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The Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) at Cottonwood Creek Elementary holds multiple events throughout the year to raise funds for student education programs, equipment, supplies and services. These funds support literacy, math, science, technology, and provide additional instructional services. The money raised closes the gap between state funding and current needs of the students. We could not accomplish our goals without your generous financial support.
Do you want to double or triple the impact of your gift? Many employers sponsor matching gift programs and will match any charitable contributions made by their employees.
To find out if your company has a matching gift policy, talk to your HR representative.

In This Issue of The Cottonwood PTO News:

Hello Cottonwood Cougars! We hope that everyone had a wonderful first week back at school for in-person learning!

We have so many exciting, new upcoming events to share with you below!

THE READ4FUNDS READ-A-THON IS COMING JAN. 22!

Read4Funds kicks off Friday, 1/22 with a virtual assembly for our students! The Read-a-Thon is a great challenge and motivation for students to increase their reading time (and of course earn fun prizes!!) while raising much needed funds for our school, a win-win! Students will challenge themselves to read for a combined 200 minutes between 1/26 and 2/5. Start thinking about friends and family your child can ask for donations and get their email addresses ready. Friends and family can pledge per 20 minutes of reading or make a flat donation. Our goal this year is for each student to raise $75+ in donations! This is one the largest fundraisers of the year where our students and teachers benefit directly from the pledges raised. We can also accept business donations and sponsorships (please contact Taylor Spalding at taylor369L@yahoo.com or Gretchen McGinnis at gretchen.mcginnis@coaccess.com for more information). Look out for more details coming home with your child in a parent letter on Friday, 1/22!

Friday, January 22nd: Read4Funds Virtual Kick-off Assembly

RALLY WEEK:

Tuesday, January 26th: In-class Read-a-Thon (wear your R4F t-shirt – which will be sent home on 1/22)

Friday, January 29th: Pig Race Day!

Jan. 26th – Feb. 5th – Student Reading Challenge (200 minutes!!)

Friday, February 5th – Final Reading Minutes and Donations due

Wednesday, February 17th – PRIZE DELIVERY DAY!!!!!!!

THE ANNUAL AUCTION IS ROARING BACK IN 2021!

Save-the-Date for the 2021 Auction on Friday, April 16th at 6:30pm

This year’s Auction theme is the Roaring 20s, and the Live Event will be VIRTUAL! Celebrate this annual Parents Night Out event IN this year. Even though we can’t gather together we will still make it fun! Dress up in 20s style costumes (special shout-outs for the best costume), get some cool VIP giveaways, make creative cocktails, and sit back and enjoy the entertainment with friends and family. Leading up to the VIRTUAL LIVE AUCTION, we will also host an online Silent Auction and Wine Pull. This is the largest fundraiser of the year, and we appreciate your continued support of Cottonwood Creek. Stay tuned for more details!

A huge thank you to these special parent volunteers we appreciate you! Auction Chair Becca Cooper, Auction Volunteers Val DeGaetani, Jen Gibson, Amanda Bicker, and Clara Carpenter. Thank you, thank you!

JOIN US! VIRTUAL PTO MEETING: FRIDAY, FEB 12 at 8:30AM-9:30AM

Please join us at our next General PTO Meeting (held virtually) on Friday, February 12th from 8:30am – 9:30am.

Please RSVP HERE to let us know you plan to attend. We look forward to seeing you there!

Please join the meeting using the Zoom link HERE. In an effort to make the speaker presentation accessible to all parents, we will be recording the presentation via Zoom, and posting the presentation on our website once the meeting has concluded. Thank you!

GET INVOLVED IN THE PTO NEXT YEAR!

Looking to make a difference next year? To become more involved in our community? Take some time to look into PTO!

Our Cottonwood Creek Community is built and cultivated through the involvement of our parents. Together, we have the opportunity to make an impact in the resources available to our kids and to the environment they grow in every day. As we start the new year, the PTO is beginning our process to build our team of Committee Chairs and Executive Board members for the 2021/2022 school year. Over the next couple months, you will have the opportunity to learn more about what we do, the roles that are available and how you can help us make an impact.

To learn more:

Attend our PTO Information Meeting on Friday, February 12th at 8:30-9:30am: We will dedicate time in this meeting to tell you about the PTO, our openings and how to get involved.
Read about our Executive Board Roles: This document contains role descriptions for each Executive Board Role.
Fill out our Executive Board and Committee Chair Interest Form: This form will be available through April as we determine where we have openings and reach out to those interested in taking on a chair role next year. We will be reaching out to those people that express interest in the coming months.
Nominate Yourself or Someone Else for Executive Board: Ready to jump in? Submit a nomination form through March 4, 2021. It also contains a link to all the Executive Board Roles.
Talk to Someone on the Executive Board about their experience. This link will provide contact information.

We hope you take the opportunity to get involved in our community and school!

RESTAURANT NIGHT – MOD MARKET (JAN 28, 4-7PM, TAKE OUT ONLY)

WHAT: Please support Cottonwood Creek at Modern Market! To place orders call 303-220-9962 or place orders online using PROMO CODE: giveback003

WHEN: January 28th, 4-7pm, Take out ONLY, delivery is not available

WHERE: Modern Market (8575 E Arapahoe Road #F)

CULTURAL CONNECTIONS – PANDEMIC HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS!

Thank you for adding to our Christmas and Kwanzaa album!

Christmas is celebrated on December 25 each year– but why? Was it really because Jesus was born on this day? For some interesting facts about this universally known holiday, please click here.

Kwanzaa is a week long celebration held in the United States to honor universal African heritage and culture. People light a kinara (candle holder with seven candles) and give each other gifts. It takes place from December 26 to January 1 every year. It was created by Maulana Karenga and was first celebrated in 1966 – 1967. Non-African Americans also celebrate Kwanzaa. The holiday greeting is “Joyous Kwanzaa.”
Please watch this video for a more extensive understanding of this holiday:

Please keep adding your pictures to our holiday album! CLICK HERE FOR THE ALBUM

In a nutshell, from ELLIE AND KATIE JOHNSON: “Every year Santa comes to our house before he takes off for his big trip around the world and gives us a couple of presents. He comes down the chimney while we are sleeping.”
ROSELIE and SYDNEY SACHEN: ” Our favorite memories during this time are family time during the holidays, opening gifts together, listening to our dad sing in Hebrew and singing Silent Night during the candle lighting at church.”

Next up is the Chinese New Year – the year of the Ox! This is celebrated on February 12 this year. Please send us some information and pictures on how you celebrate this holiday!

If you would like us to highlight a holiday/festival that is important to you, please email us at culturalconnectionscot@gmail.com

ONLINE AUCTION IS COMING – VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

Online Auction - Happy Valley Elementary School Parent Club

The Online Auction is going to be an awesome, fun, unique social (virtual) event!! PLEASE HELP US make this year’s auction the best one yet!! We are in need of a few more volunteers who would like to join our amazing auction team! Please email Lauren Kauffman (lauren.k.kauffman@gmail.com) if you are interested in helping out. There are a number of different options and roles available!

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR 2020 AUCTION SPONSORS!!

On behalf of the Cottonwood Creek Elementary PTO, we would like to recognize our amazing 2020 Auction Sponsors! During this unprecedented year, your continued support and dedication to our students and teachers is appreciated beyond words. Your donations help support the salaries of our invaluable teaching assistants, provide technology tools and educational subscriptions for our students, and so much more. We can’t thank you enough for your continued commitment and support of Cottonwood Creek. We appreciate you so much!

TITLE CORPORATE SPONSORS:

Mike and Jean Duggan of the Premier Homes Team with Remax Professionals – premierhomesdenver.com

Hardin Waldrip Law, PLLC – hardinwaldriplaw.com

PLATINUM LEVEL SPONSORS:

Ahern Equipment Rentals – www.ahern.com

HBS Trash Services – www.hbsdumpster.com

Melissa and Pete Rogers

South Valley Drywall, Inc. – www.southvalleydrywall.com

GOLD LEVEL SPONSORS:

Enquire Solutions – EnquireSolutions.com

Jennifer Bub Real Estate – www.jenniferbubrealestate.com

Lokal Homes – www.lokalhomes.com

Total Orthodontics – total-orthodontics.com

SILVER LEVEL SPONSORS:

Andrea M. Shepard Agency of Allstate – www.allstate.com/andreashepard

Encyte Solutions – www.encytesolutions.com

SHOP WITH AMAZONSMILE & KING SOOPERS AND SUPPORT COTTONWOOD!

Want to help raise $25,000 for our school, without donating any money? Ask your family, friends, grandparents and neighbors to follow the steps below and SIGN-UP to support Cottonwood Creek Elementary PTO at King Soopers and AmazonSmile!

Here’s how: Add Cottonwood Creek Elementary PTO to your King Soopers and AmazonSmile accounts (absolutely FREE!), and a portion of every dollar you spend supports our school! Signup once, and you’re done. It’s that easy!!

Follow these simple steps to link your account:

KING SOOPERS:

Sign In at www.kingsoopers.com \ My Account \ Account Summary \ Community Rewards
Name: Cottonwood Creek PTO
Organization Number: VD201

AMAZONSMILE:

Holiday shopping tip: Help charity every time you buy something at Amazon - CNET

CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE TO MAKE COTTONWOOD CREEK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL YOUR CHARITY OF CHOICE ON AMAZON SMILE.

SO EASY!!! Please share with friends and extended family!!

SHARE YOUR PHOTOS FOR THE 2020-21 YEARBOOK!

Order your Yearbook - Northwest High School

Share photos of your Cottonwood Cougars for the yearbook! Please use the link below to SHARE and UPLOAD your photos of 1st Day of School, Spirit Wear Fridays, Spirit Week, and Remote Learning. Let’s embrace this different year and share those screenshots, pod learning activities, share pics of parents with their “co-workers,” and any other remote learning fun! Thank you to the parents and teachers who have already provided photos for the yearbook!

**We will be giving away a free yearbook to one lucky person that uploads photos by 11/30! Upload your photos here:
https://tr5.treering.com/school/139988/photos/shared-photo-folders

THE 2020-21 YEARBOOK IS IN THE WORKS!

The 2020-21 yearbook is well under way and available to pre-order. Be sure to capture the memories, and share your photos. Check it off your To-Do List, and order your yearbook today!

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR YEARBOOK!

DIGITAL LIBRARY CHECK OUT!

Digital Library | Providing Access to All | York County Libraries

Now you can check out books digitally! EBooks, audiobooks and streaming videos are available from the CCSD Overdrive Digital Library for download to PCs, Macs, Kindles, iPads, smartphones, MP3 players and hundreds of other devices!

Here’s how:

* Log in to the Overdrive catalog at: my.cherrycreekschools.org

* Select the myLibrary tab at the bottom

* Select the image for Overdrive

* Log in with your school computer username (active directory) and password (active directory). Remember, you set your own active directory password. Library staff have no way of knowing what it is.

Click here for on instructional video!

ONLINE COMMUNITY RESOURCES AND LINKS

Use these helpful links to stay informed on the latest developments in the Cherry Creek School District.

CCSD Planning Forward Website

CCSD COVID Tracker and Public Health Metrics

CCSD Planning Forward – Frequently Asked Questions

Citizens for Cherry Creek Schools

Kids for Our Community

Mark your calendar for these important dates:

1/22: Read4Funds Read-a-Thon – Virtual Kick-off Assembly!!

1/26: In-class Read-a-Thon!!

1/26 – 2/5: Student Read-a-Thon Challenge (200 minutes!!)

1/28: Restaurant Night at Modern Market

2/5: Final Read-a-Thon Minutes and Donations Due

2/10: Restaurant Night at Alpha Charlie’s (all day)

2/12: General PTO Meeting (to be held virtually via Zoom)

4/16: Save the date for the Online Cottonwood Auction!!

GET INVOLVED IN PTO – 2021/2022!

At Cottonwood, we are so thankful for our strong and supportive parent community, and we hope you will get involved in the 2021/22 school year! We are actively seeking volunteers to join our PTO Executive Board and fill essential Committee Chair roles for the upcoming year. Please fill out our 2021/22 EXEC BOARD & COMMITTEE CHAIR INTEREST FORM to get involved and support Cottonwood! A PTO board member will be reaching out to those people that express interest in the coming months.

We hope you take the opportunity to get involved in our school and community!

Thank You, Volunteers!

Cottonwood Creek wouldn't be the amazing school it is without our amazing community of parent volunteers!! We so appreciate your efforts! A special THANK YOU goes out to the following:
Thank you to our Cultural Committee, Rachita Prakash and Shivani Dalal, who have created and written our meaningful “Pandemic Holiday Celebrations” over the past few months. We appreciate you creating a platform for us all to celebrate differences.
Thank you to all of our amazing party parents and grade level party coordinators for the awesome coordination and execution of winter parties on Friday, 12/18. Thank you for your creative party ideas and for going above and beyond to deliver virtual parties for our kids this year! We appreciate you so much!
We'd like to say a big Thank You to Jennie Preece and Mimi Skeehan, our Community Service Chairs, along with Kori Shaiman for coordinating the wonderful Cottonwood Helping Hands Mitten Drive that was incredibly successful again this year! And thank you to our amazing Cottonwood Community for your donations which helped 28 Cottonwood students and an additional 20 families outside of our community receive much-needed support this holiday season!

Thank you to our amazing Party Parents who are working hard (and quickly) to plan our upcoming class winter parties! This year obviously looks very different than our typical winter parties, but we know how much our kids will appreciate your efforts and all the creative, fun ideas you have planned! THANK YOU!!

Thank you also to our fantastic Room Parents, who are also seamlessly navigating this new world!!! We appreciate your effort in organizing teacher gifts and communication between parents, teachers and PTO. THANK YOU!!

Thank you also to Dana Ambler and Shari Baillargeon, our fearless Volunteer Coordinators. Your help in coordinating communication with our network of volunteers is a huge job and we are thankful to have you on the team!!!
Thank you to our amazing party parents who are working hard (and quickly) to plan our upcoming class winter parties! This year obviously looks very different than our typical winter parties, but we know how much our kids will appreciate your efforts and all the creative, fun ideas you have planned! THANK YOU!!

Thank you also to our fantastic room parents, who are also seamlessly navigating this new world!!! We appreciate your effort in organizing teacher gifts and communication between parents, teachers and PTO. THANK YOU!!

Thank you also to Dana Ambler and Shari Baillargeon, our fearless volunteer coordinators. Your help in coordinating communication with our network of volunteers is a huge job and we are thankful to have you on the team!!!

Thank you to Becca Cooper Leebove for her Auction leadership and her team of auction outreach volunteers who have been hard at work in preparation for an amazing spring online auction and virtual bidding event! A big thank you to our auction team!!
Thank you to Kim Olson, our amazing lost and found coordinator! Kim took pictures and organized ALL the lost and found items and has graciously organized distribution to their owners! Thank you Kim!
Thank you to Becca Cooper Leebove for her Auction leadership and her team of auction outreach volunteers who have been hard at work in preparation for an amazing spring online auction and virtual bidding event! A big thank you to our auction team!!
Thank you to Kim Olson, our amazing lost and found coordinator! Kim took pictures and organized ALL the lost and found items and has graciously organized distribution to their owners! Thank you Kim!

Thank you to our amazing PIN representative, Erin Raleigh, who continuously keeps our Cottonwood Community updated on important PIN presentations. We appreciate you keeping us informed on these very important topics!!

Thank you to Kristen Ide, our Publicity Chair, for keeping our PTO billboard up to date with all the PTO news and events each week. Thank you, Kristen, for your support and dedication to Cottonwood!

Thank you also to Paula McAtee, Restaurant Night Committee Chair, for continuing to partner with restaurants in our community in setting up awesome restaurant nights supporting Cottonwood Creek! In the current environment, Paula has increased our restaurant night give-back opportunities to twice each month, and we can't thank her enough for her dedication in making these events a success!
Thanks to Marin Hamilton and Kassie Hurley for leading our hospitality committee and organizing another teacher appreciation meal! Thank you to Marla Katz and Lelle Lantz for putting together the Cottonwood Caller! Thank you to Paula McAtee, for coordinating our wonderful restaurant nights! Thanks so much to Paula Hruska for being our champion for Measures 4A 7 4B! A big thank you goes out to Trista Ehrichs and Alice Schubert for coordinating our King Soopers and AmazonSmile Battle of the Classes contest. The winning classes will enjoy extra recess parties along with a special class treat. Most of all, this was a great way to give back to our school by increasing participation in the King Soopers and AmazonSmile give-back programs which are absolutely free! Thank you to all the families, friends and neighbors that signed up to help support our school!
Thank you to Claudia Conteras & Romina Zajd for our Mums and Donuts fundraiser, along with 303 Smiles & The Mortgage Co for sponsoring! The Goettsche family, owner of Chick-fil-a, and Brother's BBQ and 103.5 the Fox for our amazing teachers luncheons! Muriel Roumier, Art Room Coordinator, for organizing the collection of river rocks for the art room. Also, thank you to all the families who donated to this cool project for the Art Room!

A big thank you goes out to Jennie Preece and Mimi Skeehan, our Community Service Committee Chairs, who coordinated the Day of Service in honor of 9/11, Patriot's Day, in the justLOVE, justGIVE, justSERVE community service project! Cottonwood students and families collected and donated a whole van-full of food to local faith services and charities in a food drive and participated in other various service projects via justserve.org. What a wonderful way for Cottonwood students and families to give back to those in our greater community.

A special THANK YOU to all the parents who joined our first virtual General PTO Meeting on Friday, 9/18. Thank you to our speakers, Karen Fisher - President, CCSD Board of Education who discussed the importance of Measures 4A & 4B on the ballot this fall, along with our Principal, Katie Johnson, who provided us with an important back to school update on all things Cottonwood and Cherry Creek to date this fall.
All parents who donated to our Campaign for Cottonwood! Paula McAtee for our Restaurant Nights! Jennifer Abrams & Darcey Perlman-Welcoming Committee Chairs for our virtual new family welcome! Kim Olson-for organizing our lost and found! Committee Chair Volunteers-we are so excited to tap into all your creativity!
Bridget Gaunt, Molly Kruljac and Anjanette Steadman, Kindergarten Coordinators - For all of your efforts, amazing communication and Kindie events to welcome our new incoming Kindie families to the Cougar community!
Lindsey Bye - New line of Cottonwood Spirit Wear including Cougar masks and gaiters, new this year, ensuring our kids are ready for Back to School!!
Courtney Taylor and Jessica Rothschild, School Supply Chairs - For organizing the online school supply sale providing all-inclusive packs for our students.

Cottonwood Creek PTO

PTO Impact

UPCOMING RESTAURANT NIGHTS

Upcoming Events

PTO 2020/2021 Budget