Apple Award Nominations
The Foundation for Douglas County Schools is thrilled to recognize exceptional educators and staff who are inspiring a love of learning in students and are trailblazing extraordinary innovation in our schools. Over the years, the annual Apple Awards has evolved to engage the entire community, resulting in thousands of nominations every year for teachers and staff across the district. Click here to find out more and to nominate.
THE 2026 NOMINATION WINDOW IS OPEN THROUGH OCTOBER 20TH!
The 2026 Apple Awards ceremony will be held on Saturday, March 28, 2026 at the DCSD Legacy Campus in Lone Tree, Colorado.
Our Lost and Found items are donated to charity four times each school year: at Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer Breaks. Have your children check for missing items. Remaining items will be donated to charity on October 10th.
Day of the Week Class Grades
Mondays Basketball & Hockey OTA ◀️ NEW 3-6
Mondays Book Reading Club ◀️ NEW 1-5
Mondays Kids Yoga P3-1
Tuesdays Coding for Kids K-3 K-3
Tuesdays Crochet 2-8
Tuesdays Soccer Buddies P-K P3-K
Wednesdays Ceramics 1-8
Wednesdays Cougar Zoomies Wednesdays P3-K
Wednesdays Jewelry Making 1-6
Wednesdays Tech Lab MakerSpace ◀️ NEW 4-8
Thursdays Cougar Zoomies Thursdays P3-K
Thursdays Love! Tennis 1-6
Thursdays Lego Club 1-5
Fridays Dungeons & Dragons 4-8
Fridays Chess Wizards K-5
As we enter the season of changing leaves and cooler temperatures, our DCS Montessori (DCSM) community begins focusing on gratitude.
A huge thank you to our parents, MEF, staff, and students for making last Friday’s FUN RUN such a success! It was a joyful day of heart-healthy running and community spirit. Thanks to your efforts, the MEF will be funding new playground turf, working toward a Middle School sign installation, supporting sustainable facility upgrades, and providing teacher training.
Want to help even more? Consider everyday volunteering opportunities like reading groups, spelling practice, or helping in the library—or join MEF in their fundraising efforts.
1) 🐾 October is OWNERSHIP Month
On the COUGAR Calendar, October focuses on taking responsibility and accountability—for our learning, our lives, and our growth.
👉 Here’s a short video on OWNERSHIP
that can spark family and classroom conversations.
When solving problems, encourage your child to ask:
“What can I do about it?” instead of “What should someone else do?”
This mindset helps our students develop confidence, independence, and ownership of their learning and actions.
2) 📊 Academic Growth & Achievement
Over the past two years, our School Accountability Committee (SAC) set a goal to improve Math Achievement and Growth on state assessments—and we’ve seen great results!
Upper Elementary: Improved by 12+ percentage points across categories
Middle School: Earned an Exceeds rating in both Achievement and Growth
Overall: DCSM is a Performance Plan school (the highest rating), with 6 points of Growth on the SPF, outscoring the state in 13 of 14 categories
This success is a reflection of the dedication of our staff, students, and families. Thank you for being true partners in learning!
3) 💬 Sources of Strength: Positive Friends
Our mental wellness program, Sources of Strength, empowers students through eight areas of wellness.
This month’s focus: Positive Friends.
Strong peer connections help students feel supported, build resilience, and succeed academically. At home, try asking your child:
“What does a positive friend look like to you?”
“How can you be a positive friend to others?”
Encourage social opportunities—whether it’s a playdate, a hike, or a simple phone call. Remember, friends and support networks can come from both inside and outside school.
4) 🤝 Parent-Teacher Conferences
As we gather for conferences, our staff is excited to partner with you. Together, we can take OWNERSHIP of supporting each child’s academic and personal growth.
Some small, consistent actions make a big difference:
Read an extra 10 minutes each night
Practice letters or journal writing
Work on Freckle or ALEKS Math a few times a week
When we take ownership together, everything is possible!
5) ☕ Coffee with Jeromy
Join me this Friday for Coffee.
Topic: School Safety
We’ll provide the coffee—or bring your favorite cup from home!
We are proud to be your school of choice. With your partnership, we continue building Montessori excellence for every child.
Wishing you a wonderful October, a refreshing Fall Break, and many opportunities to take OWNERSHIP with your family!
— Jeromy Johnson, DCS Montessori
Upcoming Parenting Classes at DCS Montessori
ADHD & EXECUTIVE FUNCTION: The Social & Emotional Impact on Learning, Motivation, Behavior, & the Family System©
A 2-Hour workshop to help you understand:
● Why it is so hard for your child to behave as expected
● What makes following directions and consistency of behavior so challenging
● Why concepts like organization and time management seem to be learned, but not followed
● How using rewards and punishments often create more problems than they solve
October 21st 6pm-8pm
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CALM & CONNECTED: Parenting Children & Teens with ADHD/ Executive Function Challenges©
7-Session Workshop (includes the ADHD & Executive Function class listed above)
Do you need help setting boundaries and motivating your child?
Are you wondering about how to bring some calm and joy back?
Learn tips and tools for:
Session 1 - ADHD & Executive Function
Session 2 - Remaining Calm & Connected
Session 3 - Improving Communication
Session 4 - Encouraging Collaboration
Session 5 - Achieving Clarity & Consistency
Session 6 - Effective Consequences
Session 7 - Making Better Choices
Tuesdays from October 21 - December 9
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For a limited time, you can get 10% off your purchase.
The early bird special ends on 10/31/25, so lock in your savings and your copy today.
As a reminder, with TreeRing, you can also create two custom pages for free, filled with your own photos and memories.
How to order:
Visit https://www.treering.com/purchase?PassCode=1016038252054199
Next week, September 29 - October 3, is the coat drive! We will be collecting coats during morning and afternoon carpools. We still need volunteers to collect coats. If you would like to volunteer, please click here. We have three ways for people to donate to the coat drive:
Donate your gently used kids' and adults' jackets. We will also take hats, gloves, and boots.
Buy new coats, hats, gloves, and boots to donate.
Donate money, and we will use the funds to purchase items (Venmo @Lisa-Dorenfeld with a note that it is for the coat drive, last four of phone number- 1740).
Help us provide warmth for families in need this winter.
If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Paul at paul.brannberg@dcsdk12.org. Thank you!
We will be having our Teacher & Staff Appreciation Luncheon on October 7th from 11:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M. This week is a particularly busy and long week for our school's staff. We are currently looking for some fabulous volunteers to help with this event! If you would like to help us with this luncheon, please feel free to sign up to donate a food item, paper goods, or be on the set-up or clean-up crew. You can even get special parking privileges right up front for clean-up duty!
You can sign up for anything from a salad to drinks. You can drop off drinks, non-perishable items and paper products any time you wish before the luncheon. Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090549A4AF2FAAFF2-58853097-fall#/
"The children learn from one another and throw themselves into the work with enthusiasm and delight." Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook, 1914.
Dear Parents,
School pictures are ready!
To order, log in to your account on mylifetouch.com or create an account using your student's student ID number - you'll find this in the Parent Portal.
All families can also log on and order a FREE Digital SmileSafe card.
Picture Retake Day is Wednesday, October 8th. If your child was absent they will automatically be photographed. If your child was here, but you want a retake, click here.
