Our annual fall Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences will be held on Wednesday, October 3rd and Thursday, October 4th in the D’Evelyn gymnasium. The D’Evelyn Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences are held in an arena format, so families may meet with teachers on a first come, first served basis. We do encourage students to attend conferences to engage in the thoughtful conversations with teachers.
The schedule is as follows: Wednesday, October 4th 5:00 - 7:30 pm Thursday, October 5th 3:00 - 5:30 pm The purpose of the Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences is to allow parents and students the opportunity to connect individually with their teachers. There are a variety of opportunities for conversation points presented by the conferences, including but not limited to:
We hope that you and your student(s) will capitalize on this valuable opportunity to meet with teachers. There are no appointments or set schedules for meetings; rather, parents and students will have an opportunity to meet with teachers on a first-come, first-served basis throughout the evening. Please bring a copy of your child’s schedule for use during the conferences. We will not be distributing copies of schedules during conferences. Additionally, your student’s progress report for the first six weeks of the semester will be available in Parent Portal by Wednesday, October 3rd; please bring a copy of that those grades if you wish to use it in the conferences. We will send an update via School Messenger email to let families know when the 6-week grades are all posted in Parent Portal. To allow all families an opportunity to meet with teachers, we ask that conferences are kept to a maximum of five minutes per teacher. If you need more than five minutes of meeting time with the teacher, please set up an appointment for a future date and time. During conferences, counselors and administrators will also be available to meet with parents and students. Prior to conferences, students 6-week grades will be submitted and posted in Infinite Campus. Thank you for your continued support of your child in their educational experience at D’Evelyn. We appreciate and rely upon your support to maintain high academic and behavioral expectations for our students. Parents and families play an important role in the success of D’Evelyn students - I am grateful for your commitment to supporting your student’s success in our liberal arts program. I hope that Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences are an effective way by which you can support your student’s success. Parents can support our Teacher Dinners for Parent-Teacher Conferences: If you are interested in contributing to the potluck meals for teachers on Wednesday 10/3, Thursday 10/4, or both, please sign up here! The D’Evelyn Fall Play - Our Town - October 4, 5, and 6 - 7 PM, D’Evelyn Auditorium We hope to see many students and families in attendance at this year’s D’Evelyn High School Fall Play - Our Town. The student actors and crew have been working diligently alongside their directors to put together an outstanding performance. Shows will be on October 4th, 5th, and 6th in the D’Evelyn Auditorium, starting at 7 pm. Tickets are on sale at school during both lunch periods, can be purchased in the Financial Office, and will be available at the door. All proceeds from the Friday, October 5th show will be donated to the Jamin Fund, a fund established in honor of Jamin Buchanan Wilson, D’Evelyn Class of 1999. The Jamin Fund supports an array of philanthropic endeavors, including the D’Evelyn Excellence in Education Awards granted annually to D’Evelyn faculty members. To learn more about the Jamin Fund, please visit the website. As you may have noticed in the D’Evelyn student planner calendar and our D’Evelyn official online calendar, the D’Evelyn Calendar Committee, in collaboration with the school administration and faculty, shifted the final exam schedule for the 2018-2019 school year as follows:
Because of this adjustment, D’Evelyn students will have school through Friday, December 21st to conclude the first semester. This is a slight change from previous years, and we appreciate your understanding and support during this transition year. The Calendar Committee agreed to this transition for several reasons, primary among them, a desire to support students by spreading out their final exams over three days. With the new schedule, students will benefit because:
The final exams will be spread over three days in the spring semester as well; however, that will not add an additional required contact day for students. We appreciate your support in this adjustment. It is the sincere hope of the D’Evelyn faculty, staff, and administration that this schedule adjustment will make the Final Exam schedule more supportive of student needs and allow them to find great success on their final exams this year. As a liberal art option school in the Jeffco Public Schools district, D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School admits students through its lottery process for grades 7, 8, and 9 each year. For students to be admitted to the school through the lottery process, parents must attend one of the Prospective Student Information Nights. The Prospective Student Information Nights for this school year are on the following days and times:
The purpose of the presentation on these evenings is to update and educate interested families in the following areas: -- the D’Evelyn liberal arts philosophy -- expectations of students and parents -- an overview of the D’Evelyn curriculum and graduation requirements -- operational traits of the school -- an overview of the lottery / application process As the audience for the Jaguar Tracks publication is largely the families of currently enrolled students, I ask that you share this information with interested family and friends outside of the current school community. D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School offers an excellent liberal arts program for students in grades 7 - 12. While there are many options for families to consider for their student’s education, the D’Evelyn liberal arts model is empowering for students, and has a proven track record of preparing its graduates for full, happy, and successful lives. I appreciate the support of our current families in sharing information about D’Evelyn and our lottery process with interested family and friends. The Jeffco Public Schools process for choice enrollment application and selection is going to change for this year’s enrollment cycle. The new system will roll out in January 2019. Because we do not know the specific details of how this program will work, we are asking interested families to stand by, and await instruction on how to complete the online choice enrollment application process. Nonetheless, we encourage interested families to attend one information nights at their earliest convenience. For parents with students currently enrolled at D’Evelyn that wish to enroll a younger sibling at D’Evelyn for 7th, 8th, or 9th grade in the 2019-2020 school year, you are not required to attend another Prospective Student Information Night, though you are welcome to attend. Nonetheless, you will need to complete the choice enrollment application process on or before January 31, 2019, with Sue Brown in the D’Evelyn Counseling Office. We hope to provide a clear understanding for all parents and students interested in the D’Evelyn program, with the intention of entering the lottery for the 2018-2019 school year. In addition to attending one of the information nights, I encourage all parents of interested students to read and review the D’Evelyn Founding Document, available on the D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School website (link here), in an effort to deepen your understanding of the program. Parents may also find additional pertinent information about the D’Evelyn Program on our official school webpage, or by following the official school Facebook (/develynjrsr), Twitter (@develynjrsr), and Instagram (@develynjuniorsenior). We hope that all parents and students make informed decisions during the school choice process, to encourage maximum success for students within the Jeffco school system. Thank you for your continued support and for your interest in D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School. I look forward to seeing many new families engage in our community through the upcoming Prospective Student Information Nights. D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School is a program designed to challenge students academically within the liberal arts curriculum. The content students encounter during their respective D’Evelyn tenures should be both rich and challenging. The purpose of the challenging curriculum is to prepare students for a rich and full life, regardless of their chosen future pursuits. One challenge in this program, where teacher-directed, whole-group instruction is the primary pedagogical method, is that different students will struggle at different times for different reasons. In our shared effort to prepare students for life, I hope we can all agree that challenges are an important component of adolescence. Nonetheless, all community members - students, parents, teachers, staff, and administration - need to be ready to work together to respond supportively when students face those challenges in their D’Evelyn years. Specifically, in the academic realm, we acknowledge that individual students will have unique challenges. There are a variety of ways for students to seek support to achieve their academic goals at D’Evelyn. First and foremost, I encourage students to work directly with teachers when they are struggling with a topic or course. Our 7th hour is well-designed for students to seek individual support, guidance, and assistance with academic material. Additionally, our faculty are happy to work with students at various other times during the day, particularly before and after school. Students should make those arrangements directly with their teachers. When students who struggle with the self-advocacy need to seek additional assistance from teachers, I encourage parents to work with their students to encourage the development of this important skill. Ideally, students should directly address teachers when they are struggling - ask questions, seek clarification, request help and support. When students need extra encouragement to work with teachers, we ask parents and families to use direct communication with teachers. In addition to seeking individual support from teachers, D’Evelyn also offers a Peer Tutoring Program, where students may receive individual support and tutoring from another D’Evelyn student. The tutoring program is reflective of the D’Evelyn Founding Document, as the Founders expected that different students may struggle in different academic areas in the whole-group, teacher-directed instructional model. The Peer Tutoring program is designed to support students across content areas and encourage academic growth for those that seek the support of the program. We plan to begin the Peer Tutoring program for this school year in the upcoming days. Students may sign up to either give or receive tutoring. The Peer Tutoring webpage can be found from the D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School homepage. For more information on Peer Tutoring, to request a tutor, or to seek a tutoring position, navigate to the Peer Tutoring request form through “Academics” drop-down menu, and select “Peer Tutoring”. The link to the page is: http://develyn.jeffcopublicschools.org/academics/peer_tutoring. Students can request Peer Tutoring on their own. However, parents, teachers, and counselors are also able to recommend students for Peer Tutoring services and are encouraged to do so if they feel a student would benefit from the program. If you have further questions or wish to discuss the D’Evelyn Peer Tutoring program further, please contact D’Evelyn Assistant Principal Tim Schmeckpeper at [email protected]. D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School recently received notification that six members of the Class of 2019 have been recognized as National Merit Scholarship semifinalists. Congratulations to D’Evelyn seniors Samantha Bakes, Cadence Fisher, Emma Dukesherer, Alan Li, Rory Devin, and Ian Widmann for earning the recognition as National Merit Scholarship semifinalists.
These six D’Evelyn students were among 24 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists attending Jeffco Public Schools, and the 221 students recognized across the state of Colorado for the 2018-2019 school year. In the D’Evelyn Class of 2018, seven students were recognized as National Merit Scholarship winners. Each year, the National Merit Scholarship Program recognized approximately 16,000 students from a pool of 1.6 million students as National Merit Scholarship semifinalists. This group of students is chosen from approximately 50,000 Commended Students, roughly 3% of all eligible students. The semifinalists are invited to submit an application to earn finalist status. Finalists are eligible to receive a variety of academic awards/scholarships. We are very proud of the accomplishments of these six outstanding students. This achievement is a great reflection of their intellect, work ethic, and commitment to excellence. Congratulations to these outstanding students, and good luck with the application process! If you would like to learn more about the National Merit Scholarship Program, please visit this webpage. Jeffco Public Schools Middle School Transition
Jeffco Public Schools is in the midst of a transition to a middle school model for students in grades 6 - 8. The transition began last school year and will continue through this year and next year. By the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, all articulation areas in Jeffco Public Schools, except for Alameda and Jefferson areas, will have a 6-8 middle school, 9-12 high school model. If you would like to learn more about the Jeffco Public Schools transition to a 6-8 middle school model, please visit this website. D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School and Dennison Elementary are not obligated to participate in this transition. However, because of the district-wide transition, the D’Evelyn Steering Committee initiated a 6th grade transition sub-committee in the Fall of 2017, with the intent of considering the potential, and ultimately real, impacts of the district transition. This sub-committee includes parents, faculty, and administration from both D’Evelyn and Dennison. During the 2017-2018 school year, this subcommittee discussed a variety of topics, primary among them, the various possible responses that D’Evelyn and Dennison could have to the district transition. In our most recent meeting, we agreed that to proceed beyond brainstorming, we needed to engage both school communities - parents, students, faculty, and staff - to gather input and feedback on possible options for the two schools to pursue. In our first D’Evelyn Accountability Committee meeting of the school year, I will be presenting on the topic of middle school transition, and how its impact on our school community. I will be joined by our Community Superintendent, Dan Cohan, who will present more specifically about the district transition. The Accountability Committee meeting will be on Tuesday, September 11, at 5:30 PM in the D’Evelyn Library. I look forward to the opportunity to share more information with our community about the district transition to 6-8 middle school programs, and the next steps for our sub-committee. Homecoming Week upcoming I am looking forward to the D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School Homecoming week festivities. It is an important time to celebrate the success of D’Evelyn students and share in a sense of pride in this great community. In collaboration with students, faculty, staff, and administration, Mr. Wille has worked to lead a fun week of celebration in the school for Homecoming. We look forward to our students displaying their spirit in various activities throughout the week and are especially excited for the Homecoming football game and Dance scheduled for Friday 9/14 and Saturday 9/15. Best wishes to you and your family on a great weekend, and an awesome Homecoming Week! By Dan Wille
We are excited to announce the kick-off of our Homecoming week starting on Monday! We believe Homecoming week is a time for students to show pride in the work they do at D’Evelyn and present their Jaguar colors by participating in the fun events scheduled throughout the week. Additionally, we look forward to welcoming back D’Evelyn alumni who are “coming home” to revisit the days they spent as students in our community. This is a great time for students to celebrate their accomplishments with their peers and all we ask is that they do so in a respectful, mature, and positive way. Below is a list of events taking place next week and we encourage all our students to participate. Spirit Days: These are days for students to show their school pride by dressing up according to the following themes
7th Hour Activities: During 7th Hour on Wednesday and Thursday, we will have fun activities for students to participate in.
Football Game
Homecoming Dance
We believe this week should be dedicated to having fun while working hard to celebrate the accomplishments of our incredible students. We find it especially important to ensure that the academic atmosphere is not compromised which is why we encourage all Jaguars to participate respectfully and appropriately. Parents, please encourage responsible behavior from your students in all our events and activities during this fun week. One important announcement: The Bonfire has been cancelled due to fire restrictions. We apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you for supporting our community and Go Jags! On Thursday, August 23rd, the Jeffco Public Schools Board of Education voted to place two initiatives on the November 2018 ballot. The first is a mill levy override, which would provide additional financial resources to support district operations, and the second is a bond, which would be dedicated to facilities improvements and upgrades. Additionally, Colorado Amendment 73 will appear on the November 2018 ballot - it is a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would raise additional funds for public education, pre-kindergarten - 12th grade by way of an income tax increase.
I encourage all D’Evelyn families to thoughtfully consider the implications of these three proposed measures facing Jeffco voters in November. There are many resources available to gather additional information. I have included several links for your consideration as well as a broad overview of the nature and details of the proposals. For general information about the proposed ballot measures and district funding needs, please visit this website. The Board approved the mill levy override for $33 million. The mill levy is a voter-approved property tax. The money generated by the mill levy override will be used for ongoing expenses and needs, such as attracting and retaining quality teachers and staff, increasing school safety and security along with mental health supports, expanding school choice options, and improving classroom materials and technology. For the mill levy override valued at $33 million, property owners would see a property tax increase of $2.10/month per $100,000 in residential value. To learn more from Jeffco Schools about the mill levy override, please visit this website. The Board approved bond measure seeks $567 million for capital construction projects. Like the mill levy override, bonds are voter-approved, but the bond approval allows borrowing funds that the school district can invest in capital improvements, new buildings, building additions, and renovations. The average school building in Jeffco is 50 years old. For the bond measure valued at $567 million, property owners would see a property tax increase of $1.81/month per $100,000 in residential value. To learn more about the bond measure, please visit this website. Like all schools in Jeffco, D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School would receive improvements and upgrades as a result of the bond passing. On the following link, you can see the potential improvements our school would gain with additional resources generated by this bond: D’Evelyn capital improvements. The funds generated by the mill levy override and bond measure are both subject to a citizen oversight committee and annual external audits. The funds cannot be used for central administration staffing. One additional ballot measure for voter consideration is the proposed Amendment 73, named “Great Schools, Thriving Communities”, which will also appear on the November 2018 ballot. Amendment 73 is a state constitutional amendment that would generate $1.6 billion statewide for Pre-kindergarten - 12 public education by way of increasing income personal and corporate income taxes. Jeffco Public Schools expects to receive a significant increase in funding should Amendment 73 pass - approximately an addition $1,600 per student for each school year after passage. To learn more about Amendment 73, please visit this website. |
Archives
May 2022
Categories |