As we head into the winter stretch, I want to say thank you to our families and tell you how much we appreciate your dedication to the school and how important your presence on campus is for the development of our culture and the overall student experience.
Our Parent Association’s primary mission is to develop an active and supportive community, and they have quite a bit planned for the remainder of the school year. We have students and families who attend CA from over 70 Zip Codes, the largest geographic distribution of any school in Colorado. As a result, CA becomes an important and critical nexus. Every year, we have about 120-140 new students and families who add so much energy and care to CA. A thriving and close-knit parent community is essential for a culture of kindness to flourish and to provide a holistic, positive experience for students.
As I have been meeting with new parents, two common questions are: How can I get involved, and how can I get to know other parents?
Here are a number of parent-oriented events sponsored by the school or the Parent Association:
- Get INvolved (opening day fair about the PA and volunteer activities)
- Fall & Spring Grade-Level Potlucks
- Back-to-School Nights
- Homecoming/ Harvest Market
- Halloween Parade (Lower School)
- Winter Market
- Cookie Fest
- January Volunteer Coffee
- Used Book Sale
- Taste of CA
- Parent Appreciation Breakfast
- SPEAK events
- Music concerts and theater performances
- Games, meets, and other athletic events
- Division/Grade-level coffees with Principals
- Admission Preview
- Head of School Listen Tours
- Parent Clubs/Activities (Tennis, Pickleball, Book Club, Biking, Hiking, Skiing, etc.)
- Discussion groups to learn best practices on topics such as social media, sustainability, AI, and children’s mobile phone usage
I encourage parents to check our calendar and join us at these events.
Additionally, you can reach out to the leadership of the Parent Association and find out how to get involved, as well as peruse the list of volunteer opportunities. I also encourage parents to come early to sporting events or recitals and just introduce yourself to someone you don’t know. We have incredible parents at the school who are engaging in all kinds of interesting work and hobbies.
If you are from a Lower School family, here are some ways to get more involved in the classroom.
Lower School Photo Day
We achieved a record time for individual school photos at the beginning of the year. The wonderful parent volunteers kept us ahead of schedule. You improved the overall flow and process of taking 400+ individual photos!
Book Fair Volunteers
Thank you to the many volunteers who assisted us during the Lower School Book Fair. Your organization and support for our students was amazing during setup, sale days, and wrap-up. 1,518 books were purchased during these fun days together!
Field Trips
We have enjoyed wonderful off-campus learning opportunities in the first four months of school. Parents and family members have been so kind to offer their time to travel to field trip locations and support the learning process. Thank you for chaperoning and adding to our field trip experiences.
Morning Drop-off Volunteers
Thank you to the many volunteers who have assisted with morning drop-off in Trimester 1. Sign-ups are open for December, January, and February! Bundle up and join us as we welcome students to school each day! Mrs. Crabtree and Mrs. Hamman have truly enjoyed spending time with so many of you in the mornings! Drop-off Sign-up Link
Sustainability Dining Hall Volunteers
The Sustainability Team has been working with the CA Dining Hall to support the composting process to include food waste each day. We are looking for volunteers to assist in the Dining Hall during LS Lunch. This role will include working at the tray clean-up area and helping students to sort their food waste. The time commitment is 11:00 a.m.-12:05 p.m. If you are interested in volunteering, Select this link.
Grandparents & Special Friends Day
We are looking forward to our time with Grandparents and Special Friends on December 21. We appreciate the Class Leads coordinating volunteers to support the program and flow of the day.
For parents of older students, there are not as many volunteer opportunities in the classroom, given the nature of our curriculum—not to mention your adolescent child probably does not want to eat lunch with you in the dining hall in front of their peers! 
Please do not be intimidated by our security measures. We have further secured our campus with staff at the entrance and locked entry doors. We have just installed a new visitor management system in the Lower School, which we will extend to the other divisions. This allows us to know who is in the building and what their purpose is in visiting. Having these measures in place is necessary and very important for us to protect your child and ensure our campus is a safe, yet welcoming place. We realize our new security measures require a shift in habits and culture, but we want you to feel comfortable to come to campus and engage with other families.
Again, I am grateful for how supportive our families are of all our efforts.
Michael G. Davis, PhD
Head of School
Colorado Academy