201012 december newsletter
TRANSCRIPT
December 2010 Newsletter
Page Title Content
2-4 Letter from the Principal Dear Lobo Families!
5-6 Counseling Office ACT Test Dates College Applications Counseling Website Financial Aid Night – Dec. 8 SAT Test Dates
7 Parent Portal Parent Portal Access Instructions
8-9 Leadership Council Leadership News Next Meetings Dec. 15 & Jan. 19 Conifer High School Alumni
10
Clinic
Prevent the spread of illness
11 News & Financial Office Newsletter Money Saving Ideas
12
Athletics Winter Sports – Events Kudos
13 Attendance Office Misc.
CHS Attendance Policy CHS Robotics Team After Prom Party
14 Officer Macdonald Winter Driving
15 Up Coming Event Barnes & Noble Book Fair
2
Letter from the Principal
Dear Lobo Families:
Our mission statement begins with “Always striving to be a caring community…” As I watched our students
playing the first Mountain Bowl at CHS I could not help feel the sense of pride Conifer High School staff,
parents and students talked about four years ago when I interviewed.
As you can see from the photo, over 2500 fans showed up to be part of this wonderful event and throughout the
game so many parents, alumni, and students commented that this was a very special day for our community.
Barb Ford from the Canyon Courier wrote about the urban myth “pigs will fly” before Conifer plays at home.
Well, pigs were flying at CHS and it could not have happened without the help of so many.
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We had many volunteers who helped make our field spectator ready. The effort of purchasing and installing the
scoreboard, fencing, and excavating that enabled us to place our bleachers on the hill carried a bid price of
approximately $175,000. As a result of the support from volunteers, local businesses, Rotary, Journey Church,
Earth Works, Alpencrest Landscaping, Purrington & Associates, and Sayler and Sons, we completed the project
for just over $60,000, and at no cost to the taxpayers.
The FSN commentator who was covering the game said to me “This is one of the most striking and picturesque
sites I have ever seen… your community is so lucky to have a school in such a beautiful place.” I couldn’t
agree more! Below is a list of volunteers who were recognized before the game for their efforts:
As we celebrated Thanksgiving, I am reminded of all the blessings we have had this year. Our fall sports
season has come to a close and our boys tennis took first place as a team in the Lincoln Invitational tournament
with a significant number of boys who placed in Regionals. Our volleyball team advanced to Districts and our
softball girls made it to Regionals. The cross country team as well as our marching band advanced to State to
finish 16th and 14th respectively. Special congratulations to cross country girls runner Gabrielle Valenzuela for
placing first at Regionals and 14th
at State out of 200 plus participants. In addition, we just learned that our
cheer team qualified for Nationals that will be held in Orlando, Florida, in February.
Gary Aron Jeff Lueders
Holly Anderson Susan Maloney
Griffin & Jim Anley Jon & Steven Manning
Dillon Araki Dave, Patrick & Matt Marshall
Jane Baumann Charlie Mazza
Denny Boyet Kim & Molly McCallum
Club Officers Hartley McLaggan
David Leek & Family Kate Mohrman
Karrie Davin Andy Murray
Cheryl, Bob & Shelby Donovan Stan, Karla & Cole Nichols
Dozbaba Family Carrie Oletski
Cameron Eckhardt Chris Purrington
Terri Eilers Ruddy Family
Jim Eleniewski Weston Ryan
Lori Frease Angie Sanders
Doug, Ann & Don Fuller Sayler & Sons & Corbi
Jim & Jimmy Harris Dennis Schavietello
Mary Hastings Jerry & Beth Schroeppel
Heinrich Family Colleen Skates
LeiLani Hines Todd & Gayle Smith
Gary & Claire Holt Mike & Tammy Story
Huber Family Andrew Summar
Rachel Hughes Becky Tiffin
Susan Irey Marty Trinkino
Peter Italiano Pat & Cindy Vondenkamp
Dave & Sandy Jackson Kurt & Lucia VonFay
Debbie Jessee Ellen & Lynn Wakeman
Terry, Ryan & Zach Keller Kristin & Thomas Waters
Dave & Lori Kinser Carol, Steven, Mikaila & TJ Way
Dave Linn Matt & Matty Wright
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Grace Crawford and Ben Mayeux were honored as National Merit commended students, and over 11 freshmen
and 11 sophomores scored threes or better on the AP exams last year.
Our DECA District Conference went very well - out of the 76 qualifying slots, Conifer took 27, Evergreen 13,
Green Mountain 11, Chatfield nine, Bear Creek seven, Columbine five, and Dakota Ridge four. We had an
outstanding conference last year, which makes me so proud of this year's group for topping the 2009
performance. For the second year in a row, Conifer had the highest test score in the district (Brian Orwig). We
also increased our qualifying percentage from 58% to 60% and our percent of district qualifying slots increased
from 31% to 35%. Thanks for your support of the program. These students take much more to competition
then what they learn in marketing - you are all a huge part of their success!
My staff and administration team with the help of PTSA and our parent leadership are embarking on a new
accreditation plan outlined by the state. This plan has fostered outstanding conversations and new ideas to
improve student achievement and growth. Our students have taken the PSAT, ACT/PLAN, ACT/Explore and
our students will be taking finals in two weeks. One senior said to me after she returned from Outdoor Lab, “I
can’t believe how fast we grew up. It seems like just yesterday I was a sixth grader and now I only have one
semester left.” Yes, they grow up fast!
So, as I look forward to the holiday season I would hope everyone can give thanks for their health, family, and
friends. Also, thank you for having such great students and sending them to our school.
With so much Lobo Pride,
Dr. Michael P. Musick, principal
Conifer High School
DECA kids at District
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CHS Counseling Office
News
The counseling department wishes
everyone a safe and happy holiday
season. Thank you for all of your
support with your students!
Ms. Henry
Mr. Longbrake
Mr. Neuenschwander
Ms. Wambeke
Ms. Writz
Attention Seniors:
Make sure you are checking the College Scholarship Application Board in the
Counseling Office.
New Scholarships are posted all the time, so get used to checking the board weekly.
ACT Test Dates December 11, 2010 February 12, 2011
April 9, 2011 April 27, 2011 (required testing date for all
juniors) June 11, 2011
Please pick up registration information in the counseling
office for additional information and deadlines, or visit their website for registration and more info.
www.actstudent.org
Whether you do your application online, or by hand,
all applications will need an official transcript sent by
CHS. The transcript fee is $5.00 for each transcript.
To order a transcript from the counseling office, pick
up an “Official Transcript request form” in the
counseling office, fill it out and turn it in with all of
the paperwork that we will be sending to the college to
Mrs. Henry.
The Counseling Office will send all forms,
recommendation letters, transcripts and test scores to
the college. We will copy everything we send so that
we have documentation if there is ever a question.
If you want to check on the date that your application
was sent out, log on to
www.connection.naviance.com/conifer or there is a
link to Family Connection on the counseling
homepage. Your log in is the student’s first initial and
last name and the password is the 6 digit month, day
and year of the student’s birthday.
Example. Jdoe
032287
Check out the Counseling Website!
We have over 100 links to information on colleges and careers!
Go to the conifer homepage Click on Counseling
Click on Links
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SAT Test Dates December 4, 2010 January 22, 2011 March 12, 2011
May 7, 2011 June 4, 2011
Please pick up registration information in the
counseling office for additional information and deadlines, or visit their website for registration and
more info. www.collegeboard.com
Financial Aid Information Night Put it on your calendars
Thursday, December 8th,
2010
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Get information from the experts on the financial
aid process.
Featured website of the month!
This month’s website is put out by ACT. Parents can subscribe to a monthly
newsletter from ACT with a lot of great information on the whole college process.
Visit http://www.act.org/path/parent/news/index.
html
Or access the site on the Conifer Counseling page (From the Conifer Home
page, click on “counseling”, click on “links”, click on “testing”, click on “ACT Parent Newsletter”)
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If you have any questions with Parent Portal please call Ms.
Delafose at 303-982-2778.
8
Leadership Council News – Dec. 2010
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Meeting Information: Leadership Council is the collaborative decision-making, advisory and accountability committee for CHS.
Meetings are held the third Wednesday of each month, 3:30 – 5:30 PM in the Library Conference Room.
These meetings are always open to the CHS community. A ten-minute Open Forum period is held at the
end of each meeting to address any concerns that may not be on the agenda. The next two meetings are
December 15th and January 19th.
Lobo Leap Ice Cream Social: On October 6th, Leadership Council sponsored the Lobo Leap Ice Cream Social. Students were invited to
this event due to their stellar performance on CSAP and Advanced Placement (AP) testing. To qualify, a
student must have achieved an Advanced score on their spring 2010 CSAP testing or jumped a level from
the previous year’s testing on any sub-test of the CSAP. Students with high growth were also recognized.
Additionally, students qualified to attend if they scored 4’s or 5’s on spring 2010 AP testing. Three
hundred twenty-four invitations were extended to qualifying students.
Congratulations to these outstanding students!!
Welcoming Environment survey: Recently an on-line survey was provided for the parents and guardians of CHS students. The district
provided the first three questions and their subparts. Leadership Council provided the final question and
its subparts. There were 226 people who participated in the CHS survey. A review of the results is
underway and will be published in a future CHS newsletter. District wide results will be published
regarding the three district questions. The responses and comments will be utilized to improve CHS and
its welcoming environment. Also, in January and February, a more in-depth survey will be conducted to
accumulate greater information and feedback from the parent/guardian community. Please watch for this
future survey. Parents and guardians are encouraged to participate and make their voice heard!
Join PTSA! The CHS PTSA provides a wealth of support for students, parents and staff! Did you know they sponsor
the Back to School BBQ? Provide dinner to staff for fall and spring conference days? Provide breakfast for
students during the 6 days of CSAP testing? Sponsor the FREE After-Prom party for all juniors and
seniors, at a cost of about $10,000? This showcase event has been held at CHS the last two years in
order to provide a safe, drug and alcohol-free, and “close to home” event following the Prom. The entire
CHS community benefits from the activities and events PTSA sponsors. The officers all work full-time jobs
and still volunteer their time to support our students, parents and staff! Go to the CHS website. Under
the link “Parent”, click on “PTSA Information” to find out what PTSA is all about and to become a member.
And visit their incredible website to find the latest news about CHS events –
www.chsptsa.blogspot.com
Do you sometimes feel you don’t know what is going on at CHS? Subscribe on the website to receive the
posts automatically!!
For more information,
Contact
Tammy Story or Heather Kassman
Leadership Council Co-Chairs
303-697-0811 / 720-320-8743
[email protected] / [email protected]
Visit the Leadership Council web page:
From the Conifer High School page, click on “Parent” from the top menu bar.
Then click on Leadership Council.
Or visit:
http://sc.jeffco.k12.co.us/education/components/docmgr/default.php?sectiondetailid=17
9387&PHPSESSID=c0d84acb0a1a3981fd2b4105565b7ed8
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Seeking . . .
Conifer High School Alumni Do you know any Conifer High School Alumni? Leadership Council is working on the initiation of a CHS
Alumni Association. Our database of contacts is growing, but with 13 classes of graduates, there are likely
over 2500 alumni in the collective pool!
Help spread the word . . . .
Conifer High School Alumni Association Colorado is on Facebook!
Alumni / Staff Winter Break Social
Thursday, January 6th, 3:00-6:30 PM
CHS Staff Lounge, 2nd floor
For more information, contact Tammy Story ([email protected] or 303-697-0811) or Heather
Kassman ([email protected] or 720-320-8743).
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PREVENT THE SPREAD OF ILLNESS
SIMPLE PRECAUTIONS CAN HELP LIMIT THE SPREAD OF ILLNESS AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE:
WASH HANDS FREQUENTLY AND THOROUGHLY WITH SOAP AND RUNNING WATER. IF
SOAP AND WATER ARE NOT AVAILABLE, USE AN ALCOHOL-BASED HAND SANITIZER.
AVOID TOUCHING HANDS TO EYES, NOSE, OR MOUTH.
COUGH OR SNEEZE INTO YOUR ELBOW IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A TISSUE. OTHERWISE,
COVER YOUR NOSE AND MOUTH WITH A TISSUE, THROW THE USED TISSUE INTO THE
WASTEBASKET AND THOROUGHLY WASH YOUR HANDS.
STAY HOME WHEN YOU ARE SICK.
AVOID CLOSE CONTACT WITH INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE SICK.
AVOID SHARING OF WATER BOTTLES, MOUTH GUARDS OR INSTRUMENT MOUTH
PIECES.
AVOID SHARING OF EATING UTENSILS, DRINKING GLASSES OR PERSONAL ITEMS SUCH
AS TOWELS, RAZORS OR MAKEUP.
TALK WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER ABOUT AGE APPROPRIATE
IMMUNIZATIONS INCLUDING AN ANNUAL INFLUENZA VACCINE.
STAY HEALTHY WITH NUTRIENT RICH FOODS, PLENTY OF WATER, EXERCISE EVERY
DAY AND PLENTY OF REST EACH NIGHT.
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Newsletter Info.
Newsletter Available Online
All newsletters will be available on the CHS PTSA website: www.coniferhighptsa.org (click on the newsletter link).
Newsletter Submission Guidelines Submissions for the school newsletter must be received by the 15
th of the month if you would like your news to get in by the 1
st of
every other month. Any submissions received after the deadline will be posted sometime later in the next issue.
Submissions must be in Microsoft Word, plain text, or HTML formats (PDF documents are okay but the print/web quality is
sometimes not the best). You may include as much information as you like and as many graphics as you like since the online version of the newsletter does not have space restrictions. Graphics may be included within the Word document or submitted separately as Jpeg or GIF Files. Please give your document a relevant title. Do not name it “August Newsletter” or “Newsletter Announcement” only. Please use the corresponding department or organization as the first word in the document name. For instance, “Math_AP Classes.doc” or “Counseling_August Newsletter.doc” would be appropriate document names. Send your newsletter submissions to Sandy Miranda: [email protected] . Thank you for your cooperation!
If you are interested in volunteering as a Webmaster/Editor for the CHS newsletter please call Sandy at 303-982-5035.
Student Activity Tickets are available in the Financial Office. The cost for the ticket is $25.00. With the
“ticket” the student is given a $2.00 discount into games. Adult All Sport Ticket Booklets are also available. Each booklet costs $45.00 and contains 10 prepaid
tickets for use at Jeffco League events only. This is a $.50 savings for each event attended. Are you 55 or older and a resident of Jefferson County? If so, you can pick up a Lifetime Activity Pass in
the Financial Office. This pass gets you in free to all regular athletic and activity events. This pass admits
the cardholder only. Fundraising Idea – Conifer High School sells Safeway and King Soopers gift cards. The CHS Club of your
choice receives 5% of every gift card you buy and it costs you nothing (just what you would normally
spend on groceries or gas)! Questions? Call the Financial Office at 303-982-5238.
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Paperwork In order for a student to participate in a sport, they must have a current sports physical (physicals are good for
364 days). If the student participated in a sport for the current school year, all they have to do is let the Athletic
Secretary know to switch their “card” from one sport to another, as long as it’s in the same school year. We
also have the athletic forms and emergency cards in the main office.
Fees: The fee is $125 dollars per sport For Scores/Stats of games please go to: http://www.varvee.com/organization/view/430
Winter Sports Season has begun. Good luck to all our teams:
Boy’s Basketball, Girl’s Basketball, Wrestling and Girl’s swimming and diving teams.
GO LOBOS!
Kudos:
We would like to congratulate all of our athletes for their fall season. Special shout out to the boy’s tennis team
for taking 1st Place as a team at the Lincoln Invitational tournament. There was a significant number of boy’s
who placed in Regionals:
3rd
Place #1 Singles: Brian Orwig – 12th
3rd
Place #4 Doubles: David Clark – 9th
3rd
Place #2 Singles: Noel Lane – 12th
Reid Lange – 9th
3rd
Place #2 Doubles: Skylar Budd – 10th
4th
Place #1 Doubles: Jeremy Swanson – 10th
Matt Twombly – 11th Brandon McGlynn – 11th
Cross Country boys placed 3rd
@ Regionals as a team and took 16th
@ State.
A special congratulations to Cross Country girls runner Gabrielle Valenzuela for placing 1st @ Regionals and 14th @ State out of 200+ participants.
Volleyball advanced to Districts - lost in the 2nd
round.
Softball lost in the 3rd
round at Regionals.
We have 4 students who signed with colleges:
Molly Walton – Augusta State University
Alison Gorrell – University of Wyoming
Mackenzie Miller – University of Louisiana at Monroe
Ryther Anderson – 11th Benjamin Fuller – 11th
Austin Reed – 12th Dylan Reed – 11th
Dylan Dionis – 11th Michael Fera – 10th
Kevin Johnson – 9th
Jeffco League Sportsmanship Statement:
"Conifer and the members of the Jefferson County League are committed to principles of good sportsmanship. We believe that all student-
athletes, coaches and spectators should strive to represent the very best spirit and tradition of interscholastic athletics. We request your
cooperation by supporting the participants and officials in a positive manner."
Travis Himmelman – University of Northern Colorado
Ashley Phelps –Texas A&M University Corpus Christi
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Conifer High School Attendance Office Attendance Line (303) 982-5240
Attendance Policy All absences must be excused by calling the attendance line or excused in person. NOTES ARE NOT ACCEPTED TO EXCUSE ABSENCES. When calling the attendance line, be very specific regarding the reason for the absence, dates and
times. Excusing an absence must be done by 2:00 the day after the absence or the absence will remain unexcused.
Your student is responsible for their own attendance. Should an issue arise regarding your student’s attendance, your student should talk with their teacher to resolve the discrepancy. The teacher will then notify the attendance office. Pete Wambeke
Attendance Office 303-982-5240
The CHS robotics team will begin its season in December and is looking for mentors. We are looking for
anyone who enjoys working with tools and highly motivated teens. Our team designs, builds, and programs a
120 pound robot (mostly from metal) in a six week build period - to compete in a regional competition. Most of
the build time will be in the evenings or on the weekends. If you are or know of a metal worker, mechanical
engineer, or someone who is just good with tools, please contact [email protected] for more
information.
Plans for the AFTER PROM PARTY have begun! The date is Saturday, April 9th 11pm - 3am. After Prom
Party is an event for juniors and seniors and their dates so that students have a safe, fun place to go after prom
rather than driving from party to party at individual's homes on our mountainous windy roads. Some of the
highlights of the party are laser tag, bungee run, obstacle course, human foosball, wacky tricycle races, many
prizes, food and music. This event is free to students but costs PTSA around $8,000 to put on. If you are
interested in contributing to this event fund - please send your tax free donation made out to CHS PTA. Mail to
Conifer High School After Prom Committee, 10441 Highway 73, Conifer, CO 80433 .
-Anyone interested in participating the night of the event, in set up on Saturday, prize acquisition, clean up
Sunday morning, construction of a "store front," food prep or a variety of other tasks, please email Sherry Fuller
- PTSA at [email protected]. Meetings for After Prom planning are held at 9758 Fallen Rock Road,
Conifer, CO 80433 at 6:30pm on Thursdays: Jan 6th, Feb 3rd, Mar 3, Mar 17.
-Needed items - bean bag chairs (for the movie room), ivy type greenery garlands or tropical flower garlands,
PVC pipe with 3 way and corner connectors, flame resistant grass skirts - email [email protected]
AFTER PROM PARTY
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From Officer Macdonald
With winter upon us we need to prepare for winter driving. Your students that are driving should prepare their
cars for winter driving with the following things:
Good winter tires – Colorado allows us to use studded snow tires
Snow brush
Blanket or sleeping bag
Check and replace if needed your windshield wiper blades
Check and fill all vehicle fluids
Other things that are good to have in your vehicle are:
Food such as gorp, dry cereal, Power or granola bars
Water
Snow shovel
Traction device – tire chains or cables, or mats
You can put together an Emergency Survival Kit that consists of the following:
Emergency heater
Hard candy
Emergency Mylar Blankets
The most important thing about winter driving is SLOW DOWN! Most winter driving accidents are caused
because someone is driving to fast and cannot react to a problem quickly enough.
Many of our kids (and us) like to snowboard, ski, snowshoe and participate in winter outdoor activities. Before
heading out to these activities preplan what you are going to do.
Check the weather for where you are going and your route to/from the activity.
Tell someone where you are going and when you plan to get back to include your route to/from.
Check your equipment prior to leaving.
Check your vehicle to include your gas level.
Most of us have cell phones. Keep them inside your clothing while outside. Cold temperatures can cause the
battery to die quickly. Remember that cell phones don’t always work everywhere. Also voice and text
messages are sent to separate systems and sometimes text will work when voice doesn’t. So for all you parents
(like me) that don’t text much if there is a problem you might try sending a text if you have no voice service.
Recently the sheriff’s office conducted a search operation for a woman whose cell could not receive voice
communications, but we were able to text her and found her very quickly. If you do get lost or stranded during
winter conditions in most cases you are better sheltering in place and wait for help. If you are with your car,
stay with it. It is easier to find your car than you and it affords shelter.
For the kids that go into the backcountry skiing, boarding or snowshoeing; they should take a back country
course to include avalanche training. They should always carry an avalanche transceiver, probe poles, shovel,
food, and water. Always tell someone where you are going, route you are taking, and when you plan to be
back.
If you or your students have questions about emergency vehicle survival kits please contact me.
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Conifer High School
Thursday, December 2 Chanson Plaza - Bowles & Wadsworth
Benefits……CHS Instrumental Music
Shop while you listen to the
CHS Jazz Band
And
Band & Orchestra Musicians
Perform Between
4:00 – 7:30 PM
Shop from 9 AM – 10 PM in the store or online to support the
CHS Instrumental Music program!
Visit BN.COM/bookfairs to support us online from 9 AM – 10 PM on Dec 2
by entering Bookfair ID 10294817 at checkout.
A percentage of your Barnes & Noble purchases
will benefit the Conifer High School Instrumental Music program.