Tuesday, September 20th Family Update

Happy early family update O’Dea Core Knowledge Elementary families!  I am heading to the hills with our fifth-grade students for our Eco Adventure, so I wanted to get these out earlier than Friday.  The weather may not be perfect…rain is in the forecast…so it is a good thing that we are not made of sugar! For many of our students, it is truly the trip of a lifetime and I love being a part of that.

We have quite a few things to keep you in the loop of as it is a super exciting time of year:

We will be launching our biggest fundraiser of the school year on Monday, September 26th.  Each year we host our Boosterthon Fun Run which raises funds for our PTA/site to support our special projects and teaching teams.  Our “special project” this year is adding new structures to our outdoor play area.  It is a goal that all students will benefit from…and it is time for us to add more fun…to our outdoor play area!  Please keep an eye out for information coming home from your child’s teacher next week.  It is our one big fundraiser for the year, and we are really hoping for everyone’s support!  Our fundraising will begin on Monday, September 26th and will wrap up at our Fun Run event on Thursday, October 6th

There are also many other easy ways to support our school outside of our Fun Run Event.  Our PTA has worked very hard to capitalize on all the opportunities that our community offers to support our school…and many of them are super fun as well!  Please check out the ideas below:

There are also opportunities for families to help with our garden and nature areas in our play area.  These nature areas have been created with the support of our parent community…and our play areas would not be as beautiful without their help.  If you have the time…we would love the help…see below:   

 

Get involved with the Nature in the City Area (by the playground) by joining us for this upcoming event!   Sunday, September 25th @ 4pm - We will be planting ~70 new plants!  Again, no experience is necessary.  Please bring garden gloves and a hand trowel or small shovel if you have them. 

 

The NITC area was established in 2020 to provide a nature area for kids to explore and the surrounding community to enjoy.  All plants in this area are native to Fort Collins.  It was funded by grants from the City of Fort Collins, with additional contributions from the O'Dea PTA, Walmart, and Fort Collins Nursery.  For more information please go to: https://ode.psdschools.org/nature-playground

 

Boltz Middle School (one of our feeder schools) is hosting a 50th Anniversary Celebration on Thursday, October 6th If you are a Boltz graduate or have students attending Boltz it is a great way to be a part of celebrating the history in our community.  I am attaching the flyer for families here:

Boltz 50th Celebraton OCT 6 flyer.pdf 

 

Last but not least…October brings the fall season…and the season for Parent/Teacher Conferences.  We will be hosting these in the evening on Tuesday, October 11th and all day on Thursday, October 13th.  You will be receiving information from  your child’s teacher regarding signing up for a time slot.  This is a very important time for families to connect with your child’s teacher and we do require families to attend these conferences so please plan ahead.  Thank you for your support.

Well, that was a lot…so thank you for reading this far!  We work hard to communicate as meaningfully as we can with our families…without overdoing it.  It is always a careful balance. 

As always…thank you for being such a big part of the Usness of US.   We want all of our families to feel like they belong at our school…and if there is anything that we can do to build that for you…please let us know.  Your children know that they are loved and cared for while they are here with us…and we want to extend that to our families as well.  The feeling that you belong somewhere is important for each and every one of us.  Love, belonging and connection are the universal sources of true well-being, and we want you to know that you belong here too.

Please reach out with any questions…we are here to help.

Much love and support,

Laurie

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