Connections

Our Connections Teachers develop classroom content that incorporates diversity, interdisciplinary curriculum, and 21st century skills. Our talented teachers, all experts in their fields, endeavor to meet the needs and encourage the creative passions of each and every student through innovative lessons in art, foreign language, music and physical education.

• 

  Art

  Students will focus on the technical application of materials, finding their creative voice and confidence through experimentation and persistence.

• 

  Foreign Language

  Students in 4th grade-8th grade will learn to speak, read, and write in the chosen language and cultivate an appreciation for its culture and history.

• 

  Music

  Students will learn multi-cultural music that tells a story from countries across the world through rhythm and beat.

• 

  Physical Education

  Students will participate in activities that incorporate physical movement and social and emotional wellness.

 

Meet our Connections Teachers

Innovation

• Duncan Dotterrer, Innovation Specialist

  Innovation Specialist 
  duncan.dotterrer@du.edu

  Duncan is a talented educator with a passion for developing enriching experiences for his students. He has worked with gifted learners for over seven years. He holds two Master’s degrees in education and is a certified linguistically diverse educator. Over the past four years, he has created and developed The STEAM Lab, a successful gifted education program at Stevens Elementary in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Through project-based learning activities he has helped gifted students with diverse backgrounds find their voice. Projects have included designing satellites and submarines, coding using FIRST Lego and FTW Robotics mini drones, transforming the classroom into an art gallery, a newspaper and an architecture studio to name a few.

  Duncan is a father of two, ages three and six. He enjoys learning about the world anew with his family and spending time outdoors playing tennis, biking, playing the drums and swimming

 

Foreign Language

• Bouchra Rifki- French

  She/Her/Hers
  French Teacher
  B.A. French and English Linguistics, Caddi-Ayyad Univeristy (in Morocco)
  M.A. in Educational Psychology, Univeristy of Colorado at Denver
  Bouchra.rifki@du.edu

  Bouchra is originally from Morocco and moved to France as a young child, where she lived for seven years. Since coming to the United States, Bouchra has taught French at the elementary, middle and high school levels. She likes to help students experience the joy of learning a new language while also accumulating a strong knowledge about the French culture. Bouchra is trilingual in French, Arabic and English. In her spare time, Bouchra likes to spend time with my family and travel to other countries experience the cultures different from my own.

• Francisco Gallegos - Spanish

  B.S. Elementary Education TESOL, CLDE

  M.A. Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education (Spanish Specialization)

  Francisco Gallegos honed his skills as a bilingual elementary educator working exclusively in Title I schools with Latinx students. He engages students through multiple disciplines like music, drawing, dancing, literacy, mathematics, and science. He always strives to build trust with students in order to help them develop and grow in a constructive way. Fun and learning go hand in hand in his classroom where he empowers students by teaching them to embrace the community around them. 

• Miwako Winters - Japanese

  She/Her/Hers
  Japanese teacher
  B.A. in English Literature and Japanese pedagogy (in Japan)
  M.Ed. in Self-design with focus on differentiated instruction, Regis University
  Licensed in Japanese, Language Arts, and Linguistically Diverse Education in Colorado and Japan
  miwako.winters@du.edu  

  Born and educated in Japan, Miwako began career as an educator teaching English in Japan for over 10 years. Since coming to the United States, she has taught various levels of Japanese at a community college as well as various high schools and middle schools in the Denver Public and Cherry Creek School districts. Miwako developed and implemented Japanese curriculum for the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme and was awarded for Excellence in Education from the Aurora Gateway Rotary (2019) and for Dedication and Enthusiasm from the Colorado Japanese Language Education Association (2010). Miwako believes that through teaching a foreign language she helps students become global citizens who are willing to cooperate with people from diverse backgrounds. After retiring from public schools, she is excited to be back in the education field and enjoys teaching at Ricks. In her spare time, Miwako enjoys hiking, biking, traveling, and playing with her granddaughter.

 

Music

• Carol Smith

  She/Her/Hers
  Music Specialist
  B.A., Piano Performance, Carthage College
  carol.smith@du.edu

  This will be Carol's 25th year teaching at Ricks. Along with her 30 years of music teaching experience, Carol has studied graduate level piano at Florida State University, piano and choral conducting at the Lamont School of Music, as well as gifted education through the Morgridge School of Education at DU. She is a licensed Musikgarten instructor and participates in Orff teacher training workshops. In addition to sharing her passion for music with gifted children, Carol enjoys teaching singing classes for disabled adults, providing piano performances at nursing homes, and teaching her private piano students. Carol loves to play piano, hike in the mountains, golf, and spend time with her family. 

 

Physical Education

• Shane Cronin

  This bio is coming soon.

 

 

Art

• Absinthe Algaire

  This bio is coming soon