Now that we’ve reached March, I’m sure you won’t be shocked to hear the kids are counting the number of school days we have until Spring Break. But this also means we are well into our last trimester of the 2023-2024 school year.

As we near Spring Break, I want to offer some important updates and reminders.
 

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Spring Fling Dance for Grades 10-12
The annual Spring Fling dance for Grades 10-12 will be held on Saturday, March 4, from 8-10 p.m. at the Space Gallery, located at 400 Santa Fe Dr., Denver. We have secured CA-only parking near the venue for students. Grade 11 Dean Ali Kittle has shared all relevant details with students regarding guest passes and other expectations. Buy tickets online for $25 each. Doors will open at 8 p.m. and close at 9 p.m. (No students will be admitted to the dance after 9 p.m.)
 

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No School on Thursday, March 9
A reminder that given our pause on PlatFORUM, students will *not* have class on Thursday, March 9. That will now be an Upper School Faculty Professional Development Day, with time set aside for faculty to engage in work that supports our DEI commitments.
 

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Spring Advisor Conferences (March 10)
As you know, the spring Advisor Conferences will be held on March 10 at the Upper School. Please note: these conferences *do not* include your student’s teachers—just the advisor.

Given that the Advisor Conferences are intended to facilitate the course request process, please take a moment to review the 2023-2024 Curriculum Guide, which provides an important overview of our academic program, listing requirements and courses by department. As you review, please be mindful of the prerequisites and corequisites for each course.

To help you plan, we also offer you this Four-Year Curriculum Planning Guide as a reference. This form is for your information purposes and does not need to be submitted to the school. The course request process is now open; the request process closes on March 18.

Those of you familiar with Advisor Conferences know they are short and sweet, but valuable, offering advisors, students, and parents an important opportunity to connect and think through the course request process for the coming year.

All conferences will take place in person. Should attending the conference create a family hardship, please contact me.

For complete instructions on signing up for conferences, log in to the CA website and click on Resources; look for the Parent Conference - Spring Resource Board.

For parents/guardians of Seniors: Given that these conferences are intended to discuss the course selection process for the 2023-2024 school year, Seniors and their parents/guardians are not expected or required to schedule a spring conference. Knowing there are other topics Seniors and their families might be eager to discuss, we encourage parents and their Senior students to decide together—and on an individual basis—whether to schedule time with the advisor.
 

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Special Assembly, Tuesday, March 14 (ThinkFast Interactive)
In order to encourage low-risk driving, CA has invited ThinkFast Interactive (TFI) to present to our students later this month. TFI is a nationally touring, evidence-informed, schoolwide prevention intervention program that delivers highway safety facts and prevention messaging to students. This program will focus on highway and passenger safety information related to future drivers, as guided by the Colorado Department of Transportation.
 

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Revisiting the Upper School Schedule
Thanks to those of you who attended the Principal Coffee on Tuesday, February 28, which featured Sonia Arora (Director of College Counseling and Upper School Strategic Initiatives) and Katy Hills (Director of Visual & Performing Arts).

At the request of Mike Davis, both Sonia and Katy have led the Upper School faculty, students, and staff through a series of conversations regarding possible changes to the Upper School daily schedule for next year. As part of this work, they have drafted three versions of a schedule we might adopt. During our chat, we offered parents and guardians an update on our conversations and the rationale behind the changes. Review the slides for that presentation.
 

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Thanks, and enjoy the sun,

Max Delgado
Upper School Principal
Colorado Academy