May 2019 Newsletter

Our Annual Fundraiser

2019 Golden Gallop Registration is OPEN!

WELCHESTER ELEMENTARY MS. FISH HONERED! Ms. Natalie Fish was selected by Golden Schools Foundation to receive the 2019 Teacher Recognition Award! She was presented with a crystal apple and a check for $1,000 to be used in her classroom. We've been so fortunate to have Ms. Fish at Welchester and her countless contributions! Well-deserved!!

NINJA NATION! What a year it's been! Last month we were so excited to celebrate the end of testing with Ninja Nation!!! Talk about an awesome experience. Each of our students got to try out the fabulous obstacle course set up on our field multiple times.

EARTH DAY. Our Green Team also celebrated Earth Day by handed out 120 worms to the younger students and had them pledge kindness to animals. They are also still working hard at recycling and composting so no uneaten food gets wasted. This makes the goats at Skaal Farm very happy.

NEW CLUB FOR STUDENTS. Joining our clubs is the Pixel Guild Filmmaking Club which is run by Daniel and Christina Morrison who are brand new to our school.Our after school filmmaking club gives kids a crash course in the practicalities and skills of filmmaking. We emphasize putting gear in the hands of students so they can practice the basics of camera composition, sound and lighting. By looking at parts of popular films they also learn the theories behind narrative structure, editing and visual effects all while producing a collaborative production by the end of the six-week course. Check out their fantastic video on Welchester's Facebook page.

GET READY TO RUN! We also have a Bolder Boulder training club that is working hard at getting ready for the big race. They will train and then plan on sending a group of Eagles to race together. Go Eagles! LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION! We are all looking forward to our Talent Show on May 16th at 6:30! If you would like to join us please do. It will also be put on again during the day at Welchester University on May 17th. SHELTON ELEMENTARY COYOTE CLASSIC 5K. The 9th annual Coyote Classic was held on Sunday, April 7th and was once again a huge success.It is so inspiring to see the amount of school, community, and local business support for this event each year...and 2019 was no exception!We want to extend a big thank you to Amy Bern, and all of the volunteers whose efforts contributed to this awesome event! Congratulations to all the runners as well - check out https://runsignup.com or http://www.coyote5kclassic.com/ for this year's race results. FOND FAREWELL TO MICHAL ZWEIFEL / WELCOME DARBY BRADY! This is a bitter sweet ending to the 2018-2019 school year as our amazing assistant Principal, Michael Zweifel, has accepted a position as the principal at Vivian Elementary School next year. They do not know how lucky they are but will in short order.We will miss her guidance, knowledge, humor and welcoming smile and wish her well at this new and exciting position.Congratulations! Darby Brady comes to Shelton with a great deal of experience, both in the classroom and as an administrator. We feel fortunate to have her on board Team Shelton and look forward to next year, Welcome! WE WILL MISS YOU MR. WILDER! Shelton is both excited and saddened to have our Facility Manager, Dave Wilder, retire at the end of this month. We are happy for him as he lives life and enjoys retirement, yet sad for us as he will be greatly missed. Dave was laid off in 2002 and took an early retirement from Qwest (now CenturyLink). It was then that Mr. Wilder began his work for Jeffco Schools as a custodian.  As a custodian, Mr. Wilder worked at Witt Elementary and Dakota Ridge High School.In 2006 he became Facility Manager at Red Rocks Elementary and worked there until fall of 2015.In November of 2015 Shelton was fortunate as Dave took the position of Facility Manager at our school. On May 31st Dave will retire from Jeffco Public Schools.Thank you and congratulations Dave, all of Shelton will miss you! FIELD DAY! The big day this year was on Tuesday May 14, 2019. As always, all parents and family members made a great showing.This is our last big event to end the school year and all grades look forward to a day outside enjoying the sunshine!All students, K-5th grade, participated in field day with a fun animal theme. All students felt like "King of the Jungle" for the day! WELCOME NEW 2019-2020 PTSA BOARD MEMBERS! President - Heather Rice Vice President - Tatum Smith Treasurer - Rebecca Faverty Secretary - Leah Springman Membership Chair - Amanda Strouth RALSTON ELEMENTARY KINDERGARTEN PERFORMS: DIFFERENT PLACES, DIFFERENT WAYS! Ralston students and families were treated to a delightful musical program, Different Place, Different Ways, presented by kindergarten students on April 11th. Designed to reinforce concepts being learned in social studies and literacy, the program was presented at both 2:30 and 6:00 to audiences who were entertained and thrilled by the upbeat, multicultural songs and dance. Each student also had a brief speaking part, and they did fabulous! The talented students learned and delivered the joyful program under the direction of Ralston's dedicated music teacher, Shealyn Crocombe, and with support from their dedicated teachers, Kara Tice and Ariana Tzeng.

5th GRADE LUNG LAB. Ralston hosted the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in the STEM Lab on Friday, April 12th for a 5th grade "Lung Lab". Students explored the human body and the parts and functions of the respiratory system using hands-on investigations and small-group dissections of real sheep lungs. Students were both excited and a bit nervous about this endeavor, but all students reflected on how much they learned.

SPACE DAY & EARTH DAY! On April 19th, Ralston students participated in our annual Space Day. Space Day is a full day of space related activities for all students including a Dome-StarLab (Fiske Planetarium) in the gym, telescopes (Fiske Planetarium) outside the music room, Stomp Rockets, Soda Bottle Rockets, and a Mission to Mars (Denver Museum of Nature and Science). Students were "over the moon" with the activities! Ralston's PTA STEM Enrichment Program along with many, many parent and community volunteers made Space Day come to life. A big thank you to all those involved!

DAVE AGUILERA'S WEATHER PROGRAM. Dave Aguilera (CBS), meteorologist, visited Ralston's second grade students on April 23rd. Students were excited to learn about weather and climate as well as explore some concepts with hands-on activities. They were also excited to see themselves on the evening news! RALSTON'S VALUES AWARD WINNERS. Ralston is pleased to announce the winners of this year's value awards. Mrs. Shealyn Crocombe is being honored with the Exemplary Performance Award, Mrs. Laura Hinojos is being honored with the Integrity Award, Mrs. Xenia Johns is being honored with the Teamwork Award, and Ms. Ariana Tzeng is being honored with the Valuing People Award. All these amazing staff members help make Ralston a wonderful place to learn and grow. We appreciate their dedication and support. Please join us in congratulating them for being recognized by their peers for exemplifying Jeffco Values. MITCHELL ELEMENTARY TWO MITCHELL TEACHERS HONORED. Mr. Phillips, Music Teacher, and Ms. Nielson, Art Teacher were selected by Golden Schools Foundation to receive the 2019 Teacher Recognition Award! The teachers were presented with these at their retirement party, each receiving a crystal apple. Mitchell will also be given $1,000 for the Music and Art Department. We've been so fortunate to have them at Mitchell with their limitless contributions, for a combined 30 years!  They will be greatly missed, but we send them our best wishes for a well deserved retirement.

MITCHELL CELEBRATES OUR SPECTACULAR TEACHERS FOR TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK! Mitchell PTA honored our teachers this week with a popcorn bar on Monday, Starbucks to order on Tuesday, Qdoba bar on Wednesday, Gift Cards on Thursday and a candy bar on Friday! We appreciate the hard work and dedication of our entire staff. Special thanks to the Mitchell PTA for organizing, especially Kathy Pedavoli, Hospitality Chair MULTICULTURAL NIGHT! Mitchell's annual Multicultural Night, held this year on April 25th, is a celebration of the many different cultures represented in our Mitchell community. Many families signed up to host 'booths' with displays of food and artifacts to showcase their families' special cultural traits. There were also performances by Arvada High School Multicultural Dancers, the Colorado Asian Cultural Heritage Center and Rocky Mountain Highland Dancers/McCulloch Scottish Dance Academy.

KYFFIN ELEMENTARY CELEBRATIONS! Kyffin is excited to celebration the following teachers who were nominated for this year's Golden Schools Foundation Teacher Recognition Awards program. Congratulations to second grade teacher Aubrey Monckton, music teacher Claire Jensen, first grade teacher Kristy Mueller, and GT counselor Lisa Fiess! A number of students from Kyffin participated in this year's Education Nonprofit Corporation Writing Challenge and I Love to Read Challenge.  Kyffin tied for second place for "Schools with the most winning entries for the Writing Challenge" and won second place for "Schools with the most winning entries for the I Love to Read Challenge."  Congratulations to Simon Pollock, William Thomas, Mason Mitchelmore, Allison Pham, and Winter Manderson!  This month a number of Kyffin's students shared and celebrated their passions at Kyffin's annual Passion Project Fair! BUILDING COMMUNITY. All Kyffin students recently attended an assembly with a fantastic message called "The Rhythm Within" by Jonah Berger. It was an interactive presentation on the celebration of differences and how to walk to the beat of your own drum! Students were shown that authenticity is key and strength can be found in the weakest of places. This presentation was brought to Kyffin through the PBIS team and funded by PTA.  Kyffin students participated in their third Exploration Hour on our April Early Release Day to build community and explore new interests. Through our school-wide Brain Wise curriculum students recently learned about ways to Communicate Effectively including nonverbal and verbal cues, "I-messages" and the differences between passive, aggressive, passive-aggressive, and assertive ways to talk with others. Successful problem solving requires cooperation with others. How we express ourselves can prevent or create problems.

MORE LEARNING AND FUN. As the school year quickly comes to a close, Kyffin is looking forward to welcoming our fifth graders back from their Washington D.C. trip and celebrating them one more time at their 5th Grade Continuation. Classes are taking part in their last ELF (Environmental Learning for the Future) session about "Thorns and Threats." Kindergartens have a full day of celebrations on the 17th starting with a morning Kindergarten Extravaganza followed by their Field Day. Each year Kyffin students work together as a community to earn an "All School Extravaganza." This year's event will be held on May 20th and students and parents are excited to celebrate!  Finally, Kyffin welcomes all of their incoming Kindergartners on May 24th for their second annual "Kindergarten Move Up Day"! BELL MIDDLE SCHOOL MAY IS FULL OF ACTIVITY AND CELEBRATIONS FOR BELL STUDENTS! All in the next week and a half, Bell has a production of High School Musical Jr, an orchestra concert, an author's visit (NYT bestseller Lynda Mullaly Hunt), a band concert, an iSTEM showcase, Lakeside Night, classroom celebrations, the infamous 8th grade picnic and award ceremonies for each grade level.  So much to celebrate and be proud of! Over the last 10 days, Bell hosted an all school social, fundraising events for Make a Wish, staff & teacher appreciation week, the Bell robotics invitational as well as PTA and accountability meetings. Packing in this much in 10 days illustrates how committed Bell is to its students, parents, staff and teachers! WRITING CONTEST WINNERS! Bell students won awards in the Jeffco Writing Contest (over 1600 students) again this year! A Bell 8th grader won 1st place and 7th graders won 2nd, 3rd and honorable mention. Bell also won 3rd place as a school award. Way to go Bell students! You continue to impress our community. GOLDEN HIGH SCHOOL

GHS RAISED $37K DURING WISH WEEK! Golden High School hosted their second annual "wish week" April 29th - May 3rd, raising a grand total of $37,000. This year GHS's wish kid, Greyson, and his family were able to be actively involved at the school and fundraising activities. Greyson, an 8 year old boy from Castle Rock, CO. is diagnosed with bone marrow disease and the week was dedicated to fundraising for his Wish Trip of going  to Hawaii. The success of the week meant that the Golden & Bell communities were able to grant 4 wishes in total. Students came together to fundraise by participating in spirit days, restaurant nights, a "Miracle Minute" at the GHS boys lacrosse game, kickoff assembly, coin drive in class, and the Senior V. Junior wing eating contest. The week ended with a day dedicated to Bone Marrow Awareness, where Golden Wish Club members hosted a donor registry drive where anyone 18 and over could have their cheek swabbed to see if they are a match.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT TESTING. 362 GHS students to take AP exams! This year Golden High School has 362 students taking 583 AP exams. Students have challenged themselves all year with rigorous courses and are excited to demonstrate their knowledge to earn college credits. The exams started on Monday, May 6th and finish on Friday, May 17th. Students are taking the exams in US Govt, Physics, English Lit, Chemistry, Psychology, US History, Bio, Calculus AB/BC, Human Geography, English Language, Macroeconomics, World History, Statistics and Music Theory.Wish them luck on their upcoming exams! SPECIAL RECOGNITION GOES TO. . . Congratulations to the following students for winning the PTA Reflections Gold at the CO State Level with their amazing work! Meredith Jones, GHS Junior, Photography (1st photo below) Katrina Karo, GHS Junior (Exchange student), Visual Arts (2nd photo below)

INNOVATION CHALLENGE. Two teams from the Principles of Engineering class went to the Red Rocks Community College Innovation Challenge this week. Each student had to design and propose a solution to a sustainability issue for the City of Golden. One team, made up of Bryce Reeburgh, Seth Gerow, Kyle Gathers and Noah Raths, developed a plan for a water wheel teaching residents about Hydro Power along Clear Creek and the Historic Park. The second team composed of Simon Miller, Ben Trader and Mats Zdon, created a solution to decreasing water consumption with a residential grey water system. Both teams had creative designs and in the end the grey water system finished in third place at the event! Congratulations to these students!

SOLAR ROLLER COMPETITION. This past weekend, six students represented Golden High School at Solar Roller Competition at Elitch Gardens. Through the school year they designed and built a solar power radio controlled car then got to race it in four challenges at the event. Toby Howie, Chandler Slowik, Gage Gunn, Ben Brown, Ethan Bontrager and Will Wheaton showed incredible problem solving skills and positive teamwork through the weekends racing as the difficulty of keeping a car racing fast during a one hour long endurance race. Over 32 teams from schools all over the state raced and the GHS team did an outstanding job as Demons finishing as one of the top teams in 2nd place the PV Scramble challenge!!!! Thank you to City of Golden Sustainability Department and GHS PTA for sponsorship and support of the student team!

ON TO FCCLA NATIONALS! Congratulations to Lexi Merrill, Olivia McCandless, & Heidi Smith, they have qualified for the FCCLA Nationals which will be held in Anaheim California this summer!