Ryan Elementary

Dear Ryan Families,

Thank you everyone for attending our Parent/Teacher conferences this week! We love the opportunity to be able to sit down and discuss the growth your child(ren) have made this year and how we can work together to finish out the on a strong note.

We only have one week left in this quarter before Spring Break and we have a lot of fun filled events with Read Across America Week, our Gifted Open House, PTO Spirit Store, and the Day of Awesomeness as we wrap up the Step it Up Fundraiser. We hope the students have a great week and then enjoy Spring Break!

Thank you for always supporting Ryan Elementary, our students, staff and community!

Justin Durham

Please take a look at our events coming up this quarter!

• Mar 4- Spirit Week (schedule below)
• Mar 6 - PTO Spirit Store
• Mar 8 - Day of Awesomeness for Step it up Fundraiser
• Mar 9-25 - Spring Break
• Mar 26 - Students Return
• Mar 29 - Spring Holiday (No School)
• Apr 1-19 - State Testing (Grades 3-6)
• Apr 3 - PTO Spirit Store
• Apr 25 - Junior Achievement Day
• May 1 - PTO Spirit Store
• May 2 - PTO Meeting 3:30pm
• May 6 - Teacher Appreciation Week
• May 9 - Spring Band and Orchestra Concerts
• May 17 - PTO Fun Friday
• May 18 - PTO Splash Bash
• May 23 - Last Day of School (Early Dismissal at 11:30am)

I wanted to send clarification on apple watches and smart watches as we have had several incidents of misuse occurring lately. Students are allowed to have the watches at school, but they can only be used as a watch. Students should not be utilizing other functions of the watch during the school day, especially the functions of texts and phone calls. If students are texting and making phone calls the teacher will speak with them individually to discuss expectations at school and that they should not be utilizing those functions. If they use those functions a second time, they would need to leave the watch at home or in their backpack at school like their cell phone. We understand that there might be times that students need to contact home, and if they do, they will let their teacher know why and they can come up to the office to use the phone. If they need to contact home because they are not feeling well, students should come to the health office and our health assistant will contact home. The smart/apple watches fall under the same policy as cell phones within our elementary student handbook in regards to use. Please help remind your child(ren) of these expectations with their watches so we are all on the same page. Thank you and if you have any questions please let Mr. Durham know.

Thank you to everyone who attended our 80's dance on Friday, February 23rd and for our volunteers and PTO for putting it together. The students and families had an amazing time and we had a big turn out! We can't wait for the next awesome event.

It is that time of year again when we start to prepare for building our classrooms for the 24-25 school year. As a reminder, it is our goal to build classes which will ensure the best learning environment possible for all students! To achieve this goal, class placements will be made by teacher teams and administration who consider group and individual needs for every placement. If you feel we need additional information regarding your child and their particular type of learning needs or environment, please complete the attached form (copies are also in the office) and return it to the front office no later than Friday, April 19, 2024. Please remember, this is not a teacher request form, it is specifically for learning and environment needs. If you have any questions please reach out to Mr. Durham. Thank you!

Is the Week of March 4th!

• We will have videos of staff read alouds that correspond with our spirit week for students to watch at school throughout the week.
• Spirit week schedule is below!
• Our school will do a school wide DEAR time on Wednesday in the courtyard.
• We will have students from ACP come over on Monday and Tuesday to read in our classrooms.

Chandler Education Foundation (CEF) annual Winner's Choice Raffle is a highly anticipated event that gives participants the chance to win either $27,000 towards the MSRP of a Toyota vehicle OR $20,000 cash! Tickets are $20 each and all the proceeds support schools and scholarships across the Chandler Unified School District (CUSD). Purchase Tickets Here!

Tickets purchased before 9:00 am on Monday, February 5 will be eligible to win prizes through our bonus Early Bird drawing on Thursday, February 8.

All tickets purchased before 9:00 am on Wednesday, March 6 will be eligible for the Grand Prize drawing on Friday, March 8, 2024.

What an amazing job our students and families did this year with our Step it Up Fundraiser! The totals are not final but we have raised over $35,000 this year. Way to go Royals! We appreciate everyone helping send emails and donating to support our school.

Now it is time to celebrate as we will have our Day of Awesomeness on Friday, March 8th where each grade level will come out to the field for 45 minutes to play and have fun on all of the inflatables and have a dance party! Therefore, make sure students come prepared with water and sun protection on that day!

We also need volunteers to help during the day, please sign up to support this event here.

Just a quick reminder to be mindful of our neighborhood residents and to please not park in the neighborhoods to walk over to school and to not block entrances/roadways to streets so our neighbors can access their street and get home. Thank you for your help with this matter!

In February, Kindergarten classes learned about groundhogs, celebrated kindness and friendship with books and learning centers, studied George Washington and Abraham Lincoln for President's Day, and learned 5 new digraphs to help us read and write lots of new words. In March, we will begin author studies, starting with Dr. Seuss for Read Across America week.

First graders have been working so hard on all things ANIMALS! First, we learned all about animal groups and the characteristics of a mammal, insect, bird, amphibian, reptile, and fish. We went on a field trip to the Phoenix Zoo in search of at least one animal that belongs in each group. They did an amazing job! Then we learned about habitats and how animals thrive in their habitats. We focused on the desert, rainforest, polar regions, and the ocean. These first graders amazed their teachers with diorama projects that included an animal from their classroom habitat! They also taught their class so many interesting facts about their animal! Our first graders worked so hard and learned so much about animal groups and the habitats animals live in!

February was a bustling month for our 2nd graders! Kudos to Mrs. Gridley’s class for being among the top communicators with families for our Step It Up fundraiser. We relished the gorgeous weather during our excursion to Mac Farms, where we delved into lessons about water and agriculture.

Our 3rd graders have been learning about how early people living in current day Arizona used the land and resources available to survive and thrive in their environment. These people are called the Ancestral Puebloans. The Ancestral Puebloans were skilled builders who crafted intricate dwellings nestled into the cliffs of the American Southwest. Our 3rd graders became architects and explored their own creativity as they designed and constructed a miniature version of these historical homes. They used materials such as clay, cardboard, sticks, and other items to replicate the adobe structures and cliffside dwellings. They immersed themselves in the rich history of the Ancestral Puebloans that once thrived in these unique homes. They let their imaginations soar as they brought the past to life through this hands-on project!

Fourth grade has been investigating magnetism, electricity, and circuits. The students were able to connect their learning to real-life examples during a presentation from SRP. Along with the presentation, the children have also had hands on exploration opportunities in the classroom and at recess by creating circuits and various fun experiments with static electricity.

Fourth graders recently visited the Musical Instrument Museum and were able to see how music is deeply engrained into all different cultures. The students were able to play instruments together and explore how instruments have changed over time.

What an awesome month for 5th grade! Students were able to celebrate Valentine's Day by having a Friendship Celebration. Students shared their appreciation and kindness towards each other with arts and crafts, games, and personalized cards. To wrap up all the 5th graders' hard work with their Science Projects, students shared their experiments with their classmates. This was a great way for students to engage with each other and to ask meaningful questions. Students were able to learn from each other and celebrate each other's successes or discuss other possible solutions. Lastly, with February being Black History Month our 5th graders created Paper Bag Biographies. Each student chose an African American Historical Figure to honor and research. Students shared each one of their biography research projects with their peers. This month was a busy month of community building and celebrating each other!

In February, 6th Grade students worked together making blankets for the Linus Project. The blankets are donated to hospitals and distributed to children who are receiving medical care as a comfort gift. It was a wonderful way for our students and families to contribute to the community. Thank you for all your donations!

The specialized classrooms have been learning about our community and how communities celebrate. We learned about the national and state flags, birds, flowers, and trees. We will be concluding our unit with a field trip to Veterans Oasis Park to look for the symbols that we have learned about as well as how the park is a way to celebrate Veterans in our community.

Thank you to everyone who visited the book fair! We are excited to use our proceeds to purchase new books for the library!

I can't believe we are winding down third quarter already. Next week, we will finish up the quarter with 5th and 6th grade qualifiers attending the district track meet at Payne Junior high. As the weather warms up next quarter, we will be spending more time continuing our inside units such as volleyball and badminton.

Thanks again for those of you that participated in our kids heart challenge. We raised almost $7,000! I will hand out all of the thank you gifts when I receive them, which will probably be shortly after we return from break. I hope you have a wonderful break with your families and are able to get outside and enjoy the nice weather.

February has been an exciting month for music! The 4th graders went on a field trip to the MIM to experience instruments from around the world! In addition, the Ryan Royals Choir participated in the district choral festival and had a concert to showcase their hard work! We are lucky to have so many talented students here at Ryan!

One of the areas of feedback we received last year was that parents and families do not know who to contact when different situations or concerns arise. I want to make sure everyone knows who to reach out to when situations arise so please read below of who to contact when you have questions or concerns. If your concern or situation is not listed please always feel free to contact me (the principal) or the front office and we will make sure you get what you need.

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• Discipline or Behavior Concerns - Please contact the Dean, Rebecca Coplan @ 480-224-3210 and coplan.rebecca@cusd80.com or the Principal, Justin Durham @ 480-224-3208 and durham.justin@cusd80.com
• Social and Emotional Needs or Concerns - Please contact your child's teacher and our Counselor, Trudi McClure at 480-224-3206 and mcclure.trudi@cusd80.com
• Attendance - Please contact our Attendance Tech, Karla Juarez @ 480-224-3203 and juarez.karla@cusd80.com
• Health Concerns or Medications - Please contact our Health Assistant, Tammy Tisdale @ 480-224-3202 and tisdale.tammy@cusd80.com
• Academic Concerns - Please contact your child's teacher first and then if needed the Principal, Justin Durham @ 480-224-3208 and durham.justin@cusd80.com
• Concerns with Teacher or Staff - Please contact your child's teacher first and then if needed the Principal, Justin Durham @ 480-224-3208 and durham.justin@cusd80.com
• 504 plans - Please contact our Counselor, Trudi McClure at 480-224-3206 and mcclure.trudi@cusd80.com or our Dean, Rebecca Coplan @ 480-224-3210 and coplan.rebecca@cusd80.com.
• SPED and IEP's - Please contact your child's Special Education Case Manager or our Dean, Rebecca Coplan @ 480-224-3210 and coplan.rebecca@cusd80.com.
• General Concerns or Questions - Please contact our front office @ 480-224-3200

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Email: durham.justin@cusd80.com
Website: https://www.cusd80.com/Domain/3534
Location: 4600 Bright Angel Way, Chandler, AZ, USA
Phone: 480-224-3200
Facebook: facebook.com/RyanElementary
Twitter: @RyanRoyalsCUSD