Metamorphosis Up Close

 First grade has been reading about various animals that go through a metamorphosis, and now they are able to watch ladybugs go through the process- right in their very own classroom!  They ladybugs arrived as microscopic larva, then became pupa, and now are adult ladybugs. The first graders are meeting curriculum objectives in both Life Science and Language Arts, by writing about the process in their journals.

The students love the new additions to the classroom!

Celebrating the 100th Day of School!

Celebrating the 100th Day of School

The first and third grade classes were very excited to work together to celebrate the 100th day of school! The third graders helped the first graders paint 100 gumballs onto 10 gumball machine.

After they cleaned up from painting, the students collaborated on a book titled, "My 100's Book."  Learning is so much fun when the older students are able to assist the younger students with spelling, grammar, and handwriting.

Sisters of Charity receive MLK Humanitarian Award

On January 15th, the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth were designated as a recipient of the Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award. This award is given annually to community members who have "given freely from their hearts to others, given of their time, talent and energy to meet unmet needs, stir hope, speak for the voiceless and build a better world, if for just one person at a time." The recipients all help to advance Dr. King's dream of an equal chance for all persons to build a better life.

The SCL's were recognized for the monumental impact they have made in the city of Denver, and for the legacy they will leave here for years to come. Specifically, the work they have done to establish St. Joseph's Hospital, Mt. St. Vincent's Home, Seeds of Hope, and Annunciation Catholic School.

We are blessed to have the legacy of the SCL's here at Annunciation. It is our hope that our students and families still feel their loving presence within our school community.

Recognition from The Conflict Center

Last week, Annunciation Catholic School was honored with a special recognition from The Conflict Center. Annunciation was praised for the work the school has done to promote peaceful conflict resolution within its students. Currently, Annunciation students in grades 3-8 attend weekly group sessions with their peers, where they work with the school’s social worker to talk through emotions and conflicts. This program was started by Ms. Sheila Karpan many years ago, and has blossomed into the program it is today. Using training from The Conflict Center in Denver, and Second Step, an emotional skills curriculum, the students have learned non-violent ways to solve problems.

Don Ludwig and Mary Zinn from The Conflict Center were on hand following mass on November 1^st, to present the award to Annunciation. Information about our school and our group program is being featured in a statewide traveling exhibit sponsored by The Conflict Center. 

3rd Grade Dictionaries

For the past few years, our 3rd graders have been the fortunate recipients of new dictionaries. Venita Collier from the Lakewood Elks Lodge #17777, has represented the Lodge and come to the school to hand deliver the dictionaries to the students. 

During her visit, she also spent time reviewing the proper way to use a dictionary, and its extra resources. The students enjoyed finding the longest word in the dictionary. The word,  "Tryptophan synthetase A protein", is an enzyme that has 267 amino acids, and makes a record of 1,909 letters. It is the term for the formula C-1289 H-2051 N-343 O-375 S8.

Thank You Lakewood Elks Lodge!!

Community Partnerships

Annunciation Catholic School is blessed to have a number of community partnerships. It is always a joy to have guests in the building assisting with our students, or learning about our great school. This past month, we were lucky to have the Kids In Need of Dentistry (KIND) Program, and the Regis University Nursing students in our building to provide teeth cleaning and health check-ups.

Through KIND, our 2nd grade students were able to have their teeth checked and cleaned. Additionally, each 2nd grader was entered into a drawing to win a bike, congrats to Bryant who won the bike and the helmet!

Last week, the Regis University Nursing Students performed Health and Wellness checks for our Kindergarten and 1st grade students. We have partnered with Regis University for many years, and during the year have student nurses in the building assisting Mr. Steck and the classroom teachers with teaching the health curriculum.

We are very appreciative of these two organizations (and the many others) who support our students and their families!

8th Grade Egg Drop Challenge

For the past month, the 8th grade class has been working on innovative scientific thinking culminating in the Egg Drop Challenge with St. Rose of Lima. 

On September 19th, Annunciation 8th grade students took their egg drop vehicles to St. Rose of Lima to compete against 8th grade students from St. Rose working on the same challenge project. Separate brackets were created for designs that incorporated parachutes and those that did not. The vehicles had to safely carry an egg from an 18ft. window and hit a target on the pavement below. First and Second Place Honors went to teams from St. Rose, but many good designs were tested, and young scientists were able to see firsthand the fruits of the Scientific Problem-Solving Process.