By: Josh Griffin, Principal
As we approach the Thanksgiving Break and holiday, I am particularly thankful for the faithful dedication of D’Evelyn students, teachers, staff, and families, as we seek to ensure our students continue to have strong learning experiences in the 2021-2022 school year. In spite of the challenges associated with returning to a far more typical school year, I continue to derive great enthusiasm and inspiration to lead this school from the spirit, vigilance, and engagement shown throughout the D’Evelyn community during this year. Our students and teachers have worked hard to make this a successful year of in-person learning, sports, activities, and social events, and I appreciate the strong support we receive from D’Evelyn parents and families. Thank you students - I appreciate the dedication and energy you bring to school each day. The energy and engagement I observe in classes throughout the school is a great tribute to the commitment of our students to success. In the long run, your well-honed perseverance and sincere commitment to your own education and growth will serve you very well. Thank you for your continued commitment to your education. Thank you teachers & staff - I appreciate the courage and determination you have shown to continue to educate, mentor, and support D’Evelyn students as we have returned to in-person learning. This year has challenged educators and support staff in unique ways as we have rebuilt from the disruptive school closures and remote learning periods of the last school year. You all have shown thoughtfulness and earnest commitment to deliver high quality learning experiences for your students and to support them as we return to “normal”. Thank you for your steadfast dedication to the education of your students. Thank you D’Evelyn families - I appreciate the support, engagement, and encouragement provided by D’Evelyn families. The impact of previous remote/hybrid learning models and the continued Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly impacted home and family life to a great extent. As a school community, we are fortunate to have the dedication shared by D’Evelyn families to supporting a quality education for our students. We would be unable to provide the rich, rigorous D’Evelyn liberal arts education without your great support. In challenging times like these, it is important that we all keep our focus on what is important in our lives. The education of our students is a high priority, and I am proud that by way of great efforts throughout our community, D’Evelyn continues to provide a strong liberal arts education to our students. With that said, the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday and associated break should be a great opportunity for our students, teachers, staff, and families to rest, relax, and spend time with loved ones. It is important that we take time to recharge and restore our energy and dedication to success in school. It is my most sincere hope that all members of the D’Evelyn community have a restful, relaxing week-long break from school and a very Happy Thanksgiving. I look forward to a strong finish to the first semester in the upcoming weeks. Thank you for your ongoing and steadfast support of D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School. By: Josh Griffin, Principal
As we quickly approach the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday and break (only five more days!), I know that I have a lot to be thankful for in both my personal and professional life. It has been a great pleasure to wrap up week 2 of my return to work at D’Evelyn. Each day, I am impressed by the quality of student engagement and learning, the thoughtful dedication of our teachers and staff, and the orderliness of the academic environment in our school. I offer my sincere gratitude to the parents and families of D’Evelyn students - without your support, care, and consideration, our school would not be the same! I hope that the upcoming holiday will be a great time for all D’Evelyn students, staff, and families to enjoy some rest, relaxation, and quality time with family, friends, and loved ones. This has been a remarkable fall at D’Evelyn. I am incredibly proud of the thoughtfulness, hard work, and dedication shown by all of our community members to help us with our “return to normalcy”. We know that we will continue to face challenges as we reacclimate to our typical in-person learning, athletic, extracurricular, and social operations in the school. However, I have observed outstanding progress to this point of the year throughout our school, and I am proud of all those involved in helping us make this school year such a success. Please know that we remain committed to supporting students that may still be struggling with the return from the disruptive environment of the past two school years. We encourage students and families to continue productive conversations with teachers, staff, counselors, and administrators as needed as we proceed through the year. Outside of the classroom, D’Evelyn students have shined in many different arenas. As we have now concluded the fall athletic season, and look ahead to the winter sports season, I would like to recognize and honor the great achievements of our students and staff throughout the course of this year. Our fall sports teams collectively had an amazing season - there are many athletes, coaches, and teams to recognize for their hard work and success, and I highlight the following today: Congratulations to the boys & girls cross country programs, who had a very successful fall season. The girls were 3rd in Jeffco 4A League, 3rd in their CHSAA Class 3A regional, and 15th at state. Junior Jaden Miller earned honorable mention all-conference honors. The boys program placed 6th at league, 3rd at regionals, and 18th at state. Senior Adrian Lopez earned 2nd team all conference. Congratulations to the boys football team on a strong fall season. The Jaguars ended with a 3-6 record, but showed improvement throughout the course of the year, and offered valuable opportunities to many younger student-athletes in the program. We look forward to the final results of their all-conference recognitions this year. Congratulations to the boys golf team on a successful season, culminating in a 6th place team finish in the Jeffco 4A league, and all-conference honors for D’Evelyn sophomore Taj Kumar. Taj also qualified as an individual for the state tournament. Congratulations to the boys tennis team, who finished 4th in the Jeffco 4A state championships and were the runner-up in league. D’Evelyn sophomore Aswaanth Karuppasamy earned the Jeffco 4A MVP and 1st team all-state recognition. Congratulations to the D’Evelyn girls volleyball team, who won the Jeffco 4A league championship with an undefeated conference season. The girls qualified for the regional tournament where they were defeated by Frederick High School. Congratulations to the D’Evelyn girls softball team, who for the 2nd consecutive year qualified for the CHSAA 4A state final four. This year, the girls made it all the way to the state championship game, where they lost to Holy Family. What a great season! Multiple athletes were recognized as all-conference, and sophomore Peyton Marvel earned the CHSAA 1st team all-state designation. Congratulations to the boys soccer team on a great season that concluded last week. The boys had an outstanding run through their conference schedule, earning 2nd place in the league standings and making it to the Round of 16 in the state tournament. Our students involved in performing arts had a great fall season as well. Congratulations to the D’Evelyn Marching Band, winners of their 9th state championship in the past 10 years. The Marching Band is an incredible group of over 100 students between grades 8 and 12. Thank you to the coaches and parents for their hard work and support of the students in the Marching Band program. Congratulations to the D’Evelyn Cheer Team who has had an outstanding season thus far. The team qualified for the National High School Cheerleading Competition in February. Additionally, just this past week, they placed 2nd at the Jeffco League competition and they will compete at state in Colorado Springs on December 9th. The D’Evelyn High School fall theatre production of The Frogs was excellent. We had great participation from students in the production and an awesome turnout of community members. Thank you to our hard-working students and coaches for their efforts to produce this great production. We are looking forward to Newsies in the winter. D’Evelyn junior and senior high vocal and instrumental musicians are gearing up for their winter concerts, which occur right after the Thanksgiving Break. We look forward to these great concerts, and annual tradition that is a wonderful way to get our students, staff, and community members into the holiday spirit. Thank you to the National Honor Society for organizing an outstanding Trick or Treat Street community event for local youth to celebrate Halloween. Many student clubs contributed to decoration and candy distribution during this wonderful annual holiday event. Thank you to the Spanish Honor Society for leading a successful canned food drive to support the Jeffco Action Center during this holiday season. The drive runs through November 17th, and we encourage D’Evelyn students, staff, and families to contribute to this effort as they are able. As you can clearly see, we have a lot to celebrate. I take a great deal of pride in, and hold sincere admiration for, the remarkable achievements of our students and staff each year. While this is an extensive list, I know that there are countless other students shining in school and programs, clubs, and organizations achieving great things in their competitions and community service. I am honored to serve as the leader of this great school, and appreciate all the hard work and dedication that goes into student development and growth throughout the D’Evelyn experience. I hope that you and your family have enjoyed a wonderful weekend. I know that we are all looking forward to the upcoming break - best wishes to our students, staff, and families on a strong final week before Thanksgiving! By: Josh Griffin, Principal After 5-½ weeks on leave with my family, it was a great pleasure to return to D’Evelyn this week. Since Madison was born, we have been overwhelmed by the support, care and consideration of D’Evelyn faculty, staff, administration, students, and families – thank you for your kind words, support, thoughtful gifts, and encouragement! I am fortunate to lead such an outstanding school community. Madison just turned six weeks old, and she has been remarkably healthy since she was born. She continues to be a great blessing in our lives. I appreciate the hard work and dedication of the D’Evelyn faculty, staff, and administration during my absence. I am particularly grateful to Mr. Schmeckpeper and our administration for their efforts to maintain strong school operations in my absence. Further, D’Evelyn students and families continued consistent engagement and support of the school. Photo Credit: LiLo Photography
I returned to D’Evelyn in the midst of a busy and exciting time in our school year. In the next six-plus weeks, our students have many opportunities to shine in academics, athletics, extracurricular activities, and community service. Thank you for taking the time to review the important, timely updates for our school community: Enrollment for the 2022-2023 School Year It is hard to believe that we are already quickly approaching our period of open enrollment for the 2022-2023 school year. At D’Evelyn, along with all other Jeffco Schools, we rely upon the Enroll Jeffco platform to manage our enrollment process. I encourage all families in Jeffco to review and consider the information available at Enroll Jeffco. The open enrollment period is crucial to D’Evelyn as an option school in Jefferson County. 100% of D’Evelyn students are admitted to the school via the lottery system in Enroll Jeffco. Each year, we enroll students in 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th grades. We always appreciate current D’Evelyn families sharing information regarding our enrollment processes and timelines with friends, family, and fellow community members. School choice is a crucial decision for students and families. As a liberal arts school with a unique curriculum and educational philosophy, D’Evelyn is not the best fit for all students. However, I have great confidence in the strength of our program and the great impact it has in the lives of our students. Please join me in encouraging interested families to participate in our upcoming Open House and Prospective Student Information Nights. The Open House for interested students and families will occur on Tuesday, November 30th from 5 - 8 PM. The last tour will begin at 7 PM. This will be a great opportunity for interested students and families to meet D’Evelyn students, teachers, staff, coaches, and club sponsors, and in the process, learn more about our great school. Additionally, we offer four Prospective Student Information Nights. All new families are required to attend one Information Night prior to enrolling their student at D’Evelyn. This year, we will host Information Nights on the following dates (all sessions start at 7:00 PM in the D’Evelyn Auditorium): · December 14 · December 16 · January 6 · January 13 Thank you for sharing information about our school with interested families. Please note that younger siblings of current D’Evelyn students must still apply for admission to D’Evelyn via EnrollJeffco. The Annual D’Evelyn Dinner Auction The D’Evelyn Education Foundation is thrilled to host the 2021 D’Evelyn Dinner Auction, “A Starry Night”, on Friday, December 3rd at Baldoria on the Water. The Dinner Auction is one of the biggest fundraising events for DEF each year, and we look forward to an outstanding turnout of D’Evelyn parents, families, and community members at this year’s event. Please consider attending this event, and bring your friends! It is a great community event that has historically raised substantial funds for DEF. To purchase tickets today, please visit the DEF Dinner Auction website here: https://events.handbid.com/auctions/a-starry-night/tickets DEF provides over $100,000 per year in funding to support D’Evelyn students and teachers in the classroom, athletics, performing arts, and activities. Further, DEF is responsible for nearly $40,000 per year in scholarships and awards for D’Evelyn students and teachers. As a school community, we are so fortunate to have the robust and sincere commitment of DEF behind us - please consider supporting the Auction by attending, donating auction items, or pledging a sponsorship to this great event. Best wishes to your student and family in these last two weeks as we head into the 2021 Thanksgiving Break! Thank you for your steady, continued support of D’Evelyn! |
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