Welcome to Shelton Elementary for the 2019-2020 school year. Shelton is an amazing place to work and learn. As a staff, we take our school mission and vision very seriously. We work endlessly to equip and inspire our students to be active and engaged citizens and know how important it is for students to learn skills for the 21st Century – collaboration, critical thinking, communication and creativity. We take collective ownership for all of our students’ learning and know it takes a team . . . Team Shelton!
Shelton is a restorative school where we focus on building community with staff, students and families. Weekly, every classroom has community circles. Staff facilitate informal conferences as they work with students to resolve conflict and repair harm. It is important that we educate the whole child.
Shelton is a place where we make sure every student thrives socially, emotionally and academically. And, it’s a place where your child is welcomed, safe and loved. We are excited to start another school year full of new and engaged learning.
Who’s New?
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Mrs. Stephanie Oppenlander, Preschool Teacher
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Mrs. Darby Brady, Assistant Principal.
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Mr. Bob Babcock, Facility Manager
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Ms. Natalie Autrey, Kindergarten Teacher
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Mrs. Amanda Roche, 1st Grade Teacher
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Mr. Jim Orsund, Social Emotional Learning Specialist
What’s New?
Extra Recess for everyone! Beginning the 2019-20 school year, all students at Shelton will have two recess periods daily. The total daily recess time will be 30-35 minutes. This change reflects the Jeffco Recess Guidelines and supports the learning and health of our students.
The research strongly shows that students, who are active, learn better. Recess benefits students by:
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Increasing their level of physical activity.
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Improving their memory, attention, and concentration
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Helping them stay on-task in the classroom.
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Reducing disruptive behavior in the classroom
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Improving their social and emotional development (e.g., learning how to share, cooperate and problem-solve.)
We will follow the weather watch guidelines for safe outdoor temperatures and will take students outdoors whenever it is safe to do so. Please bring daily the necessary clothing for your children to spend time outdoors. To learn more about the Jeffco Recess Guidelines and the importance of recess, please view the guidelines here.
Family Engagement Liaison
Mrs. Terri Pankey, our Family Engagement Liaison, will be full time again this year. Thank you to the City of Golden for a generous and most needed $15,000 Citizen’s Assistant Grant. Mrs. Pankey follows the National Standards for Family –School Partnerships. Working closely with all families, welcoming them and being the voice for ALL students is her number one priority.
STEM, Makerspace and Robotics
Our Digital Teacher Librarian and teachers focused last year to add more innovation and creativity to the work that students are expected to perform daily. Our goal last year, and again this year is to help transform student tasks and make those tasks more engaging as we know that task predicts performance. Look at what we have waiting for students to learn about and use: Spheros, Dash and Dot, Ozobots, Cubelets, Stop Motion Carts, STEM Carts, Circuitry Kits. Students continually practice and modeled the Engineering Design Process and Design Thinking and enjoyed their learning.
Garden and Classroom Connections
Shelton is fortunate to have passionate parents who strive to support our students and teachers in every way they possibly can. Again this year, all classrooms will spend time in our school garden learning about insects, plants, pollination, etc. Amanda Strouth leads the way in helping our staff make the science connections from the classroom to the garden.
New Bench and Picnic Tables
With the help of PTSA, we were able to provide a grassy area for our kindergarteners to play and sit. In addition, we added two picnic tables and a bench in front of the building entrance and another two new picnic tables in the back kindergarten area. Kindergarten will love their new sand table and a Buddy Bench as well. I am hoping it will be complete before students return to school.
5th Grade 1:1 Chromebooks – This year our 5th grade students will have their own Chromebook to use both at home and at school. The Tech for Ed project vision is to, “. . . help create an equitable and sustainable model for technology-enabled classrooms that prepare students to thrive in a digitally connected world in alignment with the Jeffco Generations strategic plan.”
It is important our families and community members are involved and engaged in the process of educating every student in our school. We cannot do it alone. Please consider joining our Parent-Teacher Association (PTSA) or School Accountability Committee (SAC) and help us continue to create a warm and welcoming environment for all families.
As we move forward into this school year, please know that I am here to support you and your children. I have an open door policy, and believe that communication between school and family is imperative, so please do not hesitate to contact me if you need anything.
Educationally yours,
Karen Brown, Principal