Click here to here fifth grade students talk about what's new at Gold Rush in the month of January.
Student Highlight
Spelling Bee
Seventeen
fourth and fifth graders participated in Gold Rush’s spelling bee on
Friday. All of the students did an
exceptional job and we congratulate them all! Dallas will represent Gold Rush at the District level.
2013-2014 School Goal Update
Winter is a
great opportunity to provide you with an update on our school goals. As you recall, we used our 2013 state TCAP
data to create our school improvement plan.
Our data showed many celebrations, including our continued ability to
meet academic achievement goals in all content areas. Gold Rush also continued to meet growth
targets as outlined by the state. As
part of best practice we did identify areas where we could improve and selected
them as our goals for this year. In
addition to lowering class sizes in grades 3-5, we focused on meeting students’
individual needs in writing and math.
Teachers across
grades K-5 have been studying national expert Lucy Calkin’s writing curricula
since the beginning of the year. While
finishing the initial unit on narrative writing, classroom teachers planned for
a new unit of study focused on informational writing. Informational writing focuses on nonfiction
topics and allows students to generate new ideas about real topics. This is what we do in real life! Teachers are
really excited to start teaching this genre of writing this month.
This month we
are also measuring how each child is progressing in the area of math. In the beginning of the year all students
were given the MAP math assessment. We
are currently administering this assessment again to students in grades 2-5 to
ensure that they are making appropriate growth.
In addition to providing math information sessions at all grade levels,
each grade level identified additional enrichment and intervention
opportunities. Teachers will use this
data to plan for each student for the rest of the year.
I will continue
to provide math and writing updates in future blog entries. As always, please do not hesitate to contact
the principal directly if you would like additional information regarding our
TCAP data, school goals or curricula initiatives.
Focus for the Teacher Workday on 1/17
The district is
hosting a day of learning for all teachers.
Keynote speaker, Marc Prensky, will
talk to the district about digital natives.
Teachers will then attend different sessions on 21st century
skills, differentiation, reading and more!
6th Grade Parent Orientation Night
Cimmaron is hosting a parent orientation
evening on Wednesday, January 15th for all current 5th
graders. The schedule is as follows:
* 6:00-6:30 Advanced Placement meeting @
the Library (optional)
* 6:30-7:30 Registration information @
the Commons
Reminders
·
Please
follow the no left turn when exiting the parking lot.
·
Pre
Registration forms for 2014 2015 will be in Thursday Folders this
week. Please fill out and return by 1/24/2014 so we can plan for next
year's enrollment.
·
Check
your child’s report card again for comments and the performance descriptors.
·
Pre-school
Roundup Registration is taking place at the end of January- Registration
forms and additional information can be found online at www.dcsdk12.org. You can also pick up forms at your elementary
school, or at the ECE Centers. Registration paperwork must be returned
in person to the ECE Centers.
·
Register
your child for kindergarten for next year in the main office.
Yearbook
We are looking
for photos for the yearbook. If you have
any great shots from classroom or school events please email them to
GREPhotos@gmail.com. or drop
a CD off in the PTO mailbox in the front office. If possible please include information regarding
the name of the event and students.
PTO
Community Night
· Come to
Chick-Fil-A on January 16 and part of the proceeds will be donated to the
school! Feel free to come in your
pajamas and participate in the pillow fight with the cow!
Upcoming
Family & Community Events
· National
Western Stock Show, Jan 11- 26
· Denver Nuggets-
Jan 25, 7:00PM
· Peter Pan, the
Musical- Feb 1 7:30PM
Please
click here
for more information.