Centennial K-8 School

Reni and her wonderful twins, Katie and Jack,
 have graduated from Centennial.  We're keeping Reni's columns on the web page as an example of a two-year parent tview of our school.

As the days grow longer and temperatures begin to climb, students and faculty at Centennial K-8 School are waiting for springtime with excitement.  Huge mounds of snow and ice are finally gone and there is a touch of green around the edges of the playground. Spring is in the air!

In January, numerous Centennial students demonstrated academic excellence.  First, this semester’s  Mile High Scholars were announced and were honored at a ceremony at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts on February 7th.  Centennial scholars are:  First grade-Michael Jordstad; second grade-Elias Aragon; third grade-Myranda Valdez; fourth grade-Angelo Aragon; fifth grade-Daniela Morales; sixth grade-Emrie Hoffman; seventh grade-Sarah Chavez; and eighth grade-Star Cabrera.

The first annual Geography Bee also took place in January.  One student from each grade earned the right to compete in the school wide contest by answering geography questions in their classrooms.  Finalists were Jack Fletcher, Audria Gonzales, Brianna Cordova, Jaylene Sisneros, Dante Nieto, Roberto Pena, Dwight Howes, Angell Lucero and Miguel Betancourt.  Runner-up was Montana Running Bear Paul, and winner was Fernando Ruvalcaba.  

The Centennial middle school Mathletics team competed against area schools in January in the All City Mathletics Competition.  Team members were:  Jamie Torres, Uber Montes, Antonio Melendez, Audria Gonzales, Sarah Chavez, Milo Andalsek, Dante Nieto, Chris Maestas and Paul Perez.  In individual competition Jamie Torres took third place and Dante Nieto and Kris Maestas tied for second.  In team competition Centennial placed third.  The team then went on to compete in the State Brain Bowl on February 13th. Congratulations to our Mile High Scholars, our Geography Bee finalists and our Mathletes!

Not to be outdone, the kindergarteners celebrated their first 100 Days in School by collecting 100 cans of food for a local food bank.  The students learned the value of helping those less fortunate with their kindness and generous donation of food. Thanks, kids!  And speaking of kindergarten, now is the time to call for information or stop by the school to pick up applications for ECE and All Day Kindergarten classes.  Make sure your child has an opportunity to enroll at Centennial this fall.

In musical news the Centennial Singers worked very hard this winter and last week presented their third annual cabaret entitled Made In The USA.  The performance, under the direction of Ms. Christine Dunning, featured songs from numerous Broadway shows and was the debut of the beautiful new curtains hanging on the auditorium stage.  There was also a silent auction and cookie sale to help raise funds for an updated lighting system for the auditorium.  The students gave a terrific performance and the event raised $600.00 for the lighting.  Many thanks to all those who donated cookies to sell, coordinated the auction, and donated items.  The evening was a big success.

CSAP testing is upon us.  Students in grades three through eight will be testing during the weeks of March 5th through March 15th.  Good luck to all our students and keep up the good work.

Science Club has started its next session titled Unsolved Science.  The club has been a big success this year and students have been very enthusiastic.  Girls soccer and boys baseball are currently under way after school.  Centennial hoodie sweatshirts and yearbooks are still available for sale and rumor has it that the Easter Bunny may be visiting the school in April.  So come and see all the great things going on at your neighborhood Centennial K-8 School.

Skittles the Cow has returned to her Centennial home after her glorious debut in Larimer Square.  As previously reported, Skittles was painted last spring by middle school art students as part of the 2006 Cow Parade.  She spent the summer in Larimer Square with other members of the herd but is now proudly on display back at Centennial.  Come by and see the wonderful job the art students did on Skittles!


Schools Citywide Honor Choir
The Denver Public Schools Citywide Honor Choirs presented an outstanding program on November 18th at North High School and Centennial was well represented in both elementary and middle school choirs.  Elementary students selected to participate were:  Katie Ferguson, Katie Fletcher, Jack Fletcher, Hannah Larson, Ayanna Mondragon, Daniela Morales, Nicole Payne, Michaela Rich-Mooney, Savanna Sosa, Dacia Spiker and Tim Sweeney.  Middle school members included:  Dominique Chavez, Ariella Mendoza, Ciearra Salazar and Tessa Seastone.  These students worked very hard to prepare for the concert and congratulations go to each of them, as well as to music teacher Christine Dunning.

 Other upcoming musical events include a middle school choir performance on Friday, December 1st at the First Friday Art Walk on Tennyson Street.  Both elementary and middle school choirs will present their holiday concert at the school on Tuesday December 5th at 6pm in the auditorium.   Finally, the elementary choir will again be performing at Denver International Airport on December 14th at 11am.  For additional information on these events please contact the school at 303-433-6489.

In other news, several mad scientists have been spotted in the halls of the school on Thursdays after school.  They are participating in Science Club under the supervision of middle school science teacher Nancy Benedict.  They just completed Blast Off Rockets and will begin their next session called Extreme Electricity on November 30th.  Chess Club has resumed on Mondays after school and has been very popular with students.  The club will continue to meet on Mondays from 3:15 to 4pm throughout the remainder of the school year. 

Centennial is proud to recognize some outstanding writers and mathletes.  Ja-Niece Mena, Dominique Chavez and Danae Apodaca were recently honored for their poetry writing by the Lighthouse Writers Workshop.

GT teacher Nena Steger coached the Centennial Mathletics team to an impressive first place team finish in district competition recently.  Team members included:  Dante Nieto, Kris Maestas, Paul Perez and Milo Andolsek.  Dante also placed third in the individual competition against 50 other students.  Congratulations to all these fine students!

In sports news the middle school girls’ softball and co-ed flag football teams recently took Central Division trophies. Students in Room 101 also won honors in bowling.  Boys and girls basketball is currently under way and games will resume on November 30th.  Come and cheer on our Centennial Prospectors!

Academics, art, music and sports continue to flourish at Centennial K-8 School.  Our motto is “Building a Community of Lifelong Learners” and the staff and students invite the community to check us out.  Please come by   for a visit, or check out the website at www.centennial.dpsk12.org for additional information. 

The doors of Centennial opened for the 2006-07 school year on August 20th and staff and students have been hard at work ever since.  The current enrollment is 587 students, which includes all classes between ECE and 8th grade. 

One of the first tasks accomplished has been the hiring of additional teachers to ease crowded classrooms.  A half-time kindergarten teacher. a 4th grade teacher and another 5th grade teacher have been welcomed to the staff.   Both 4th and 5th graders are now rotating through the three classrooms as their teachers “team teach” the various subjects. 

Another task was solving the problem of the school library.  Due to staff cuts the library was put in the hands of tech teacher Chris Swallow.   Thanks to his efforts and the help of staff and parent volunteers, Centennial now has a combined library and new computer lab. 

Last spring, Centennial’s middle school art students were proud to be able to participate in the 2006 Cow Parade by painting a “Mini-Moo” cow.  Project LEAD, a nationally recognized art program that promotes art as an integral part of daily life, brought this project to several DPS schools.  The students completed their beautiful bovine and named her Skittles.  She was one of hundreds of painted cows that were displayed in herds all over Denver until October 20th.  It is hoped that Skittles will be coming back to Centennial now that all the cows have been rounded up.  Congratulations to Jessica Story and her art students!

Fifth graders recently completed their two-day,one night  Balarat mountain learning experience.  The students packed up their camp gear and headed to the hills, where they were able to tour an old mine and participate in several skills challenges, including the “solo night walk”.

Calling all mad scientists!  Centennial Science Club is now in full swing, thanks to middle school science teacher Nancy Benedict and a grant written by Assistant Principal Earlene Carter.  Benedict will be teaching four different sessions entitled:  Blast Off Rockets, Extreme Electricity, Radical Reactions and Unsolved Science.  These sessions are being conducted on Thursdays for an hour after school and will continue until March 15th.   They are presented courtesy of a Lights On After School grant and are conducted by scientists from the Science Matters Corporation.  Good luck to Mrs. Benedict and her group!

Centennial’s middle school sports teams are off to a great start again this season.  Co-ed flag football and the girl’s softball team have both posted winning records so far this year and are headed for post-season play.  Way to go Prospectors!

 Centennial staff and administrators are to be congratulated for implementing new security measures to keep our children safe. There is now a buzzer system at the front door and all side doors are kept locked.  The staff would like to encourage parents and other family members to come to the school any time for a visit, a PTA meeting or to volunteer.  Strong community support is always welcomed and will continue to make for a strong school.

Happy Anniversary Centennial!  Staff and students are proud to announce the 30th anniversary of Centennial K-8 School, formerly known as Centennial Elementary.  Come and join us on Thursday, April 6th as we celebrate 30 years with a cabaret event entitled Broadway and Beyond. Both the elementary and middle school choirs are working hard to prepare a dynamite show!  The students will be performing music from Lion King, Seussical, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown and many more.  In addition to great music there will be a silent auction held to raise money for sound and lighting improvements in the auditorium.

Several other musical and theatrical events are planned this spring. First graders will be performing Our Favorite Things on Tuesday, April 18th, elementary choir concert on Tuesday, May 9th, middle school choir concert on Wednesday, May 10th. All events are under the direction of music teacher Christine Dunning. Our resident actors and actresses have been working very hard to prepare for the Shakespeare Festival on Friday, May 10th, the middle school drama production on Wednesday, May 17th and the talent show on Friday, May 19th.  Please come and see how talented our students are!

CSAP testing is finally behind us and the students have done a great job preparing for and taking these exams.  Congratulations to all students, and a big sigh of relief!  Two special people deserve recognition for their recent achievements.  Ms. Nancy Benedict received the Mile High Teacher award from the Mayor’s Office for Education and Children.  Eighth grader Zachary Chavez was invited to participate in the U.S.A. Baseball Team Tournament to be held in Florida in June.  Congratulations to Ms. Benedict and Zachary for jobs well done.

Centennial is very proud of Mr. Drew Kerin and his third grade class.  They recently initiated OPERATION TED E. BEAR to honor and support the 4th Platoon, Company C, 23rd Infantry Division of the U.S. Army.  These men are frontline combat troops and their first sergeant is Jason Wozniak, a graduate of the Denver Public Schools. The class wrote letters to the men and included photos of themselves with the class mascot, a two-foot teddy bear dressed in a regulation U.S. Army uniform with beret and parachute pack.  The bear was sent with the letters on February 8th and arrived on the 20th.  The bear is now the tent mate of Sgt. Wozniak.

In addition to the bear and letters, the students collected snacks and personal items for a CARE package for the men.  The package was sent during spring break and the students are anxiously awaiting news of its arrival in Iraq.  This project was an honorable and patriotic act of kindness and Mr. Kerin and his students deserve our thanks and congratulations.

Rumor has it that the Easter Bunny will be making a stop at Centennial soon.  There will be an Easter Parade and Egg Hunt on Friday, April 14th for all ECE and kindergarten students.

Have you ever flown an airplane?  Several Centennial students in the Gifted and Talented program recently had that privilege courtesy of the Young Eagles Program founded by actor Harrison Ford.  Students attended a required ground school at Centennial airport, followed the next day by a 30 minute session with a pilot at Front Range Airport in Watkins.  They got to do a preflight check and then go up with the pilot in his plane.  Many of the students even got to take over the controls and fly the plane by themselves.  This was an amazing opportunity for these kids to experience first hand the joys of flight, and hopefully spark some interest in becoming pilots themselves.  A big thanks goes GT advisor Renata Bennett for organizing this event for the students.

 There is still time to register your child for ECE and Kindergarten classes.  Please contact the school at 303-433-6489 for information or stop by for an application.

What’s new at Centennial?  Staff and students wrapped up 2005 with numerous holiday events.  In November, a wonderful Thanksgiving family feast was held in conjunction with the third annual holiday craft fair.  There were numerous performances by the Centennial music department, an Elf Shelf gift sale sponsored by the PTA as well as a book fair.  The new year started out with a celebration of literacy and Colorado’s western heritage.  On January 10th the Centennial community participated in Literacy Night with a chili cook-off, western dancing and story telling.  Several local businesses donated prizes that were awarded to chili chefs. A big thanks goes to Susan Doering-Smith for all her efforts in making this event a success.  Thanks also to all the story tellers, chili cooks and local businesses for their contributions.

In other news, Centennial’s middle school students have participated in several team sports this year.  For the first time in the school’s history we have had organized football, softball, basketball and soccer teams and the students have done an outstanding job in these events.   Congratulations to all, and we look forward to continued  success with our athletics in the future.

Centennial continues to make strides in academics as well as athletics.  Over the past several months several students have been recognized for their participation and achievement in spelling bees, Mathletics, essay contests, City Wide choir, art contests and other events.  We are also pleased to announce the names of our Mile High Scholars for the first semester:  1st grade Amira Fernandez, 2nd grade Daniel Line-Bell, 3rd grade Brendan Bigelow, 4th grade Jenna Cardon, 5th grade Jalyn Garcia, 6th grade Adriana Martinez, 7th grade Allie Martinez and 8th grade Mellisa Garcia-Cordova.  Congratulations to all our students for a job well done!

As spring slowly approaches, there are many upcoming events at Centennial. The PTA will be sponsoring another book fair as well as participating in the upcoming Northwest Coalition Fair in April. PTA meets the third Thursday in the school library from 3:30-4:30 and welcomes all to come and participate. Centennial will graduate its first class of 8th graders this spring and we are very proud of our middle school.  CSAP testing is just around the corner, followed by spring break.  Later this spring the students will enjoy their annual field day.  In May the 4th grade classes will be participating in the DPS 22nd Annual Shakespeare Festival. 

Centennial K-8 School has grown and changed tremendously over the past year.  Stop by and see for yourself what Prospector Pride is all about!