On behalf of the D’Evelyn faculty, staff, and administration, I wish you, your family, and your loved ones a wonderful Thanksgiving. Personally, I have great deal for which I am thankful, both personally and professionally, and hope all members of the D’Evelyn community will have some relaxing time over this holiday to celebrate and enjoy the company of family and friends. I am thankful for the opportunity to serve as D’Evelyn interim principal. I am consistently impressed by the great work achieved by D’Evelyn students, and am sincerely appreciative of the support D’Evelyn families provide their students - my appreciation grows deeper each day. I know that our students have earned their week-long break and I am grateful that they, along with our wonderful faculty and staff, will have this time. The last school day prior to Thanksgiving Break annually marks a transition point in the school year. Term papers have been submitted, many projects and major exams have been completed, the home stretch of first semester is in site, the fall sports season has concluded, and we look ahead to the many great academic and extracurricular opportunities of our students in December prior to the end of semester Winter Break. The 2017-2018 school year has already been marked by countless achievements and milestones for D’Evelyn students, and I look forward to many more during the balance of the school year. Please accept my best wishes for you and your family during the Thanksgiving week. I hope that it is filled with joy and happiness. The school year can be busy and hectic. I hope that all D’Evelyn community members enjoy the upcoming break, finding it restorative and fulfilling. We look forward to an exciting last few weeks of the semester after the break, and the many great opportunities that await our students going forward. Deputy Greg Everhart of the Jeffco Sheriff’s Department will be presenting to students and parents on the evening of Tuesday, November 14th at 5:30 pm in the D’Evelyn Auditorium leading into the Accountability meeting. His presentation is designed to educate students and parents on the current climate around the inappropriate use of the internet, cell phones, and social media applications.
Across American public schools, we hear of frequent misuse of social media and online resources by students, often with harmful and even devastating consequences. As a D’Evelyn community, we are not exempt from these concerns. Over the past several years, the D’Evelyn faculty, staff, and administration have seen students make mistakes, and at times break the law, with their use of social media and messaging applications. As an administrative team, we work collaboratively with the Jeffco Sheriff’s Office and other local law enforcement agencies to address these behaviors as they arise. However, we are hopeful that by educating parents and students on the realities and perils of various social media and networking platforms, we can begin a strong partnership to steer students away from dangerous, harmful behaviors in the realm of social media and networking. We are honored and please to have Deputy Greg Everhart offer this presentation, and provide support for D’Evelyn daily. Deputy Everhart has been a member of the Jeffco Sheriff’s Department for 16 years, and a School Resource Officer (SRO) supporting Jeffco Schools for 15 years. For the past nine years, he has served D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School as our SRO. Deputy Everhart brings unique perspective based upon his vast experience working with students in a variety of areas over the years. He has seen an increase in the frequency of improper student behavior online, and aims to work with our entire community to reduce and ideally eliminate this behavior. During his presentation, he will address several key areas where he sees students finding trouble, and will provide information and updates in these areas:
The presentation corresponds with the November Accountability meeting, and official Accountability Committee business will commence after the presentation from Deputy Everhart. Families are welcome to either stay for the Accountability Committee meeting, or leave after Deputy Everhart’s presentation. As a school administration, faculty, and staff, we aspire to provide comprehensive communication with families and students about important updates, events, and information originating at D’Evelyn. Within our communication system, we use the following tools:
Messenger - email updates for all families, or families organized by grade-level, depending upon the nature of the message School Website - a steady source of information, including teacher websites and school and extracurricular calendar Parent Portal (Gradebook) - allows access to student gradebooks for each of their classes School Community Events - Back to School Night, Parent Teacher Conferences, Prospective Student Information Nights, Welcome Events - all designed to offer opportunities to gain more information on expectations for students and families at D’Evelyn Jaguar Tracks - now offered in a weekly web-based format, this is an opportunity for faculty, staff, administration, and community members to share important updates with families regarding upcoming events and important issues in the school Email & Phone Communication - used when individual, private conversations are warranted Additionally, in an effort to highlight the many great things happening at D’Evelyn among our students, faculty, and staff, we have recently added D’Evelyn official social media outlets with Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
While we aspire to have thorough, comprehensive communication, I recognize that maintaining this level of communication with thousands of current community members is not perfect. Families and students are encouraged to contact the appropriate school official directly if they have questions that cannot be answered within the existing communication systems. Please feel free to call or visit the D’Evelyn Main Office - 303-982-2600 - should you need clarification on the best contact if you have a question or discussion point with a member of the D’Evelyn faculty and staff. |
Archives
May 2022
Categories |