Message from the Principal
Dear Ryan Elementary Community,
Happy First Week of Summer!
While students are off enjoying the start of summer, the office team and I will be working over the next few weeks to wrap up the current school year and prepare for the 2025–2026 school year. Please note that, due to BVSD Bond work, our building will remain closed to visitors and staff until the first week of August.
Celebrating Our 5th Graders
Congratulations to all of our 5th grade students and their families on completing Elementary School! The 5th grade team, along with dedicated parent volunteers, hosted a beautiful continuation ceremony on May 22. To top it off, our 5th graders claimed victory in the annual student vs. staff kickball game!
End-of-Year Highlights
The final week of school was a meaningful celebration of our students’ achievements, community spirit, and transitions. One special moment was when our staff presented Mr. Appling with a tribute book honoring his 16 years of magical science experiments and engaging projects in the Science Lab. Each student contributed a personal page responding to one of these prompts:
Mr. Appling always says…
My advice for Mr. Appling…
My favorite memory of Mr. Appling…
As shared earlier, BVSD will no longer fund a full-time Science Lab position. Mr. Appling plans to stay at Ryan as a classroom teacher, this tribute marked the end of his time in the Science Lab. We’ll share more in August about exciting new ways we’ll continue to support our STEAM focus.
Staffing Updates
We’re excited to share that Ms. Liliana Luces has accepted a year-round, full-time position as an Early Childhood Education Community Liaison with BVSD. We are incredibly grateful for her support this past year in her dual role as Community Liaison and Instructional Paraeducator.
We will soon be hiring for the following positions:
Lunch/Recess/Café Support (2 positions): Monday–Friday, 10:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m.
Community Liaison (part-time)
Gifted & Talented Advisor (10 hours/week – may be combined with paraeducator role to receive benefits)
If you’re interested in supporting our students during lunch and recess, please consider applying for the Instructional Paraeducator positions.
We’ll be back in touch in August with more updates. Until then, enjoy the sunshine and summer break!
Warmly,
Stephanie Jackman
Principal
In this Update you will find:
- Message from the Principal
- MANY Upcoming Important Dates
- Viewing Grades Instructions
- Bus Registration for 2025-26 School year
- Garden To Table Summer Sign Up
- Summer Reading Information
- Kindergarten Registration Information
- Preschool is now Enrolling
- Centaurus High School Girls Basketball Camp
- PTA Update
- PTA Store Link
- Message from the Health Room
- Attendance Policy Information
- Volunteer Opportunities & Process Details
- BVSD Messenger Notification Details
- 2024-25 Calendar Links
- FAQs - This section includes information from past Weekly Updates that you can access
- If you have an immediate need, please call the main office at 720.561.7000
Important Upcoming Dates
Important Dates and Upcoming Events
BVSD Calendar Link
Printable Calendars
Ryan Elementary School Hours: 25-26 School Hours for PreK-5th
Important Dates for K-5th grade at Ryan Elementary School:
1st through 5th Grade Teacher notification will be on Friday, August 8th by 4pm. Please note that anything that is viewable now is not final until the notification goes live on August 9th. We are unable to take requests for specific teachers.
August 11th Meet the Teacher/Staff 4:00-5:00, School Tour for new families 5:00-5:30
August 13 First day of school for 1st-5th grade students (NOT a Late Start Day)
August 20 First Wednesday Late Start for all students
August 27 BVSD Assessment Day-students attend classes
August 27 Back to School Night 5:00-6:15 PM
August 27 5th Grade Outdoor Education Parent Meeting 6:20-6:50 PM
September 10th, 11th and 12th: 5th grade students have Outdoor Education at Calwood
Fall, October Parent Teacher Conferences
Wednesday, October 7th
Thursday, October 9th
Tuesday, October 15th
Spring, February Parent Teacher Conferences
Wednesday, February 19th
Thursday, February 24th
Tuesday, February 26th
Kindergarten Welcome Days
Please let us know your family's preference for the kindergarten welcome days half-day schedule on August 13th, 14th, and 15th. While your placement is not guaranteed, we will do our best to accommodate everyone's first choice.
Option 1:
Half Day AM (7:50-10:45)
Option 2:
Half Day PM (11:50-2:45)
Note: There will be no lunch for kindergartners until full-day begins on August 18th, but please make sure to pack them a snack.
If you haven't already, please explore our Incoming Kindergarten Website! On our website, you will find:
Welcome Packet
Summer Playdate Schedule
Action items: Family survey and welcome days preference form
Ryan Welcome Days For Preschool Fall 2025
Preschool Welcome Days will be on Thursday August 14th and Friday August 15th.
There will be a parent sign up for one time slot on August 14th or 15th. Plan for one adult family member and your preschooler to attend the preschool welcome day. The welcome day session will be one hour. It will include: opening circle/story, small group activity, free choice, music activity, and outdoor play time.
AM Class Welcome Days:
Thursday August 14th 9:00am-10:00am
Friday August 15th 9:00am-10:00am
PM Class Welcome Days:
Thursday August 14th 1:00pm-2:00pm
Friday August 15th 1:00pm-2:00pm
Viewing Grades in Infinite Campus
1st through 5th grade report cards available to view online through Infinite Campus Parent Portal on June 3rd.
Available on: Parents Guide to View Report Cards
Students and families can view student score letters for i-Ready
These can be accessed by guardians and students in the Infinite Campus Parent or Student Portal using these parent/student directions
Bus Registration is Open on Infinite Campus
Families with students eligible for school bus service will be receiving an email invitation this week from Transportation Services to register for or decline bus service for next year. Transportation is also asking families to keep their bus passes for reuse next year.
Please note, kindergarten students who are transportation-eligible will be automatically assigned to a bus route as they don’t have access to IC until August.
View the Bus Registration Letter
Questions? Contact Amy Thompson
Sign up for Gardening this Summer!
Hello Ryan Families! We hope students enjoyed their spring garden lessons these past few weeks. If you'd like to stay involved, join us over the summer and help us care for our garden this summer! It's fun for the whole family and no experience is necessary! Feel free to share your week with another family AND/OR sign up for more than one week! Visit the Ryan garden 2-3 times during your scheduled week. Each visit should take around 30 minutes, more or less depending how much you do. Weed, harvest veggies to take home, and check soil for dampness to make sure irrigation system is working. Please bring your own tools and gloves.
We have a weekly summer steward Help At Schools sign up: https://bvsd.helpatschools.com/schools/16/events/15751
Summer Reading Program Information
Want to earn FREE BOOKS? Join a summer reading program! Opportunities are available at the Lafayette Public Library and with Barnes & Noble in English and Spanish.
Kindergarten Registration Information!
Dear Ryan Families,
Do you have a child who will be an incoming Kindergartener next year?
Do you have friends, family members or neighbors with a rising Kindergartener?
If so, NOW is the time to register and help us plan ahead to ensure we have staffing for the number of students starting their journey at Ryan!
To register, please go to bvsd.org or click here.
We have a wonderful Kindergarten teaching team, please check out the Kindergarten Website!
Please reach out with any questions!
Now enrolling 2025-26 preschool
BVSD preschool offers inclusive, high-quality, play-based instruction for our youngest learners. We are now enrolling for the 2025-2026 school year. Please visit bvsd.schoolmint.com to apply, or email preschool@bvsd.org for assistance in applying
Preschool Welcome Days will be on Thursday August 14th and Friday August 15th.
In August, parents will sign up for one time slot on August 14th or 15th. Plan for one adult family member and your preschooler to attend the preschool welcome day. I look forward to meeting your whole family at the Meet the Teacher Night or Back to School Night. The welcome day sessions are a smaller group so I can get to know each preschooler before the first day of preschool on Monday August 18th. The welcome day session will be one hour. It will include: opening circle/story, small group activity, free choice, music activity, and outdoor play time.
AM Class Welcome Days:
Thursday August 14th 9:00am-10:00am
Friday August 15th 9:00am-10:00am
PM Class Welcome Days:
Thursday August 15th 1:00pm-2:00pm
Friday August 15th 1:00pm-2:00pm
Back to School Night:
Wednesday August 27th: It will be an open house for preschool families. If you have questions about Seesaw, Infinite Campus, Preschool Parent Handbook, want to tour the preschool classroom, etc.
PTA Family Store Link!
Are you looking for some Ryan Rhino gear? Please click on the link below for tshirts, sweatshirts, mugs, etc! These items would make great gifts for your favorite Rhino.
News From the Health Room
Questions? Email our health para, Chrystal Terhune or our school nurse consultant, Joanna Harrison
2025-2026 School House Letter, outlines Immunizations Policy, Medications and Health and Vision Screening, you can find that here (Spanish)
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteering is a fun, simple way to get involved within the Ryan community. We have all sorts of opportunities to get involved. Whether you volunteer regularly in your teacher’s classroom or bring breakfast and coffee to teachers for late start or volunteer for the book fair, the impact can be huge. Not only does it benefit the school but it benefits your kids and families in our community as well!
Volunteers and field trip chaperones that volunteer once and are under line-of-sight supervision by BVSD staff at all times only need to go through the front office Raptor check-in process.
Individuals interested in volunteering and interacting with students on an ongoing basis under line of sight supervision of BVSD staff, complete the appropriate yearly application; ENGLISH or SPANISH. Please note, there is a $32.00 background fee due at the time of submission.
For volunteers, partners, or field trip chaperones who will not be under line-of-sight supervision of BVSD staff at all times – CBI fingerprint check is required through a third party vendor (these background checks are now valid for 5 years), paid by the volunteer or partner AND volunteer must sign a BVSD volunteer agreement (Spanish) each year.
Please see the Volunteers/Visitors Flowchart and the Volunteer/Visitor FAQ for additional details.
Attendance Announcement
Daily Attendance
Please help your child develop good attendance habits. Research shows that missing just two days per month severely impacts reading and math growth. To make expected academic and social emotional gains, students should be at school at a rate of 95% or more. Habits developed in elementary school often carry over into middle school and high school.
If your child will be absent:
Please let us know online via Infinite Campus OR call Ryan’s attendance line at 720-561-7002 by 8:05 a.m. If your student is arriving late, please note that in the comments section online. Always notify the office of an absence or late arrival, not just the classroom teacher.
Attendance - Ryan Elementary School. Please include the following information in your voice message: your name, student’s name, grade & teacher, and the reason for the absence.
As a safety precaution, all primary contacts of students marked as unaccounted absences will receive notification by BVSD’s automated attendance system to verify a child’s absence. Promptly calling in absences and tardies will prevent your home or workplace from being disturbed.
If at all possible, make every attempt to schedule doctor and dentist appointments before or after the school day, as this tends to take away from a student’s learning time. If your child does have a medical appointment, providing us with documentation helps us code these absences properly.
Automated calls are made by 9:00 a.m. for students who are marked as “unexcused absence”.
Procedures and information about student absences are explain in the March 2024 Revised Board Policy, JH and Attendance & Engagement - Boulder Valley School District
We understand sometimes our students need to be out for an extended period of time. We ask, if you know your child will be out for more than 3 days, to please fill out this form in addition to reporting the absence through the portal or attendance line.
BVSD's School Messenger support and notifications
Boulder Valley School District recently tested their emergency alert system.
The test alert included a phone call, text message and email to those opted in to receive BVSD Communications.
Users can adjust their communication preferences as desired via these instructions.
If you did not receive a text message, and would like to opt-in to receive text messages from the district and schools through SchoolMessenger, opting-in is a two-step process:
- The person's cell phone number must be in a cell phone field in Infinite Campus (students/parents) or Infor/Lawson (employees).
- They then send a text message from their cell phone to “67587” with the word “yes” in the message. They may opt-out at any time by texting “STOP” to 67587.
Ryan Elementary STEAM School
Website: https://rye.bvsd.org/
Location: 1405 Centaur Village Drive, Lafayette, CO, USA
Phone: 720-561-7000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RyanElemSTEAM