|
Please Note:
- TODAY is the last day of school. Dismissal is at 3:30 p.m., our regular time. See you in August!
- Please check Lost and Found by the gym. All items will be donated to charity after Friday, June 4. Cory’s office will close on Friday, June 4 for the summer. The building will be under construction and the office will reopen August 2.
From the Principal:
Reflection was an aspect of our professional work this year at Cory, and this is a good time for me to reflect on all that was accomplished this past school year and to wonder where the time went. We started off the year with Superintendent Tom Boasberg’s visit to celebrate the kickoff of our Beacon/SIG award with Merrill Middle School. All of the teachers on the Cory Merrill campus spent the year in professional learning together. The Center for Early Education became a reality at Knight Academy, and we will be heading into our second year with 3, 4 and 5 year olds from at least four fabulous area schools. We started our Beacon Interest Groups (BIG) across the Cory Merrill Campus. Ligia Gibson, our Ritchie administrative intern, has been a bridge between Cory and Merrill during this first Beacon year, and we will all miss her.
We initiated Positive Behavior Support (PBS) on the campus with FOCUS as our theme. Next year, we will have more education for students and parents as we continue to support each other with a positive school culture. We will maintain our focus on safety on our Cory campus and on improving our attendance and decreasing our daily tardies.
Our teaching staff was tireless in their instruction dedicated to helping each child grow. We achieved a “Distinguished” rating on our Denver Public Schools' School Performance Framework (SPF), and worked as grade level teams all year on Benchmarks and student data. We ended our year strong with Shakespeare for our 4th and 5th graders, the reading picnic for our 2/3 grades, and a poetry celebration for 1st graders. Music, Art and PE were showcased throughout the year culminating in our Concert on the Green last week and our fun field day. We checked out more books than ever before with our librarian.
Our paras helped in every classroom thanks to the PTA, and my Kid Connections group celebrated their importance to the community with a commemorative DVD. We said goodbye to Geri Martinez in the Cory office after many years, and welcomed Rachel Horn. We admired our new floors and look forward to new windows as we keep our historic building in shape thanks to our facilities staff led by Patricia Montoya.
Our PTA, under the second year of President Chris Fuentes, hosted wonderful events, and there was a strong auction led by Peggy Bowdouris and Stephanie Henry. Our CSC was diligent in working to improve Cory and to work on our enrollment and budget in tough times.
Next year starts tomorrow, and our staff will begin planning for 2010-11. Thank you to our Cory community for all your support and for sharing your students with all of us here at Cory.
Best of luck to all who are leaving us, we will miss you.
As you head into the summer do not forget to keep up your learning and laughter.
-- Julia Shepherd, Cory Principal
Report Cards Going Home Today
End of year report cards will be going home today. The principal rewarded our students with best attendance with outstanding achievement awards from Rubios Fresh Mexican Grill. Special kudos to Kaitlin Schultz and Kaiden Braesch for perfect attendance -- and no tardies all year. What wonderful role models for all of us!
PTA News
Thoughts from Our Outgoing PTA President
Well, the end of my second year as PTA President is here. I have really enjoyed serving the Cory Community, but am also excited to take on some new challenges next year. Thanks to all of you who have stepped up, in whatever way, this year to support the efforts of the PTA to fund raise, and build our community. Cory is a great school, but can only remain so when everyone contributes. We are all ready for summer, but I will humbly ask you all to start thinking over the summer how you would like to be involved next year. There are so many ways, and I promise they will all enrich your life and the lives of your children.
I would like to introduce you all to David Melfi, who will be our new PTA President next year. He has a 1st grader next year, and has stepped up to become our President. Please give him all the support and positive feedback that you have given me these past 2 years.
Kathy Swigle has also graciously volunteered to be our PTA Vice President. She will be a great addition to the PTA officer team. Let's give her a big thank you for stepping up as well.
Lastly, thank you to all the PTA officers from this year, Jen Chavez - VP, Julie Graef - Treasurer, and Carol Bedin - Secretary. They have all done a fantastic job, and gratefully Julie and Carol have agreed to stay on next year as part of the PTA officer team.
Looking forward to seeing all of you again next year as we continue to strive for continued excellence in our beloved Cory.
All the best,
Chris Fuentes, PTA President
Congratulations, 5th Graders!
Continuation Night Shines
 
  
Wednesday was a wonderful night for our Cory 5th graders as they graduated from Cory. Sean Semler and Sara Singh were our guest speakers, both had taught the students in 3rd grade and are now teaching at Polaris. Erin O’Grady, former 1st grade teacher, attended as well.
Box Top News
And the Winners Are...
Congratulations to Ms. Durgin’s 1st Grade Class for winning the Spring Box Tops Classroom Competition, and to the spring contest winners:
- $10 Build-A-Bear Gift Certificate: Walter Silvesky (Ms. Ardell)
- Bakugan Limited Edition Print: Toby Johnston (Ms. Kozma)
- Littlest Pet Shop LPSO Pet: Rhiannon Miletich (Ms. Harden)
- $10 Red Robin Gift Card: Matthew Gray (Ms. Williams)
Remember to save those Box Tops over the summer!
Bicycle Safety
Just in Time for Summer
 
5th graders experienced the correct use of road signs, hand signals and everything else needed to stay safe while biking during a Bike Safety Course presented by the Denver Osteopathic Foundation.
Concert on the Green
Photos by Eliza Nolte and Susan Schooleman
 
 
 
Musical instruments, picnics, singing and fun took center stage during our Annual Concert on the Green event, organized and directed by our Music Teacher Ms. Colley.
Read and Play
Summer Reading Program
Incoming 1st and 2nd graders are invited to join a Book Club.
We will meet Sundays at 1:30 p.m., June 6, July 8 and August 1
Pulaski Park, Denver (Madison and Cherry Creek Drive).
Interested? e-mail gretabe@live.com
-- Greta Burandt (Otto and Gavin Kennedy's mom)
Cory Garden News
Five classes helped plant the Cory garden over the last two days. We focused on vegetables and flowers this year. A huge thank you to the parents who helped coordinate the new garden. Anne Friesen Birky, Carolyn Gaetcher, Justine McKinzie, Linda Scara and Amy Silvesky put a lot of time into planning meetings and also donated all the seeds and garden materials for the students. A special thank you to Andy Nowak of Slow Foods for advice, plant donations, and encouragement!
Having a Field Day
Photos by Parent and Photographer Justine McKinzie
 
 
Fun and exercise came out to play during our annual field day event.
Thank You from Our Specials Teachers
Dear Cory Families,
You are all so kind and thoughtful. What a wonderful surprise it was to receive the gift certificates from you. Thank you very much for your generosity. We will certainly enjoy using this treat as we start the summer. It is our honor and pleasure to work with your children each day. We hope your summer is filled with adventures, learning and laughter.
Sincerely,
Martha Grano, Whiney Colley, Randy Oglesby and Dawn Miller
Shakespeare
Taking Center Stage
 
Our 4th-graders celebrated the world's greatest playwright as part of our recent Shakespeare night.
Bubble Science
Students in 109 learned enjoyed learning about the science behind bubbles with a clever hands-on experiment.
Reading Fun
2nd and 3rd graders read and played during our Reading Picnic at Observatory Park.
Rocking and a Rolling
Photos by Alex Keldin and Susan Schooleman
 
 
 
 
 
 
Our Sock Hop was a hit -- thanks to our many volunteers -- especially Melissa Balay, who stepped up to chair the event, and volunteer DJ extraordinaire Chuck Woodford of Event Entertainment.
< /font> |