A Note from the PTA: Cultivating Community Together

The Columbine PTA is committed to fostering a sense of belonging for everyone in our diverse community. We know that people have different ideas about how we should approach community engagement, and we’re open to challenging our thinking as we try new approaches. We ask for your understanding and support as we move forward, always keeping the well-being of our students and families at the forefront.

This commitment aligns with our school's focus on Building the Culture and Structure of Crew, where the entire school community works together as a team. The concept of Crew is not just about supporting students’ academic growth, but also about creating a culture of equity and inclusion where everyone feels they belong. The PTA embraces this philosophy and aims to mirror it in our community efforts.

If you ever feel that your voice isn’t being heard or is being marginalized, please don’t hesitate to reach out to any PTA Board member. We truly want to hear you and ensure your perspectives are part of our conversation.

We also support the school’s Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) work, led by Michael Atkins, Director of Black Student Success, and Dr. Ellen Miller-Brown from the University of Denver. While the IDI is separate from the PTA, we recognize its value and encourage everyone—caregivers, teachers, staff, team leads, committee members, and community members—to participate. This work is about getting comfortable with discomfort for the sake of progress, creating inclusive school spaces, and fostering asset-based mindsets. Join the IDI launch session on Wednesday, November 13th, from 5:30-7:00 PM.

Appreciating Everyone’s Presence in Our Community

We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to the entire Columbine community for showing up, connecting, and participating in recent events like the Fall Festival. This year, the PTA Board made the decision to make the festival completely free, ensuring that every family could join in without barriers. We are grateful to everyone who came out, making it a truly inclusive and memorable event.

It’s also been wonderful to see so many families and kids at events like Donuts at Dropoff and Popcorn Friday. Be on the lookout for more of these community events in the coming months!

We want to emphasize that being part of our community doesn’t always mean volunteering or donating—it can simply mean showing up to connect with others. Even if schedules don’t always allow for participation, we recognize and appreciate the value each of you brings to Columbine. Your presence matters, and we’re grateful for every way you engage.

One area where we could use extra support right now is for our Winter Clothing Drive. We are collecting gently used coats, hats, gloves, scarves, and boots to ensure all students are prepared for the colder months. Please drop off donations in the box located in the front entrance of the school. The drive runs through November 22, leading up to our Coats & Cocoa event, where families can find winter gear at no cost.

Thank You for Volunteering

We want to express our deepest gratitude to all community members who have volunteered their time and energy for recent events. While we may not be able to name everyone, please know that we see and appreciate you. Your involvement makes these events possible!

Fall Festival: With so many hands on deck, it’s impossible to list everyone, but we want to extend a huge thank you to all who made the event such a success!
Donuts at Dropoff: Thank you to Ronnell Jackson, Melanie Ramsey, Rosa Salazar, Will Lee-Ashley, Kandice Morgan, and many others for helping create a warm, welcoming start to the school day. This event fosters community by giving caregivers, staff, and students a moment to connect over coffee and donuts.
Student of the Month: This special event recognizes one student from each class for demonstrating a LEAP habit of character, inviting caregivers to celebrate with their kiddos. Your volunteer efforts help make these moments run smoothly. Special thanks to Tanya Jones, Taylor Johnson, and Julie Granius for their support!
Popcorn Friday: This weekly event is a wonderful way to wrap up the week, bringing smiles to caregivers, staff, and students alike. Thank you to Ronnell Jackson, Melanie Ramsey, and Ryan Steinbach for keeping the popcorn popping!
Silent Auction: Organizing this event takes a tremendous amount of work. We are grateful to Alaina Bupp for her leadership, as well as Kelsey Boyer, Elise Aiken, Lyndi Martoia, Adam Zurowste, Julie Granius, Lynn Gailey, along with a long list of teachers and staff who contributed their time and effort to make it a success.

Be on the lookout for more volunteer opportunities coming soon! Your involvement, whether big or small, continues to strengthen our community.

Fundraising: Supporting Our Programs with Respect

Fundraising plays an important role in funding the programs the PTA supports, but we want to emphasize that donating is always optional. Your participation is appreciated but never required, and every contribution—big or small—makes a difference.

Recent Fundraisers:

Dine-Outs: Our recent Dine-Outs were a success, raising $227.62 at Qdoba and $386.19 at Chipotle. This year, in addition to the funds raised at the Fall Festival, we’re providing an extra $400 to each classroom to enhance learning, and the Dine-Outs help make this possible.
Fall Festival Silent Auction: Our target was $10,000, given that the costs to support the Expeditionary Learning (EL) modules have increased since losing Title 1 funding. We’re thrilled to share that we exceeded our target, raising $11,500! These funds directly support EL experiences, including field trips, guest speakers, museum visits, and hands-on learning modules that enhance classroom education.
*Reminder: We will be reaching out to auction winners over the next week to coordinate next steps or delivery of items.

Upcoming Fundraisers:

We’ll be going lighter on fundraising through November and December, with only two main activities:

Ephemeral Spelling Bee on November 14 at Ephemeral from 6:30-9:00 PM. There’s no entry fee—just come ready to spell! Ephemeral will donate 10% of the proceeds from the evening to the PTA.
Birdcall Dine-Out (Date TBD)

We will continue to be transparent about our fundraising goals and ensure that all efforts align with our commitment to accessibility, respect, and community support.

Team Updates

Enrichments & School Support Team

Thank you to Julie Granius, Tanya Jones, and Taylor Johnson for volunteering for the Student of the Month assembly. Stay tuned for updates coming shortly for the 2nd Choir enrichment.

Outreach, Inclusion, and Membership Team

Supporting Multicultural Events: This year, the O&I and PTA are committed to providing more intentional funding for multicultural events at Columbine. We are excited to announce that we will be partially funding Bollywood dancers who will visit the school to teach students some lively dance moves in celebration of Diwali. This effort builds on the work led by Laura Ratcliffe, who successfully brought the dancers to the school last year. If you’d like to also contribute to this meaningful event, please Venmo @columbinecougars and label your donation “Diwali.”

In addition, we want to recognize American Indian & Alaska Native Heritage Month (November 1 through November 30) and support educational events and activities in partnership with the school’s multiculteral team.

Upcoming events:

Black Excellence Family Dinner – November 4, 5:30-7:30 PM at Columbine
Join the school as they share the Black Excellence Plan, gather feedback, discuss targets for the year, and engage with Michael Atkins about the Black Student Success Cohort. Please invite someone to attend!
Winter Clothing Drive – Monday, October 28 through Friday, November 22. Drop-off box is located outside the front office.
Diwali Dance Experience – Monday, November 11, 2:00-3:00 PM
Students will learn Bollywood dance moves in celebration of Diwali!
Donuts at Drop-off – Wednesday, November 20, 7:45-8:15 AM
Start your day with coffee, donuts, and community!
Outreach, Inclusion, and Membership Meeting – Thursday, November 21, 6:00-7:00 PM (Join us virtually)
Coats & Cocoa + Popcorn Friday – Friday, November 22, 3:30-4:45 PM
Warm up with cocoa, collect winter gear, and enjoy popcorn to close out the week!

Expeditionary Learning Team

Recent EL Experience Funding: Pending & Approved

Approved: 11/1 Denver Center for Performaning Arts (ECE-3) - Gerald & Piggie Performance
Approved: 10/23: Bluff Lake (2nd grade) - Plants and Animals
Approved: Date TBD: Bluff Lake (3rd grade) - Frogs
Pending Date TBD: Children’s Museum ECE-4

Next EL Team Meeting: November 6, 7:30-8:30 PM (Join us virtually)

Dads of Columbine (DOCs) Team

Upcoming events:

Football, Chili & Wings with the Dads of Columbine

The Dads of Columbine are planning a fun-filled day of football, chili, and wings next weekend! Stay tuned for dates and location details. This event is all about bringing the community of dads and father figures together to connect and get to know each other better within the Columbine community. While the name suggests it’s just for dads, this group does not take that too seriously - all are welcome to join!

Finance & Fundraising Team

The Finance & Fundraising Team is quickly reaching out to all successful bidders from the Silent Auction. If you won an item, keep an eye out for an email from either Alaina Bupp or the Columbine Cougars PTA this week.

Upcoming events:

Next F&F Team meeting - Thursday, November, 7:00 - 8:00 PM at Ephemeral Taproom. (Join us virtually)
Ephemeral Spelling Bee - thursday, November 14, 6:30 - 9:30 PM

Oct. 28-Nov 22

Winter Gear Drive

Oct. 31

Halloween

Nov. 4
5:30 - 7:30 PM

Black Excellence Family Dinner

Nov.13
5:30 - 7:30 PM

IDI Launch Session

Nov. 12/13 (TBD)

PTA Board Meeting

Nov. 14
6:30 - 9:00 PM

Ephemeral Spelling Bee

Sign up for a Thursday treat!

Support our amazing staff by bringing in a Thursday treat. Lock in your spot by signing up here. This is an easy way to say thank you to our great teachers and staff.

Keep staff refreshed!

Help stock the Teacher’s Lounge with drinks and snacks by signing up here.

Volunteer for Fall Festival!

Visit the SignUpGenius and sign up for a volunteer opportunity.

Join the Passive Giving Opportunities below!

Passive giving is a low-effort, no additional cost way for you to donate to the PTA. Once you sign up, portions of your purchases will automatically go towards the PTA, which we use to fund this year’s cooking equipment setup. With the cooking setup, we will have grills and equipment on-hand to make our community events better than ever before! Please take a moment of your time to set these up and ask your friends and family to do the same!