The Viewpoint November 2015

The Viewpoint

November 2015

Skyview Middle School

6350 Windom Peak Blvd., Colorado Springs, CO 80923

Telephone: 495-5566 District Web Site: www.d49.org Attendance Line: 495-5560 FAX: 495-5569

Parents and Guardians,

With the prediction of snow this week and the coming of winter weather, I want to remind you of some important safety items:

● Send your student to school properly dressed for the weather. Often, by the time lunches come around in the day, we are ready to take students outside for a brief break and they need their jackets.

● We call an indoor entry at 20° F or below. Students are allowed to enter either the cafeteria or the gym to wait for the entry bell. We also keep lunches indoors at the same temperature threshold. Also, we provide outside supervision beginning at 7:20am each morning and ending at 3:10pm each afternoon. If you must leave your child outside of these times, please note that there will not be adult supervision available. ● Please drive with great care when dropping off students for school. The ice and inclement weather

combined with the volume of traffic in the front of our school can create a dangerous situation. Remember,

PATIENCE will go a long way in keeping our students safe and you in a good mood!

At this point in the year, I want to bring back a newsletter section that I used last year; Teacher Recognition. It is an opportunity that I take to speak to the outstanding efforts of one of our staff members, sharing with our community something that they have accomplished that you might not know. It also is a good way to celebrate our school and its staff members who give so much to our school community. Today’s recognition:

Ms. Heather Hutchinson, Gifted and Talented Teacher

Ms. Hutchinson teaches 6th, 7th and 8th grade SOAR where students are challenged to explore unique topics and produce projects that demonstrate their understanding. Ms. Hutchinson also sponsors the BEST Robotics

competition where students design a remote control robot that can meet multiple physical challenges like climb, pick up objects, and turn corners. Our Skyview Robotics team competed over fall break in the BEST Robotics

competition in Denver and earned an all time best placement of 11th in a field of 27 teams!! Ms. Hutchinson dedicated a majority of her fall break to supporting the building and testing of the robot as well as a full weekend of competition. Our students did a fantastic job at the competition and we are proud of their efforts and dedication to learning! Ms. Hutchinson gave a great deal of personal time to her students and to creating the opportunity for them to participate. Her dedication is a testimony to her desire to put students first and create learning opportunities that connect STEM fields to hands on experiences. Congratulations to the Skyview Robotics team and Ms. Hutchinson for a fantastic showing this fall break! And thank you to Ms. Hutchinson for being an excellent example of a Skyview Eagle, seeking excellence and building positive student relationships!

In next month’s newsletter, you can expect a full report on the results of the High Reliability Schools climate survey and what we have learned about our school and community. We are excited to share our strengths and address our limits in a systematic process of school improvement.

In the meantime, I wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving. Remember, this year we have no school on Monday and Tuesday of that week - more time for shopping!

Respectfully Yours,

11/2

Harvest of Love Food Drive Kick-off

11/3

6th Grade Boys BB @ Harrison

7/8th Grade Boys BB @ Harrison

SAC Meeting—6:00 PM

11/5

7/8th Grade Boys BB @ Horizon

11/6

Skate City Night

11/9

6th Grade Boys BB vs. Fremont @ SMS

7/8th Grade Boys BB @ Woodland Park

11/10

6th Grade Boys BB @ Falcon

7/8th Grade Boys BB vs. Falcon @ SMS

11/11

Veteran’s Day—Students IN SCHOOL

ELD Parents’ Meeting

11/12

6th Grade Boys BB @ CMJH

7/8th Grade Boys BB vs. CMJH @ SMS

11/17

6th Grade Boys BB vs. Fountain @ SMS

7/8th Grade Boys BB @ Fountain

11/19

7/8th Grade Boys BB @ Elizabeth

Operation Christmas Child Concert—6:30 PM

11/23-27

THANKSGIVING BREAK

11/30

6th Grade Boys BB @ Carson

7/8th Grade Boys BB vs. Carson @ SMS

12/1

SAC Meeting—6:00 PM

 November 13: Last day to submit art for 2016 Space Foundation Art Contest. See http:// art.spacefoundation.org/ if your child is interested in participating.

 Field Trip: Mission to Mars will be taking place in the beginning of December. Field trip permission

slips will be sent home after Fall Break. We were able to secure a grant that covers most of the cost of the trip (the trip typically runs $700 per class!) The cost will be $5 per student. Students will need to bring a sack lunch. The dates are as follows:

December 1st_{: Period 7}

December 2nd_{: Period 6}

December 3rd_{: Period 5}

December 4th: Period 3 Janine Sangiorgi

8th Grade Science, Team C

Fundraiser Delivery!!

Thank you to all of those who helped make our fundraiser a success! The

products that your son or daughter sold will be delivered to Skyview the

week of Nov. 9-13. He or she will pick up the orders during Reach. Your child

will check and make sure that the order is correct before they leave. All

online orders are mailed to the person who bought the items. If your son or

daughter sold more than 6 items, he or she CANNOT RIDE THE BUS. The

boxes are too large to fit on the bus. If there is a problem, please contact

Megan Rasmusen at

[email protected]

.

Thank you for continued support!

Friday, November 6th

6:00—10:00 PM

Discount coupons will be available in the office!

7th/8th Grade

December 7th & 8th

3:00-5:00 PM

6th Grade

December 7th & 8th

5:00—7:00 PM

You must have a current physical on file at Skyview in

order to try out!!

Harvest of Love Food Drive

November 2nd-19th

Please bring money or nonperishable food and turn it into

your first period teacher. ($1 counts as 10 lbs. of food.)

Students have received these forms and should return them as soon as possible.

Impact Aid FAQs

Most people do not realize that the Impact Aid is the second oldest federal education program in our

country. It was originally passed in 1950 under President Truman’s administration. The program was

created to assist school districts states where there is federally owned property in making up the lost local

tax base not received due to federal property situated nearby or within school district boundaries.

Do all parents fill out these forms?

Yes! We need all parents to let us know whether they either live or work on federal property. Often,

parents may not be in the military but may work on federal property, such as at the federal prison in

Florence, Colorado, at a federally supported housing project, at a national park or national forest, at a VA

hospital or on Indian Trust or Treaty lands.

Why do we fill out the forms that identify my family as a federally connected or military family for the

school district?

States that have a lot of federal property are unable to generate tax revenue off federal property to help

fund education. People who live on federal property do not pay local property taxes. Federal property

occupies a lot of acreage in Colorado. Federal government entities occupy that property and do not pay

local taxes, therefore there is also a reduction in the tax base because there is a reduction in businesses

that pay taxes. School districts also lose potential revenue from specific ownership taxes if a military family

licenses its car in their home state rather than Colorado. Impact Aid is a way to recover some of the lost

local tax revenue.

What is the difference between military impact aid and ‘federally connected’?

The term “military impact aid” stems from the original program established in 1950 under President

Truman’s administration. Using that term is often misleading, though, as some people misinterpret who

can qualify as “federally connected” if they believe that only military families qualify.

How much money does the district receive by parents completing the forms?

The funding is weighted and the amount depends on whether the parent is active duty or reserves or

whether they are civilians (i.e. contract employees, civil service, or civilians) employed on federal property.

If you take the total dollars received and divide that by the number of students who were reported as

“federally connected‟, you receive an overall average per pupil Impact Aid revenue.

What does the money go towards?

(School Accountability Committee)

Tuesday, November 3rd