September Principal's Message

September Principal's Message

Dear FSE Families

I hope the school year has gotten off to a fantastic start for everyone.  At FSE we have been working hard to establish relationships, set classroom procedures and plan personalized learning for all our students over the past month.  As we dig into another school year I wanted to share our curriculum and school-wide goals for this school year.

Goal 1 Curriculum:

• Math continues to be an area of focus for us at Flagstone.  We value students understanding of the process of solving a problem and focus our discussions and instruction on different ways to solve problems rather focusing on finding the right answer.  We believe it is much more important for our students to dissect different ways to solve a problem and then be able to explain their thinking.  We teach our students to focus on a growth mindset and to persevere through difficult problems in order to push their mathematical thinking.  
• Reading instruction is also an area where we continue to develop our expertise.  Through the support of our community, we were able to purchase over 1500 new titles of books to use specifically for guided reading instruction.  Our teachers continue to target their reading instruction to the specific reading skills of each child in their classroom using these guided reading texts.

Goal 2 Communication:

• As a school, we pride ourselves in effectively communicating with our families around student progress.  This year all parents will receive a mid-September progress report that will include current progress of each student in addition to collaborative goals that the students have set with their teachers.  Every month you will receive updated progress reports on your child.  Part of this communication is through our student-led conferences.  We believe that our number one job is to create self-reflective learners that are collaborators with their teacher in their learning.  With this in mind, your child will share their progress with you at our student-led conferences in November and April.  We encourage you to support your child in this oral presentation.

Goal 3 Social Emotional Learning:

• As a Douglas County High School feeder school, we are participating in the implementation of Second Step in collaboration with all the schools in our feeder.  This program emphasizes social-emotional development, problem-solving with peers, and the safety and well being of our students.
• ROCKS: Responsible,  Open Minded, Citizen, Kind, Safe and Friendly: We continue to teach to these character traits in our class meetings and in our school-wide positive behavior support systems.  We believe teaching character development skills just as important as teaching academics.

2018 FSE CMAS Results

We are so excited to share that not only do we continue to score in the state performance category, meaning that we are meeting our achievement expectations by the state but we went from a School Performance Framework of 65% in 2017 to 88.1% in 2018!  More importantly, we EXCEEDED growth expectations in ALL grade levels in reading and in math.  This means that we grew more than our district and our state in all these areas.  As a staff, we are so proud of the hard work of our students and teachers in exceeding these state expectations.  Please come to our upcoming SAC meeting to see our results in more detail.

BOND/MLO Information

Please see the below flier and facts regarding FSE and the Bond/MLO Proposal

Dear Parents and Community Members,

Welcome to the 2018-2019 school year!  Our School Accountability Committee (SAC) has 3 voting member positions open this year to be filled by October 1st.  

What is SAC?
We are an advisory committee (not a governing body) that collaborates with all of our stakeholders including our school's administrative team, teaching staff, support staff, students, community, and parents.  

What does SAC do?
As an advisory committee, we are proud to take an active role in our school regarding the following:

• Input for the Unified Improvement Plan (UIP)
• Review of FSE budget priorities based on community input.
• Review safety protocols throughout the year.
• Assist with the implementation of the district’s parent engagement policy.

Some examples of our past SAC work have included:

• Being an integral part of the 1st SAC Feeder School meeting in 2017-2018
• Supported the staff and the community in the adoption of  a new math program (Envision) based on community input.
• Collaborate with the school on a community survey.

How can I join?
If you'd like to become a voting member, we'd love to have you join us at our September 17th meeting to learn more.  

What is the time commitment?
SAC is required to meet quarterly, but additional meetings can be called if necessary. The time and dates of the meetings will be decided by the SAC in order to accommodate the schedules of our community to ensure the greatest opportunity to attend.

I'm interested but I have more questions…

Please join us on September 17th.  FSE Learning Commons at 4:15 pm. We'll be happy to offer more information and answer your questions.  In the meantime, you can learn more by browsing through the SAC handbook, just CLICK HERE.

Please visit  Flagstone SAC link for  our Sept. 17th Agenda

Hope to see you there!

Sincerely,
Your 2017 - 2018 Flagstone School Accountability Committee (FSAC)

Please see our Thursday Links HERE

FSE Happenings

Teaching each other 21st century skills

6th Grade Outdoor Education

Learning what collaboration means


Leading with class!


FSE FAB Artwork


Practice makes permanent in Music!

Bond/MLO FSE Community Information

Dear Flagstone Elementary Community, 

On August 21, the Douglas County School District Board of Education voted to
place a $40 million Mill Levy Override (MLO) and $250 million no-new-taxes
Bond on the 2018 ballot. Unlike our neighboring school districts, Douglas
County School District has not passed a MLO or Bond since 2006.

If passed by voters, these new funds would be used at our school to:

• Increase teacher and staff pay
• Add counselors for our students
• Enhance safety and security systems
• Make much needed repairs and upgrades to our building
• Replace and upgrade electrical systems and components
• Replace and upgrade heating and cooling systems and components  
• Replace and upgrade plumbing systems and components
• Replace and upgrade fire alarm system
• Replace roofing

Douglas County School District would also evaluate our building for additional needed
repairs that would make our learning environments as safe and productive as possible
for our students.

New MLO/Bond funding would also be used to upgrade information technology
(such as classroom computers) and transportation (such as aging buses), and offer
more student programming opportunities, including additional career and technical
education options.

The average Douglas County homeowner, with a home valued at $470,000, will pay
an additional $17.33 per month ($208 per year) if both measures are approved. If
neither are approved, the average homeowner would see their school property tax
bill decrease by approximately $67 in 2019.

You can read more about Douglas County School District’s funding challenges at
www.dcsdk12.org/funding.

Thank you for continuing to be an engaged and informed member of our school
community!

Sincerely,

Kelli Smith

Principal

Flagstone Elementary School

FSE's First Day of School! 8-10-18

Dear FSE Parents,
We had a great first day of school! Thank you for all the support and preparation you took to get your children ready!  They came to school ready to learn and reconnect with their friends.  Please see some of the awesome pictures below.  Don't forget to log onto Twitter and search #oneflagstone for daily communication and pictures of all that is happening at FSE!

During the first week of each month, I will send out this blog to send updates and communication from me regarding FSE's goals, events, and happenings.  Each Thursday the office will send out links through an email blast of activities and calendar events.  This is our way to communicate with families in a timely efficient way.  As always, if you have questions don't hesitate to call our office, we are here to support all families.

One big change in our calendar this year is that we will do ONE assembly a month to recognize and honor our students and classrooms.  This will be the first Friday of each month, and this starts next Friday.  Parents are welcome to come and stand by the staff to be a part of this FSE celebration.

Next week is Digital Citizenship Week.  All students K-6 will be participating in discussion and lessons around how to use technology appropriately.  Once students successfully complete this five-day course they will be assigned their personal device for the year.  Please make sure that you read through and sign the below docs agreeing to our technology policies with your child.  These need to be signed and brought back to your child's teacher prior to technology being given to your child.  To have fun and celebrate this learning we ask that students dress to match a different theme each day-see the flier below for more detail.

• 3 - 6 Technology Agreement
• K- 2 Technology Agreement

Have a wonderful weekend and we will see you back here on Monday for our first week of school!

Sincerely,
Kelli Smith, FSE Principal


Calendar

• August 13 to 17 is Digital Citizenship Week:  See flyer below for special dress-up days
• August 16th Fire Drill 3:30
• August 17th 3:15 Monthly FSE Spirit Assembly

Updates

• Spirit Assemblies: First Friday of each month
• Principal Blog: First Thursday of each month
• Thursday Links with calendar updates: Every Thursday

FSE Staff Welcomes You to the 18-19 School Year

Message From Our Superintendent

Please Welcome Our New School Counselor Patti Roberts!

Hello FSE Families!

As we begin the new school year, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is
Patti Roberts and I am Flagstone Elementary’s new School Counselor. I am very happy to be a
part of the FSE community and am excited for all that this year will bring.  

As a School Counselor, my primary responsibilities are to promote the academic, career,
and social/emotional development of all our students. We will work on developing skills and overcoming obstacles in the classroom. We will explore career interests and possibilities for their future. I am also here to help guide our students as they navigate the many ccomplicated situations and feelings associated with their elementary years. To accomplish these goals, I will meet with
students individually and in small groups, conduct classroom counseling lessons, talk with parents,
collaborate with teachers and staff, and consult with community organizations to help meet the
needs of all FSE students.

I believe that every child is capable of success in school. I also recognize that this does not look
the same for all students. As your child’s school counselor, my goal is to help them discover their
strengths and what makes them special. We will learn what tools they need for success and will
work to build their confidence to know that they are capable of whatever they want to achieve.

I look forward to serving our students, families, and community. I will be at Flagstone on Tuesdays,
Thursdays, and every other Friday. The other half of my time will be spent at Sage Canyon
Elementary, so I will be most easily accessible by email. Please feel free to reach out with
any questions, thoughts, or concerns you may have.

All the best,

Ms. Patti

Email:   proberts1@dcsdk12.org

Phone: (303) 387-5243

Dog Are NOT Allowed on Campus

Please remember our no dog policy.  Dogs are not allowed on campus at any time for the safety and well being of our student.  You may not even carry them on campus to pick up your kids, this is a district policy for ALL schools.  We appreciate your adherence to this policy.

IMPORTANT AND TIME-SENSITIVE INFORMATION REGARDING CogAT TESTING:

The week of September 10-14, all Flagstone students in grades 3 and 6 and any “referral”
students in grades 1, 2, 4 or 5 will take the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) to determine
strengths and possible identification for gifted programming.  Any parents wanting to refer
their child to take the CogAT should print, sign and return the required forms NO LATER
than Friday, August 24. These forms can be found on our Gifted and Talented page,
linked HERE.

Referral testing is not for all students!  These are students who may require targeted
gifted programming at the neighborhood/charter school or intensive programming in our
center based Discovery Program.  Please visit our Gifted and Talented page for more
information.

Back to School Resources Express Check-In Returning families can take advantage of DCSD's one-stop online check-in portal: Update contact, address and phone number information  Update media consent elections  Review and electronically sign various required forms  Update student health information  Apply for a bus pass  View student fees Link to the payment website Contact your specific school regarding its Express Check-In dates. Need help checking in? View our Express Check-In Reference Guide Problems logging in? View our FAQ for Parents More information: Welcome letter to families | Welcome letter to families (Spanish) New Payment System and New ZPasses for 2018-2019 DCSD is transitioning to a new payment system for school fees. For DCSD neighborhood (non-charter) school families, your school fees will now be paid through MySchoolBucks. For charter school families, your payments will transition to MySchoolBucks later this year. Additionally, bus ZPasses are being upgraded. All families utilizing DCSD bus transportation must submit a new application for these ZPasses. Learn more about these changes, and find information on before and after school child care, bus routes, calendars, new student enrollment, school lunch, immunizations and more!

Start here

First Day of School Pictures