Highlights of the Year
Reflections on My
First Year
It is hard to believe that my first year at Gold Rush is
quickly coming to a close. I guess the
phrase - time flies when you’re having fun – really is true! In looking back on the year, I can tell you that I was honored to have had
the opportunity to serve your family and our school community! The children who attend Gold Rush continued
to amaze me with their ability to think critically, demonstrate caring and
compassion and solve problems creatively.
I was equally impressed with our teachers’ commitment to our students
and their desire to better their professional practice. Your contributions to our school were also
clearly evident in your willingness to volunteer in the classroom, serve on
school committees and participate in PTO sponsored events. I truly believe that students, families and staff
members’ collaborative efforts make Gold Rush the incredible school that it is!
There are so many things to celebrate this year. As a staff we worked together to define what
we want students to know and be able to do in the area of reading across grades
K-5. We worked with national reading
expert Stephanie Harvey, studied best reading practices, developed common
reading assessments and implemented common terminology and reading
comprehension strategies across all grade levels.
We also provided additional intervention and enrichment
opportunities to students across grades K-5, especially in the areas of reading
and math. Teachers did this by having
students apply reading strategies in texts that were at students’ individual
reading levels. We did this as a school
by expanding our small group reading and math intervention groups into the
intermediate grades. It has been exciting
to watch teachers’ implement these meaningful instructional strategies in the
classroom and see the impact these practices have had on students’ academic
achievement.
I am also proud of the social and emotional support that was
provided to all students. As a school we
continued to encourage positive behavior by naming and reiterating what it
looks like to “Go for the Gold” in all areas of the school. We proactively discussed wellness and anti
bullying efforts in student assemblies and carried out positive school traditions
such as the Digger Dash, Sock Hop and Field Day. These experiences are memorable and support
students’ social, emotional and physical development.
The end of a school year always marks a transition for some
staff members, whether that be retirement, staying home with a new baby or starting
a new venture outside of education. We
wish the following staff members the best of luck in their new endeavors next
year: Mrs. Conrad, Ms. Alvey, Ms. Shulte, Ms. Jones and Mrs. Billings. While we will miss each one of these staff
members greatly, we look forward to welcoming several new staff members next
school year. We have hired extremely
talented educators with many years of experience. I look forward to sharing more about each of
our new staff members in our fall blogs!
Goals for the 2013-2014
Next year we
look forward to several new initiatives that will support student
learning. Here are a few of the
highlights…
·
We
will be reducing class size by adding classroom teachers in grades 3-5!
·
We will
implement new reading and math assessments three times a year that will track
student growth and provide teachers with instructional goals for individual
students!
·
We
will discuss what we want students to know and be able to do in the area of
writing next school year and how we know when a student has mastered certain
writing concepts!
·
We
will continue to monitor student growth and provide individualized enrichment
and intervention!
Class Placement Process
We thank you for
your input regarding your child’s classroom placement for next year. You will receive an email the middle of July directing you to your Parent Portal for information
regarding your child’s new classroom. The email will also include a link to
Canyon Creek online conference scheduling. Once you receive this information
you will be able to sign up for your child’s Goal Setting conference, which
will be held on either August 12th or 13th.
Report Cards & Top Dog
You can view
your child’s report card on your parent portal on June 5 @ 4:00PM. In addition to your child’s report card,
he/she may receive a “Top Dog” certificate.
“Top Dog” certificates are awarded to only those students who go above and beyond to demonstrate what it
looks like to “Go for the Gold”. You may
click here to see positive behavior that those receiving this honor must
display in all areas of the school each and every day.
Kindergarten Registration
If you have a child
or know of a child who will be attending kindergarten at Gold Rush this fall
and he/she is not registered for school yet, please contact our registrar, Anita
Rudman, at 303 387-7707 as soon as possible.
Mark Your Calendar
·
Wednesday,
June 5th – Last Day of School
·
Click
here for the 2013-2014 Modified Split School Xalendar
Field Day
Students enjoyed
participating in our annual field day!
See pictures of students participating in this honored school tradition
below. We thank your physical education teacher,
Mrs. Oday, for making field day possible!
Our kindergarten students look forward to their field day on Monday,
June 3rd.
Lost & Found
Please check the
Lost & Found which is displayed on the stairs overlooking the library. All
items will be donated to charity on June 5th.
School Supply Pre Packs On Sale!
GRE PTO has
arranged for us to offer prepackaged school supplies as a convenience to you.
Go to www.edukitinc.com, type “Gold Rush
Elementary” into the “Find Your School” field. Pay online through Edukit’s
secure website. Order by June 10 for best pricing. A full color flyer went home
in your student’s backpack today.
GRE Summer Office Hours
June 6- July 5 CLOSED
July 8- Aug 2 9:00AM-
12:00PM Mon & Wed
Aug 5- Aug 8 8:30AM-
11:30AM and 12:30- 3:30PM Mon- Thurs
CLOSED Fri, Aug 9, 2013
August
12 & 13 Goal
Setting Conferences-
regular office hours 8:30AM- 4:30PM
ONLINE CONFERENCE SCHEDULING: July 17 through Aug 1, 2013
ONLINE CHECK IN: July 17- Aug 1, 2013
