It’s hard to believe that March is here, already! CSAP is well underway, and planning for the next school year has begun.
We are working on staffing for 2004-05, and it is a process that doesn’t always move as quickly as we’d like. The starting point is when the school district projects how many students we will have at Coyote Creek next year. That number determines our funding and our staffing which, in turn, determines how many teachers and classes we can have, and what the sizes of those classes will be.
The steps in determining staffing are like dominos. Each decision is dependent on a previous decision. If a decision is made without following this step-by-step process, we wind up with a huge mess!
We are as anxious to have the final decisions made as parents are. We know that a family’s life is impacted by the school schedules and classroom placement. So we are working as fast as the process allows. Please know that we will share specifics with you as soon as we can.
I do have one request. Please do not put your child’s teacher in a very uncomfortable position by asking him/her about next year. They may or may not know the answer to your question; but if that answer has not yet been addressed in The Chronicle or a flyer in Thursday Folders, you can trust that the final decision has not been made, yet.
Thanks for your patience as we move through this process!

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The following students from Coyote Creek have completed the winter reading program at the Highlands Ranch Library. In order to complete this program they were asked to read for twelve hours over eleven weeks and keep track of the hours on their reading logs. We are very proud of these students and want to acknowledge their success.

Readers are encouraged to submit items for this column. Often we at school do not know the accomplishments of students outside school. Please include your phone number so we can reach you if we need more information.

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FAQs
My child tells me that he watches videos in class. It feels like I hear this a lot, and I’m beginning to wonder if instruction in that class is what it should be. Can you reassure me?
A. In spite of memories we all have of teachers in our past who showed filmstrips and films on a regular basis ( and probably more than they should have), this is not an acceptable practice here. Douglas County and Coyote Creek do have policies about the “what and how” of using videos in classrooms.
First of all, Douglas County Schools has a policy that says only G-rated movies are allowed in its elementary schools. That alone takes away a huge number of videos that could potentially be shown in classrooms.
Secondly, Coyote Creek works very hard to ensure that Best Practice is in place in every classroom. And showing videos for entertainment is NOT Best Practice, obviously!
Videos being shown in classrooms are to be used only as support for instruction. For example, if a teacher is planning instruction around the topic of mammals, she can use textbooks, nonfiction literature on that topic, an internet search, etc. There may be a video on the topic that contains the information she needs students to have; the ability to show actual movements, habitat, etc. will be much more effective than just reading or discussing. Or the music teacher who is teaching about rhythmic movement might use a video that demonstrates such movement — something that books or a discussion just can’t convey. Sometimes a teacher will choose part of a video that students are familiar with so they can receive information that applies to their current unit of study and understand that the familiar can contain a greater depth of understanding than they had previously realized.
Quite often, an entire video is not shown; only the parts that directly address the particular learning objective will be shown. Also, a feature film/video would take too much time out of the school day, and our teachers are always looking for ways to maximize available instructional time.
Having said all this, let me reassure you that if you still have a concern about too many videos being shown in your child’s class, we want to work with you to make sure your child’s educational experience is a successful one.

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Volunteer of the Month
For the month of February, the Volunteer of the Month is Mindy Fried. Mindy has been volunteering at our school since her daughter started in kindergarten last year. Immediately, Mindy got involved with the Back to School BBQ sponsored by our PTA. Since then, she hasn't really stopped. Mindy is very involved in many other PTA activities and is a real go-getter in the classroom. Mindy has been great in helping plan celebrations in the classroom. She always gathers other parents to help her round up the food or materials needed (for the classroom New Years Eve Party we had popcorn, party blowers, balloons, etc.). She is very reliable and always cheerful to help. This is what makes Mindy one of many outstanding volunteers in our school community. Thanks, Mindy, for everything that you do here and at home. Your dedication to our school is greatly appreciated! Thanks, thanks, many thanks!
Stephanie Stewart
Volunteer Coordinator

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Announcing new elementary principals
Beginning in July, Lee Cooper will be leading Trailblazer Elementary as principal, replacing Principal Steve Getchell. Cooper is currently the assistant principal at Pioneer Elementary in Parker and has been in several positions with the district since 1994. His background includes serving as a special education teacher assistant, classroom teacher and a member of the core planning team that opened Iron Horse Elementary in 1998. He completed the Teacher Education Program at the University of Denver in 1995 and earned his Master of Arts in Education at the University of Denver in 1997. Getchell will be moving to Iron Horse Elementary in July to replace retiring Principal Mary Jane O’Connell.

Brian Rodda, assistant principal at Wildcat Mountain Elementary, has been selected to fill the principal vacancy at Fox Creek Elementary in July. He replaces current Principal Diane Smith, who has accepted a new position with central administration as a director. Rodda came to Douglas County as a fifth-grade teacher at Sand Creek Elementary in 1993. He has also been a fifth- and sixth-grade teacher at Wildcat Mountain, in addition to serving on the planning team when the school opened in 1998. Rodda received his Bachelor of Arts and Master’s degrees at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California. He completed the Administrative Licensure program in 2000 at the University of Phoenix.

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All in a day’s work
It started as a routine field trip on January 21 to the National Western Stock Show for Heritage Elementary School kindergartners and parents. As it turned out, Bus Driver Scott Hall may have saved lives.

Hall’s departure from the stock show was delayed for about four minutes behind two other buses. Traveling south on I-25 through the T-Rex construction area, he saw a pickup truck towing a large trailer ahead and to the right of the bus. As Hall watched, the trailer bounced off the hitch, leaving it connected with only two safety chains.

Hall turned on his flashing amber lights, slowed the bus down and maintained a safe distance. His actions alerted traffic behind and beside the bus not to pass.

The trailer began swaying and hit the back of the truck, breaking
one of the safety chains. It struck the truck again, causing the driver to lose control and snapping the last chain. Hall brought the bus to a complete stop as the truck skidded into his lane and stopped, facing him, about 30 feet away.

The trailer sailed across all three lanes before finally coming to a halt 20 feet away from stopped traffic.

It was all over in less than a minute. The driver moved his truck off the road, and Hall turned off his amber lights and began accelerating back up to highway speed. Parents and children applauded to show their appreciation for his ability to remain calm throughout the ordeal.

Hall says it was fate that allowed him to be on I-25 at that point in time to help avoid what could have been a major accident. “It made me feel very good about being a Douglas County School District bus driver.”

“ Drivers like Scott are the reason why Douglas County has such a great safety record,” said Director of Transportation Scott Benefield.

Each day, bus drivers face challenging road situations and adverse conditions. In spite of it all, they ensure that every student is transported safely to and from school and activities. For the district’s more than 200 bus drivers, it’s all in a day’s work.

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Field Trips

March 16 KC Lookout Mtn. Nature Center
March 26 3B Museum of Nature & Science
April 19 KA Greg & Steve Concert
April 20 KB Greg & Steve Concert

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