DIGGER DASH 

We had a wonderful time during our annual all school fun run- the Digger Dash!  Each year students run for a great cause.  This year we are hoping to purchase additional robots for our Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math Lab, or S.T.E.A.M. lab.  Students in all grades enjoy applying their problem solving and math knowledge while they create and code robots. We appreciated students' enthusiasm and creativity throughout the Dash!  We thank our PTO and parent volunteers for making this honored tradition possible! 

DIGGER DASH MATH

Fifth graders used the Digger Dash as an opportunity to apply math to the real world.  Students were asked to determine how much each student/family would need to raise in order to meet our goal of $30,000.  Students determined the cost per student and the cost per lap.  See two examples of students' math reasoning below.

GRE SUPPORTS PARKER TASK FORCE

Gold Rush teachers and students are committed to supporting the Parker Task Force.  The Parker Task Force is a local organization that serves over 400 families in our community.  Our students have already donated over 700 unopened, prepackaged food items that would have otherwise been thrown away!  Last Friday Gold Rush teachers contributed to this cause.  They packed over 60 lunches for the organization that routinely sends backpacks of food home with students.

PRINCIPAL HELPER
Brynn Poli served as the principal's helper.  Her family bid on this opportunity at Western Night. Brynn interviewed Ms. Panico, our Administrative Assistant, who retired today.  See her blog post below.

Brynn interviewed, Administrative Assistant, Ms. Panico who retired this Friday.

How many years have you worked in schools? 

19 years!

What will you miss most about Gold Rush?

The kids!

What do you want to do in retirement?

Drink coffee and exercise!

We thank Ms. Panico for her many years of service! 

We wish her the best in retirement!

STUDENTS CREATE CHANGE

Several students were driven to act after hearing about Hurricane Harvey.  Student are organizing a crazy hair day on Friday, October 6, to support those affected.  Students can bring in any donation to wear any hairdo.  We are proud of these students' desire to help others!

FALL CONFERENCES
We enjoyed our first night of parent teacher conferences.  We appreciate the opportunity to meet with families.  Our second conference night is scheduled for Thursday, October 5th. We thank the PTO and parents for donating teacher meals for both evenings!  They were greatly appreciated!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

* October 5:  Parent Teacher Conferences
* October 6:  Crazy Hair Day
* October 9-13: No School - Fall Break
* October 16: School Resumes

ELECTRONIC THURSDAY FOLDER

GOLD RUSH OUTPERFORMS THE DISTRICT & STATE
We are excited to share our state assessment results!  Each spring, third, fourth and fifth graders take the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test, or the P.A.R.C.C. assessment.  In 2017 Gold Rush performed better than 78% of the schools in the state that took this assessment.  We outperformed the District in English Language Arts and Math at each grade level (see charts below).  Our data also shows that classes of students are growing in both content areas as they move from fourth to fifth grade.  Our numbers of students meeting and exceeding state standards are also increasing each year.





We are proud of our students' achievement and growth.  While we are celebrating our many accomplishments, we are always striving to improve.  Our school goals for this year are the following:

Math

* Create a stronger understanding of content across grade levels.

* Differentiate instruction by creating parallel and open ended math tasks.

Reading

* Implement a common word study program K-5.

* Provide instructional strategies to support students' individual needs during workshop.

* Building our understanding of thinking strategies and how to apply them in multiple content areas.

KIDS' BLOG
Fifth graders started a student blog to share the wonderful things that students are doing at Gold Rush.  We look forward to sharing school highlights from students' point of view each week.

Click here for GRE's kids' blog.

THANK YOU PTO
We thank the PTO for a wonderful Western Night last Friday.  We all enjoyed the music, games, food and raffle.  We thank the PTO and our parent volunteers for making the night possible.

PRINCIPAL HELPER
Brayden Poli served as my principal helper on Thursday.  His family bid on this opportunity at Western Night.  See Brayden's blog post below.

Car loop Duty

Welcoming Board Member David Ray

This has been a great day!

I liked saying the Words of Wisdom on the morning announcements

I also liked talking about a school purchase and visiting classrooms.  

I liked meeting new teachers and seeing kids do their work.  The fifth graders created and programmed Lego robots to move in certain ways (see picture below).  I learned the school had a social media committee.  I liked experiencing what it is like to be a principal.

By Brayden Poli

DIGGER DASH SCHEDULE & SHOUT OUTS
We are looking forward to our all school fun run on September 29.  We hope that you will come and cheer us on.  Please see our running schedule below.  You will also see the form for shout outs, or personal messages you want announced to your child during his/her race.  The form is also included in this week's Thursday folder.

8:45 – 9:00            Stretching (Preschool and Kindergarten)

9:00 – 9:15            Race  (Preschool and Kindergarten)

9:10 – 9:25            Stretching (1^st and 2^nd grades)

9:25 – 9:55            Race  (1^st and 2^nd grades)

9:50 – 10:00         Stretching (3^rd and 4^th grades)

10:00 – 10:45       Race  (3^rd and 4^th grades)

10:40 – 10:50       Stretching (5^th grade)

10:50 – 11:35       Race  (5^th grade)

FALL CONFERENCES:
Fall conferences will be held on Wednesday, September 27th, and Thursday, October 5th, 2017. Click here to schedule your conference using the online scheduler.  The password is digger.  Click here for information on how to use the conference scheduler.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

* September 27: Parent Teacher Conferences

* September 29:  Digger Dash
* October 5:  Parent Teacher Conferences
* October 6:  Rain Date for Digger Dash - Crazy Hair Day (more information to come)
* October 9-13: No School - Fall Break

ELECTRONIC THURSDAY FOLDER

COMMITTED TO CRITICAL THINKING
As a school we are committed to promoting critical thinking.  We strive to create reflective classrooms that foster a culture of thinking.  We explicitly instruct the following seven thinking strategies in grades K-5 in order to develop critical thinking:

Monitoring for Meaning

Utilizing Background Knowledge

Asking Questions

Drawing Instruction 

Determining Importance

Creating Sensory Images 

Synthesizing Information

We believe strongly in teaching these thinking strategies that are widely supported by research.  We know that we routinely use these strategies as adult readers to create meaning as we read, write and do math.  We believe that by modeling these strategies for students in the content areas we will develop their ability to think at a deeper level.

PARENTS BELIEFS ABOUT MATH CHANGE ACHIEVEMENT:
Research shows that the messages parents send about math directly impacts students' achievement.
One study showed that parents' math anxiety communicated while helping with homework reduced students' performance (Maloney, Ramirez, Gunderson, Levine, & Beilock, 2015).  Another showed that mothers' negative statements resulted in decreases in their daughters' achievement (Eccles & Jacobs, 1986). These studies affirm that sending positive messages about math is more important than knowledge of math content.  Click here for the full article.


DIGGER DASH SCHEDULE:
We are looking forward to our all school fun run on September 29.  We hope that you will come and cheer us on.  Please see our running schedule below.

8:45 – 9:00            Stretching (Preschool and Kindergarten)

9:00 – 9:15            Race  (Preschool and Kindergarten)

9:10 – 9:25            Stretching (1^st and 2^nd grades)

9:25 – 9:55            Race  (1^st and 2^nd grades)

9:50 – 10:00         Stretching (3^rd and 4^th grades)

10:00 – 10:45       Race  (3^rd and 4^th grades)

10:40 – 10:50       Stretching (5^th grade)

10:50 – 11:35       Race  (5^th grade)

USING ART TO SPEAD GOODWILL
Students are using their artwork to promote kindness and school spirit.  These are two examples of signs displayed throughout the building.  We appreciate students' messages and creativity!

FALL CONFERENCES:
Fall conferences will be held on Wednesday, September 27th, and Thursday, October 5th , 2017. Click here to schedule your conference using the online scheduler.  The password is digger.  Click here for information on how to use the conference scheduler.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

* September 15: Western Night @ 5:00-7:00

* September 21: SAC Mtg @ 4:30-5:30

* September 22: No School - Teacher Training

* September 27: Parent Teacher Conferences

* September 29:  Digger Dash
* October 5:  Parent Teacher Conferences

ELECTRONIC THURSDAY FOLDER

THE POWER OF A GROWTH MINDSET: 

Gold Rush teachers are committed to creating critical thinkers who take risks.  Research affirms that making mistakes furthers students' cognitive development.  Jo Boaler, professor at Stanford, defines a mathematical mindset as a belief that anyone can learn math and be a strong mathematician. She contrasts a mathematical mindset with a fixed mindset that suggests only some people are born with the ability to do math well.

Boaler argues that all children are capable.  She cites brain research that shows brains are constantly evolving.  She refers to research that notes that individuals develop synapses by making mistakes and those that have a mathematical mindset learn more from mistakes than those with a fixed mindset.  Boaler encourages teachers and parents to explicitly promote a growth mindset.  She states, "if we believe that we can learn, and that mistakes are valuable, our brains grow to a greater extent when we make a mistake."

GRE teachers believe all students need rigorous tasks that provide them the opportunity to learn from their mistakes.  We also talked about the importance of valuing mistakes in the classroom.  In addition, teachers reflected on their ability to communicate and celebrate their own mistakes.

Listen to fifth grade students talk about the importance of a Growth Mindset.

First graders reflect on when they grew from a mistake.

Stanford professor, Jo Boaler, talks about the impact of having a growth mindset in math.

  

STUDENT LEADERS SHINE:

Fourth and fifth graders interested in serving as Student Council officers participated in grade level elections this week.  Students shared reasons why they would best represent their classmates and their ideas for improving our school.  We are proud of all of the students that expressed an interested in serving others.  We thank Ms. Holtzer and Ms. Lautenbach for facilitating Student Council this year.

GOLD RUSH ROCKS!
Gold Rush students and teachers rock!  To show our school pride students and staff are coloring rocks for our school garden.  We are excited to beautify our grounds and show our spirit.

GRE PRIDE
Fourth and fifth grade students who participate in running club marched in Legend High School's homecoming parade Wednesday.  We thank them for their enthusiasm and spirit!  We also thank Mrs. Warner, Ms. Lautenbach and Mrs. Holtzer for participating!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

* September 8: Legend High School Homecoming Game (See Electronic Thursday Folder)

* September 12:  PTO Mtg @ 8:45-10:00

* September 15: Western Night

* September 21: SAC Mtg @ 4:30-5:30

* September 22: No School - Teacher Training

* September 27: Parent Teacher Conferences

* September 29:  Digger Dash
* October 5:  Parent Teacher Conferences

ELECTRONIC THURSDAY FOLDER

COUNT DOWN TO DIGGER DASH

We kicked off one of our favorite school traditions today - the Digger Dash!  GRE's annual fun run is enjoyed by students and staff alike because it is fun and it supports our school.  This year we are continuing to raise money for our S.T.E.A.M. lab.  Students began working collaboratively on integrated science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics projects in this lab when it opened last year. Some of the students' favorite projects included creating and coding robots and exploring science concepts, such as force and motion, using Legos.    

This year we are looking forward to expanding the resources we use in the lab and supporting our commitment to providing each student with his/her own device.  This year we will be purchasing more kits that so that students can build and create in even smaller groups.  We are also looking forward to adding a new robot to our collection - the EV3.  Click here for a video demonstration of one of the many things he can do.

NO WASTE

This week students began collecting unopened, prepackaged food from their lunch that they would have otherwise thrown in the trash.  Gold Rush is partnering with the Parker Task Force to reuse what would have otherwise been waste.  We assured students that their first priority is to take care of themselves by eating their lunch and saving their uneaten food.  We know that the simple acts of reflecting and repurposing unwanted food will make a big difference in our community.

SWIFT FOX LANE DURING ARRIVAL

District Security and our Parker Police Liaison Officer have observed unsafe traffic behavior on Swift Fox Way during arrival and provided recommendations.  We were advised that all cars must wait to turn into the parking lot, including those only wanting to park in the parking lot.  District Security and our Parker Police Liaison Officer stated that cars should not move into oncoming traffic at any time.  We were advised to place cones at the entrance of the parking lot to ensure compliance.  We also ask that cars pull all the way around the loop to accommodate more vehicles.  We will move supervision further down to ensure the safety of all students.  We ask for your patience and compliance.

STUDENTS USE ART TO TELL ABOUT THEMSELVES

In art students expressed their personality and interests in their drawings.  Students communicates their hobbies and style to their classmates and teacher through their self portraits.  We are proud of their creativity and willingness to share.

STUDENT DIRECTORY
The 2017-2018 Student Directory is now available.  The directory can be found on the Gold Rush website under Parent Resources.  Contact the office if you need the password.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

* September 4: No School - Labor Day

* September 6: Legend High School Homecoming Parade @ 4:45 (See Electronic Thursday Folder)

* September 12:  PTO Mtg @ 8:45-10:00

* September 15: Western Night

* September 21: SAC Mtg @ 4:30-5:30

* September 22: No School - Teacher Training

* September 28: Parent Teacher Conferences

* September 29:  Digger Dash

ELECTRONIC THURSDAY FOLDER