Vaughn Elementary School

The Gift of Sneakers!

Vaughn Elementary was very blessed this holiday season. Students from Preschool up to Fifth Grade were given free shoes and socks from the thoughtful people at CPR Anesthesia. It was quite an endeavor that required getting all the kid's sizes, gender and grade. From there the employees at CPR anesthesia then ordered the shoes and made sure that all the kids had a pair, and then they tirelessly wrapped each and every individual box of sneakers! We had a wonderful giveaway assembly for the kids on December 20th that put a lot of smiles on everybody's face who was there. Thank you to the Angels at CPR anesthesia for making this holiday season an extra special one for everyone here at Vaughn!

2nd Graders receive bikes from Cigna and United Way!

https://youtu.be/VMiT159UtsE

"Have you ever seen the look on a child's face when they receive a bicycle? It's incredible!" Employees from Cigna spent an afternoon building bikes in partnership with Wish for Wheels, then delivered them to a local elementary school in Aurora. When the students saw the bikes, they couldn't contain their excitement. This is a moment that both the employees and the students will never forget! As their teacher noted, "These opportunities do not come very often, so to be able to have an outside organization step into my classroom and give such a gift is absolutely amazing. We cannot say thank you enough to Cigna."

21st Century Student Success Parent Academy

Vaughn Elementary is dedicated to providing parents the tools they need in order for their children to be successful in school and in the world outside of school. Family Liaison, Minnie Pescador, created a workshop that provided parents with Post-Secondary Workforce strategies that students need in order to be ready for life outside of school. Parents attended this 4 week parent workshop that focused on the 4 C's of Student Success:

Communication Critical Thinking Creativity Collaboration

The first week parents participated in communication exercises using real life scenarios from school and at home parents created their own dialogue on how to best communicate needs, wants, likes, dislikes while still being respectful. After all, parents are their child's first teacher!

Week two parents were given scenarios wherein they worked in groups to think outside the box of how to problem solve issues that often come up in school. Parents then were given a book that focused on their reading it - finding the problem as well as the solution and while in group sharing with each other as to how they could use it with their children to teach them how to look at a problem and try to solve it.

During week three they took an online multiple intelligence test to learn what kind of learner they are and what supports they would need to be successful in the classroom. They had 15 minutes to create something for their child using a variety of odds and ends found in their paper bag. What fun and creative projects they came up with! They also learned about how most people/children learn best. Seeing the pyramid of How We Learn they saw how important it is for their children to practice all skills at home as well as in school. It's all about collaborating!

Which was a great lead in to week four where they participated in working in groups. Two groups read a book in English and one group read in Spanish. They had to choose one reader who would read the book out loud, one writer who would write the answers from the group, one presenter who would present to the whole group their summary of the story. They answered basic who, where, what, how questions as well as inferential questions that are not found in the book but given to the reader in hints. Parents were engaged and gained knowledge of how necessary it is for them to communicate with the children about what they read and are learning.

In all parents came out with a Certificate of Achievement & Participation for their new knowledge, experiences, friends and determination to be better communicators and collaborators not only with the school but most importantly with their children!

Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day is a long-lived American tradition that allows children to experience what their parents do at work each day. But, some APS schools have turned the tables for parents to see what a day at school is like for their children.

Vaughn Elementary School hosted its fourth annual Bring Your Parents to School Day. Parents enjoyed meeting school staff, observing their children's classrooms during instructional time and getting to know one another. They learned more about the district, the school and how to successfully plan for their students' academic futures.

"Vaughn started this tradition to give parents a glimpse into all that is asked of their children during the school day," said Vaughn Family Liaison, Minnie Pescador. "We are fostering relationships with parents and assisting them in helping their children reach academic excellence."

Although the event was centered on parent involvement, Vaughn also extended the invitation to community members as they are key components in student success. A few Aurora Police Department officers and members of the Optimist Club of Aurora visited the school to spend time with students.

APS applauds the transparency of Vaughn and other APS schools that have opened their doors to parents and the community in such a way. This level of engagement cultivates a deeper sense of trust and teamwork between students, parents, staff and the community.

Bring Your Parents to School Spring 2016