teachers will be reporting out on Colorado Content Standards in Reading, Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies, Art, Music, and PE, as well as 21st Century Skills, the 4Cs, and TRACK expectations. You can access your student's EPR by going to your parent InspirED account. Please contact the office before December 15th if you have questions regarding accessing your student's EPR.

Polar Express Night:
Please join us for a magical evening on December 15th. Students can come in their jammies and bring a pillow/blanket. We will be providing hot chocolate and baked goods while we enjoy the Polar Express. The doors will open at 5:30 and the movie will start at 6:00pm. The event ends at 8:00pm.

Office Depot:
If you are shopping for presents this season at Office Depot, please use the code: 70018401. We receive a percentage of all purchases. Thank you! 

Lost and Found:
Our Lost and Found is overflowing! Please check to see if you are missing any items. We will be placing all lost and found items near the front entrance. All items will be out until December 14th. Any items remaining will be donated to charity. 

TRACK Expectations:
Our students are working on understanding the areas of TRACK: Team Player, Respectful, Achieving, and Considerate.
Each week, we are focusing on what each area means and teachers are discussing it in their classrooms. Here are the expectations:

1. Team Player – Working Together, Listening to Others, Taking Turns, Doing your Part, Respecting other Ideas, Opinions, and Thoughts, and Being Flexible
2. Responsible - Being in the Right Place, At the Right Time, Doing the Right Thing, and Owning Your Own Behavior
3. Achieving - Taking Ownership of Your Own Learning
4. Considerate - Keeping Hands and Feet to Yourself, Talking in a Respectful Tone to All, Using Your Manners, Being Understanding of your Peers, Being Respectful of Property/Materials, Being Thoughtful and a Good Friend, and Using Appropriate Voice Levels

Students and/or Families in Crisis: 

Holidays are stressful times and can result in situations where a family may need support. The Colorado Crisis Services can be a support. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. Counselors can provide resources to support families or students in need. Colorado Crisis Services can be reached at 1-844-8255 or you can text TALK to 38255. 

Upcoming Events:

December 14: SAC Meeting - 4:00-5:00pm in the Learning Commons
December 15: Polar Express Night - 5:30-8:00pm
December 16: EPRs available to view
December 16-January 2: Winter Break - No School
January 3: Students Return to School

Week of November 14

Polar Express Night:
Please join us on December 15th for a night on the Polar Express! Families are invited to come in jammies, bring pillows and blankets, and join us for hot chocolate and baked goods as we watch the Polar Express in the gym. There may be a special guest who attends! 

Boosterthon Pledges:
We are SO close to reaching our goal for collection - we are short by $63! If you have not reconciled your pledges, please do so. If we reach our goal, Iron Horse will receive additional funds to use towards our shade structure. 

Writing Instruction:
We have been working hard to review a variety of writing resources for teachers to use consistently in the building. It has been a long process in which we discussed our values, reviewed what research says about high quality writing instruction, and viewed the resources in action, as well as had conversations with the teachers who use them. We will be finalizing a decision in the next month and will send out more information about this resource to families as soon as that decision has been made. We want to thank our PTO and parent community for supporting us through the Boosterthon in our efforts to provide high quality instruction for our students. 

Thanksgiving Feast:
Thank you so much to families for attending our feast! We had 175 adults join us for this wonderful lunch. We also had guests from DCSD World Class Education and Professional Development - thank you for your support! It was a wonderful lunch and we appreciate all of the families who could join us. Our lunch staff did an incredible job preparing delicious meals for us all. I love to see our community come together with one another! 

Veteran's Day Celebration:
We were so honored to welcome our veteran's to Iron Horse on Veteran's Day. Veteran's received a warm welcome from our students with a choir concert headed by our music teacher, Jordan Craig, followed by an awesome lunch served by Sandy Jensen, Heidi Posaved, and Vicki Dewey. What a fantastic day honoring our veteran's! 

Upcoming Events:
November 19-27: No School - Thanksgiving Break
December 3: Cimarron Festival of Trees 9:00-12:30am - $5.00 entry fee until November 18, After November 18 - tickets are $10.00 - Event is in Cimarron's Commons
December 14: SAC Meeting 4-5pm in the Learning Commons
December 15: Polar Express Night - 5:30-8:00pm in the Gym