SRE Newsletter

While it is hard for me to believe we are already at Thanksgiving Break, it is definitely not hard for me to feel incredibly thankful to be a part of the Saddle Ranch community. I am honored to get to represent such a caring and passionate community that comes together and supports not just our school, students, and staff, but also our community. We had a HUGE response to our Thanksgiving Food Drive that student council ran, and got to help load a huge amount of canned goods and 28 frozen turkeys yesterday into a truck that went straight to the Denver Rescue Mission. To top it off, this followed just a few weeks after our successful toiletry drive through DCSD for our One Book One District event. Thank you to all of you that made these donations possible. I love seeing our kids notice the importance of reaching out and supporting others.

I've had the pleasure of meeting with several different groups of students from ThunderRidge over the last few weeks who are asking to do community events and other projects that support their organizations or Senior Boards Projects. They want to work with the Saddle Ranch community as many of them are alumni and others know that we are a wonderful support of all things Grizzly. After break, we will have a movie night at SRE being run by DECA members to raise funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, and will also have a TRHS sponsored coat drive for gently used coats that will be given to a local shelter. If you decide to clean out any closets over break, save those coats for our drive! I am so happy to see high school students coming back to SRE to lead events and model the importance of community service for all our kids.

This coming week, I know we will all take a moment to reflect on people and things for which we are grateful. I am so grateful for the staff that I get to work with each day and to see the amazing learning that is happening all across our building as well as all the joy that are staff bring to work each day. It is truly a gift to come to a place each day bursting with so much positive energy amongst the staff. And I am truly grateful that I get the remarkable opportunity to help educate your children and be a part of their educational journey. We have the most amazing kids and families here and it fills me with gratitude each day that you have allowed me to be a part of the Saddle Ranch family.

I hope you all have a wonderful week, safe travels if you are heading on a plane, train, or automobile adventure, and gratitude and good food around the table this week.

• TONIGHT: Family Night at Main Event 5-8:00pm
  
• November 25-29: Happy Thanksgiving Break!
• December 2: Open enrollment closes @4:00pm
• December 3 & 4th: 2025-26 New Kindie Round-up
• December 5: Final meeting of the The Anxious Generation Book Club - 4:00 - 5:00
• December 6: Rescheduled movie night at SRE being hosted by TRHS DECA students - 6:00 - 8:00
• December 9: PTIO Meeting 6:00 - 7:00
• December 10: Holiday Choir Concert - 6:30 pm
• December 12: HERDS
• December 16: Band/Orchestra Concert - 5:30 pm
• December 19: Last Day of School for Students
• December 21: Elementary Progress Reports available to parents/guardians

• December 2nd: Wear holiday colors to kick off our holiday season!
• December 6th: Don't Be a Mean One Mr. Grinch - But dress up like the Grinch for our Movie Night!
• December 9th: We've got the Spirit! - Wear your SRE Spirit wear
• December 13th: Sweater Weather - Wear your favorite (or silliest) holiday sweater
• December 16th: Hat Day! - Wear your favorite holiday or anytime hat
• December 19th: PJ Day! Let's enjoy our last day of school together this year in our jammies

Families, we have a new added security feature being implemented in all our DCSD schools. Beginning tomorrow, every visitor and parent volunteer will have to scan their own ID at the front office window using our ipad Raptor System. You will have to scan your ID (Drivers License) every visit and you will be given a sticker to wear. Another option is to download the MyColorado app on your phone. The raptor system will be able to scan your ID from this app. Thank you for your patience as we get this up and running.

Raise some FUNds and have some FUN! Saddle Ranch PTIO is hosting a Spirit Night Fundraiser at Main Event on Thursday, 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM, 20% of all sales will go to support our school!

Thanksgiving is almost here, and we know your shopping list is probably growing. Here’s some great news: you can help support Saddle Ranch Elementary PTIO while you shop – without spending anything extra.

Here are two easy ways to give back this holiday season:

1. Earn Money for Our School While Grocery Shopping

Do you shop at King Soopers? If so, you can support Saddle Ranch PTIO just by linking your King Soopers Shopper’s Card to our school! Once it’s set up, every time you shop, King Soopers donates a percentage of what you spend to us – no extra cost, no hassle.

We know it’s one more thing to add to your to-do list, but think of it as **easy money** for our school! Here’s how to set it up:
1. Log in or Create an Account
– Go to https://www.kingsoopers.com.
– If you don’t have an account yet, it’s quick and simple to create one.

Link Your Card to Saddle Ranch PTIO
– Log in to your account.
– Go to “Community Rewards” in your account settings.
– Search for Saddle Ranch Elementary PTIO.
– Click “Save.”

3. Shop and Earn
– Use your Shopper’s Card every time you shop.
– King Soopers donates automatically to our PTIO!

A few minutes of setup now can make a big difference for our kids all year long.

2. Collect Milk Caps and Help Us Moo-ve Forward

Do you drink Longmont Dairy milk? Their Milk Caps for Mooola program makes it easy to give back. Each cap is worth 5¢ for our school – and those cents really add up!

Here’s how you can help:
1. Save Your Caps – Keep all the caps from your Longmont Dairy bottles. Don’t forget to ask family and neighbors to save theirs too!

2. Drop Them Off – Bring your caps to school and drop them in the collection box near the front office.

Whether you’re sipping milk with your Thanksgiving breakfast or baking pies, save those caps for Saddle Ranch!

Your everyday purchases – like groceries and milk – can help fund classroom supplies, school events, and other programs that make Saddle Ranch amazing for our kids.

Want to Do More?

There are even more ways to support Saddle Ranch PTIO without spending extra money. Check out saddleranchptio.org/shop to see how your everyday shopping can make a difference for our school.

Thank you for being part of our Saddle Ranch community. We’re so grateful for all you do, and we wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Winter Session 2025

January 16th - March 7th

1/16, 1/23, 1/30, 2/6, 2/13, 2/20, 2/27, 3/7

snow day make-up class 3/13

7 class session

We have a new way for families to report your student's tardiness or absence from school. You are still able to call our attendance line at 303-387-6402 but now you can also fill out our Attendance Google Form.

Click here for our School District Policies.

Feel free to attend whichever meeting is most convenient for you and your family.

To RSVP, please paste the following URL into your web browser:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSerUtUC3pHgXTPQRd2OzjQ02X1LQwbzH8CN4a9ktB9MtiZQ1A/viewform

CMAS and CoAlt are the assessments that are mandated by the Colorado Department of Education. CMAS is given to our 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th graders. All 3rd-6th students take the Math and English Language Arts assessments. Additionally, 5th grade takes a science assessment. State testing is scheduled for April 2025. Please keep these dates in mind when scheduling appointments and vacations.

SADDLE RANCH ELEMENTARY State Testing Schedule

• CMAS English Language Arts and Math: April 7-14, 2025
• CMAS Science (5th Grade Only): April 14-18, 2025
• CoAlt (Alternative Assessment): April 7-April 21, 2025

DCSD Assessment Policy. Additional state testing information is available on our website.

For additional information regarding state testing please click here... https://sre.dcsdk12.org/family_resources/state_testing

For questions, please contact Traci Papastathis @ Saddleranchyearbook@gmail.com